A Word on Words; 2219; Ralph Emery

program we're going where the program delving into the world of books and there are there is this week robert emery talks about your memory is mr john singing chairman of the first amendment center vanderbilt university welcome once again to award own words of this week we have a great chance to have an open back for a second week ralph embryos comeback talk about more memories welcome robert glasper the head you get it right at you and memories and last week with more memories and now more and more memories mark shared by thirty actually i watch my member aha that's not there about with more more memories but without left off less we talk n i rudely interrupted your lovely story about minnie pearl we had said that she had written a note and it's like the fact that he's had a stroke which you will know that i am writing is still fluid and fall and

then you're telling the second part of the story all why well joy how i've seen many in henry i'm in the nursing home and i notice that no matter what we talked about many had a one lawyer for that situation and she would get she would crack that one line and just let them is she still find funny lady and she still remembers all her comedy she was very moved by the fact that garth brooks and his wife's family name their child after many years and then pearl mr i think they have a vision and chairman pearl mr shadid vendor ceo marin may have pictures with the baby she was once wrote that well i just bring it out of you is set

up a week from where we were last week i had taken throughout early days you career and we talk about one of an awkward them were true it races to riches story i mean you downplay the riches of the one year you could have a fleet of the ios cadillacs now he really wanted to our outsides a nice rich french immediate of people around we also talk about it the tragedies in the old days that hit companies are containers of song on the road we get too deeply into some of the funny stories the rover wouldn't talk about those tragedies and it seems to me that that's one aspect of country music and attain still a need to hit the road and that the danger of travel and that and the

specter of love of accidental death still still haunts those and reba mcentire course is classic classic example of well i saw it john is you know in the chapter i wrote about patsy cline plane crash and you're brave plane crash we finish a chapter by writing about the pressure to reveal macintyre san diego remove fortunately was not on that play unfortunately her road manager and motor band were on the way another chapter furnishes are working through details of a show or we would put together a national tickets pearl our guests who booked kenny rogers ck put those massive all stars show together to match national municipal auditorium to raise a hundred thousand dollars that's what we're about to give to the

survivors wives and children of the band members who were killed one of the most emotional moments i've ever spent was that night we didn't know whether it was coming to the show a lot i'm jewish and i think i'm sure she would have though chico and she did make that if the show had been on for quite some time and riva show the power vacuum spoke her ask you shouldn't try to sell the fight she came out of sturgeon she's sharing shooters which would allow well although she had sung with her back to the show and she sang about apollo and you could feel emotions sweep across the floor as she says that sharp it was a really emotional palette on a river island on to write rivers record high marks no we

went skiing the other last christmas and talk a little bit about what happened an ayatollah like doctor extensively oh sure or we talk about integration and if you're not a word call from an airport near nashville and when the nose wheel came up she said she knows something was wrong just a real drive to college i regret there's a new arrival and if you notice it immediately and what happened to your son mechanic had left a flashlight and a refinery up in the nose wheel housing sector and when the we'll end up with a jammed against a flash flood that will go up or come down and i could determine that the cause of the lights on video or dash of airport seventy their intro adam so

excited to circle very free or natural to get rid of the fuel before you got a pension plan and really describes what all things that went through your mind as they're circling the field and love and this was captured miraculously on videotape because there was a television crew of very free awaiting trial gloria who is on the campaign trail mr giere she ultimately she worried about things you wouldn't think people would get worried by others are circling she tried to play cards you were about twenty three years now and then into the crisis that didn't get the catering all asset to revive soon why did you agree to jump on their plane immediately and go on the date and wonderful outreach she said were when she said when you're in a car wreck the first thing they don't put your and ambulances that i you know it's rather well they'll be

what we think about that really were you afraid of the things you said yes to being killed dr in their membership shoot to shoot somali border eventually i think she said well maybe to that her companions maybe i'll see you later as a lead in for the pancake flat you say sparks flew to evolve so that's evident from the router last week i threw a few names and the most ocean names of modern of country music and then is that you later on but i but i did not did not throw johnny cash or county all it last week well i wrote about them and the first book that there's a one to restore the johnny cash they're a decision in this book rodney proulx over the store on a crawl to a onetime mary johnny's daughter rosanne cash before they get married they were living together

california and john heard about this or occasionally trade in jamaica and so johnson for was a private coverage shia minority to disperse the relationship and solo when they get their job center of a rod hilton but cho says rod he's got cocky and he said no dice a lot of the critics that i'm not going to duck myself any differently here than i do at my place in california and john mcternan or are you about the mission of your eyes douglas lives in a now this is one of my first friends nearly unbearable actually story of a wonderful human being opium this occasion black the left or look the black culture center and di capture

and we had a show for him to raise money but even their insurance when we have told everyone to leave their egos at the front doors into song at all aaron carroll i was saying i love and andy reached out probing it was a right at the edge of the stage he reached out for all the british hen and brought him up on stage and shankar that was a very touching moment well there's another touching moment a book it's really almost the last lines are obese as you don't let the music that i would you know be in a crime wanted to be charlie pride and he said what bothered him was that everybody when they compared him to charlie pride he says they don't compare much they compare my complex and he you know i remember you digress criminals at the end of that show i did for him

i had to do if he was the guest of honor i introduced him everybody out a bunch of songs got off all we did forty five minutes got up is that it's ubiquitous yellow or buddy killen is a buddy if i don't buy that so what's involved in that environment theres a good to be back i said he was a pretty well but the doctor was right on target again we're doing this right before diana wynne for that we would see him mr bill ivey of more flamboyant marcela close friend and i want to see him and we took the pieces that we did managed to get him into war which stars of all day and we took the bronze star and the latter's polk be much cotton so that he could see them without my mcentee about what i wanted him to know that he was in fact going into the war which i wish that of tyler clementi

as i'm leaving and he can barely talk he is unfortunate that point just literally scandal and it reached out to the other cracked voice a very low graduation city ralph to get out of the trenches is indeed a dick clark i oh i was surprised by the chapter on dick clark and one for stories will surprise you that dick clark would show up in a country music in a book was really based on a career that related more country music than any other but it fit in perfectly and it's a it's a it's a mix the one of a life and the controversy alive cause dick yeah absolutely absolutely years yeah that was

that he was a country music and then he was on a program of live performance as cactus did get there at the end and you know you you listen really enjoyed interviewing as well first of all though i am i am allied with country music congress will broadcast and its largest crystal broadcaster and i have great respect for him and i hope he has great respect for mitchell is a lot of growth and so we were thrown into the arena together somebody brought the project to me and said would you like to interview dick clark i went to him and he said the same thing so we met in burbank december the eighteenth nineteen ninety one i think we did two shows back to back he interviewed me and i interviewed him and it was and when you get it is someone television if it's in our program you can only use forty four minutes are going to

fill out the rest the time of commercials an opening and closed so only half of what i interviewed him about went on to the television show the rest of the whole thing are we used in the book but here he is the consummate professional is the most driven and there is a letter that he would not take vacations are most carry his wife made him it that he really loves to work it is one take time off you know the most to be honest a personality and the book may be the most honest a personality in country music the second time i had no idea about the practical jokes known where i know i'll usually one human being but what stories are you talking about the practical jokes that he and others thought of them in the alley back of the rival gangs actually and i guess they were bored

i'll work on the opry and it used to be a rematch usually have an early spot time to kill her they give you one more spot near the end of the program are one of you know a lot of times you have a chat and some of his contemporaries used it for their own amusement on desalination people out of an alley back of the grand ole opry and woodley and george morton was a big recreational events that would lead people to believe that if they pass this audition like to become a country music star to be on the grand ole opry on top of the building guy that i wouldn't wager most all of the serbian of what republicans altogether i love i

love the finish of the church to run i must tell you this up tortured at all that evolution of the subject it came on and my show inauguration group of first book for a city or then you wrote about me was that i thought raised in ancillary tommy was just a kid to help me sell without a job anyway with tom carter said to me one day that's eleven up i said ok but other than write about chester so was determined to write about it and i really belligerent adventures ranging issue and i what i admire about him he has never said is in his late sixties he is never stop learning something new on the guitar he continues to be a student was cracked trying to improve imagine said adkins driving growth anyway

and that that's the chapter i ask one day he used to be in charge of producing over thirty x for rca he rarely rca operation in nashville and tried to maintain his is a reputation as a guitar player as well and at a russian checkpoint to find inside gm had had enough of producing so many acts of being responsible for some money and he said well i came to work one day and he said seth i set down by my desk and i looked down at my choo ch and they didn't match up and i knew it had a lot of you know others are revealing thing about elvis presley chapters world now worth reminding ellis of the gravel lot more years oh yeah it really

is and how they blew have all over that well you know i don't know i was reminded of that later in the book when i read babbitt and billy ray cyrus and how have some of that pure country critics went after him and i'd never did understand that john haught some criticized his knowledge saw the achy breaky heart well for those of us are older we know that novelty songs and have both have been a staple of up country music and pop music as well going back to maisie goats those egos and little mg iv he was criticized for that he was criticized because we have not paid his dues and i'm i'm talking to billy wright found out who used to hang out at national natural iranian even know this really he who hang out backstage i we found this out later and but

he used to travel from huntington west virginia where worked in a nightclub and a record row a nashville he did this for seven years trying to get somebody to listen to that and i thought that's not pay your dues i don't know that you know the interesting thing is those critics who who kate novelty in this industry forget i think that people like owen bradley who was the recent a big band leader and fred rosen came out of tin pan alley and work with with hank williams songs so many of his songs the genesis of country music's popularity to orient broader then those that once the grand ole opry when everyone's of rants the people are contributing to that we're not going to come in that they came from backgrounds and were not country many of them and they're an

ancillary service small group of giants certainly industry like owen friend i guess that nobody like going for him really made contributions surprised me to hear people worry about the direction the music is is taking what more about country music has never enjoyed a period like it i'm joined now from a financial standpoint i can remember when marty robbins with complain to me that he went number one with his record and he said everyone nice well it may be number one but i know it sold and it had not sought many records and now where billy ray cyrus first bob auerbach shows eight million albums and then there's the dark phenomenon of thirty two million albums and for years we've never had anybody like these people well talk a little bit about about the lottery and we just mentioned the tip of the iceberg billy ray cyrus arbitrary vince gill is another is another star loaded an aunt

and then the band and garth brooks a totally different person again are likely and unlikely a modern day hero well it's it's interesting as i say in the bogart wrote and five black balled debuted at about the same time most people put their money on point but like the looks of clint black better i suppose he was rca over powerful label and his first record was of super record but as we get into that story you learn and i've talked to many people on record robot these people are you learn from the people like jimmy bullard for instance that garth love me now five blackwater is momentum because of personal problems and while he had won our guard had three dead man

dave willock there was a major thing that happened about nineteen eighty nine years because of that turn the world countries that had happened earlier i think to turn it around earlier billboard magazine for years have made up their charge based on the gas they investigated for what the record are selling ornaments in charge in nineteen eighty nine with a computer that are touting every unit counted every unit and what they find out all the whole country music stars are out selling some of the major projects had they done this in eighty four eighty five alabama could've been the biggest thing in the bill here because they really selling so that's having been found out subway and here's this guy garth brooks is outselling michael jackson and i think that i think that the change the timing of that changed

help guards career immensely suddenly the world turns are there was garth brooks gravity is set into motion a chain of events that made mark brought a mega star in an assigned science properly first book it we're about the same but that audience was there except new york and los angeles didn't really look at it closely enough to find out and really didn't understand the magnitude of the vince gill as is and to me still unknown quantity of unrest that you hughes virgina going to really sheds light on this new generation i guess he's closer to where country music is today with jimmy ball as a he came here in california used to produce frank sinatra dean martin

people like that how he was married to keely smith great singer and jimmy is to run and see em a ram no label extension of and she and then i came to capitol hill and allow oil to generate a pioneer digital recording national we were head of the guys in new york and la on that on that level because they were still in the analog recording and jimmy said they suspect records and with digital mastery and i think hank williams jr was the first under his direction so he has been a a real mover and shaker this but ralph do you plan to do a little i don't know i don't know whether i have anything else to say about iowa as i have much to tell you i'm talking i have a book at it and the new novel pages are they want did it again now in earlier the more money i got more money generated more successful your book i

am because my book was successful my book is about a something's going to happen there he has a following books or videos make deals for roy clark charlie pride glen campbell and we will not for all abortion whispering courtesy of elbert williams now acknowledged that we thought well billy bob or so about melon to be able to my will be huge and we've discussed there may be a third of what i should militia which shows were burnett well i think the cover shows obama i think robert emery the face you're publishing didn't know but that the american public knew it i think that cover is certain to sell books i don't care i don't care what's inside the jacket fortunately you care enough about the book to make sure that but the story's a quality and that they're and they're funny and said and then there's a docent you were and i think the

diversity in the books and so the change of pace story story makes it a wonderful reid i appreciate that i was accused by my office staff of getting so caught up in the book i drove them crazy i said turner i but you know that there are lines they use on television are eight million stories in the naked city and their eight million stories in country music and you just you just really scratched the surface it's about a year and a half of your life old bookstore abbott john away we edited this book with rewards and no matter how many times you go over it and over it just a language that was bill bill i was named it why is iv be wild and now i'm bill noticed that say he wrote about that about a beloved so sorry but i thought we had directed every every nuance of this book one interview on david halberstam's book the fifties which is

just out and appeared in carmel killed by saddam and wait for somebody to tell my publisher that they need even in an editor who can spell any tip computer the loose belt and i don't care how they turn to our modern the technology those arrows of the crop up but they don't attract all will enjoy reading a good story and i enjoyed writing a good story our corporation provide i don't think i could write nearly as worldcom or tom carter i think is a great writer and he writes what i call a good read you just a very entertaining read and i know because it i gave him the raw material and i wanted time for he was going to do it i thought that he wrote nuclear by tobey maguire as we finished the book and i didn't know i had no idea it was always sure the music's not going to die right an island of molokai either members

people have said well honey prof amery offer of more memories as that our guest on the word and where is your host as ben johnson chairman of the freedom farm first amendment center at vanderbilt university this program was produced in the studios of wbez in nashville thing