Music City Memories

Subject: Music City Memories Sun May 17, 2009 1:39 pm

In the next few posts I'll try to let everyone see the side of the country music business that I saw. The stories are first hand accounts of some of the things I've done in Nashville, and I sincerely hope you like them. I posted the Willie Nelson story in another thread, and I'll pick up from there.

______________________________________________________

CHUBBY CHECKER AND TOBY KEITH

In November of 1994 I had open-heart surgery. They did a quadruple bypass and it didn’t go really great, and in the spring of 1995 I was still trying to get everything back together. At the time I was helping run ADOBE recording studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Adobe had once had been known as Doc’s Studio, and at one time was partially, or maybe even completely, owned by Conway Twitty.

I had not been working very much for a month or so, trying to get to feeling better from the botched surgery, and I never will forget the night that my wife took a call from the studio.

“Bring your husband’s butt down here tonight,” she was told. “We are working with an artist who has heard that he isn’t doing too well and wants to talk to him.”

My wife got me to dress and shave and we drove the 20 or so miles from our home to the studio and went inside, still not knowing who was there.

The red light was on which meant they were recording, but when the manager saw that I was there, she went into the control room and spoke to the artist.

A minute or so later I felt an arm around my shoulder and the softest, kindest voice I have ever heard telling me to cheer up, because he was going to tell me how I could start feeling better.

We went into the room I had used as an office when I was still there every day, and for about 2 hours this major artist, this icon, this legend, sat there and talked to me. He told me how my diet was so important, and how I had to exercise, and if I would only eat right I would soon be feeling like my old self again.

He was in the process of cutting a country album at the studio, and over the course of the next few months we became friends, and much to his delight, and mine, I did start feeling better very soon.

The artist was Chubby Checker, and the album he cut is country music and believe me it is a great album. I don’t know if it ever became a big commercial hit, and I suppose there are a lot of people that don’t know Chubby ever cut a country album, but believe me when I say it is very good music, and Chubby is one of the nicest, warmest people you would ever hope to meet.

The Country Radio Seminar, or CRS, is held in Nashville each spring, and radio people from all over the country come to town to meet and greet, see the major acts and the up and coming new artists, and the four days is a real treat to everyone who attends. This is a convention, and all of the major labels have open suites for the entertainment of the radio industry, with T-shirts, ball caps, and other freebies everywhere you look. Best of all, there is talent everywhere you look. The CRS is usually held at the Opryland Hotel and a lot of the most popular acts currently in country music have appeared on the CRS new faces show. We’ve seen some truly great performances there, and over the years we’ve wondered more at the artists who didn’t make it than about those who did.

That spring, the conventioneers got more than they bargained for. One of the tour buses was running from the hotel to downtown Nashville, going from show to show and back again, and on Friday night my wife rode downtown with Chubby. On the way back he took off his shoes and was meeting people in his sock feet, and of course it wasn’t long before a lot of the folks on the bus did the same thing, and everyone had a great time, and a great story to tell once they got home.

On Saturday night Chubby had a suite reserved at the Hotel, and was sitting in a chair signing autographs and posters for the people who stopped by. I was sitting on the other side of the bed, and there was a small stereo player sitting on a table beside me. As the songs played, I listened to what I knew was a very original album, and thought how blessed I’d been to meet and get to know this extraordinary person.

My wife was managing traffic at the front door, sending in one or two people at a time to meet Chubby and to get an autograph and maybe a picture. At one point in time Chubby spoke to my wife and told her to hold the fans for a moment.

He looked at me and softly said; “I want you to listen to this next song and tell me what you truly think.”

I listened to the song and gave him my honest opinion. “I think it’s as good as anything on the album, maybe the best song there,” I said.

He leaned a bit closer. “I wrote that song,” he said. He’d stopped the fans, held back a lot of people because he wanted me to know he’d written the song. I still think it’s the best song on the album.

We didn’t know it, but outside the door there was a young singer, soon to be a major star, named Toby Keith standing in the line to get in to meet Chubby. I think Toby was scheduled to appear on one of the CRS shows, and I think he might have also been scheduled to appear on the Opry that night. Anyway, Toby stood outside the suite at the Opryland Hotel for several minutes in the long line, trying to get the attention of my wife so she would let him in so he could get a signed picture of Chubby. Toby was way back in the line, and was shouting at my wife; “Helen, let me in there, I’ve got a show in a few minutes. Helen.” As soon as she saw that it was Toby she held the line, explained the situation to those waiting, and Toby came in, met Chubby and got his autograph. Chubby had the star power to attract some of the biggest names in the business as well as the everyday fan on the street, and from all I could tell he treated all of them pretty much alike.

The people who attended CRS that year were privileged to see and hear not only Toby Keith, an artist who was on his way to superstardom, they also got to see Chubby Checker, one of the true icons of American music. The funny thing is, a lot of the stars in town lined up to get Chubby’s autograph and photo, because to them he was an Icon, a true super star. We had a lot of fun that spring, and I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything.

Subject: Re: Music City Memories Sun May 17, 2009 1:54 pm

Great way to handle that E.Don.

I applaud you.

Subject: Re: Music City Memories Sun May 17, 2009 2:38 pm

Dear E. Don,
You are a beaut! Inside and out. I love your rememberings.

I can see that book with the autographs of everyone of the stars you have written about on the last page.

Love,
Betty

Subject: Re: Music City Memories Sun May 17, 2009 3:29 pm

Good stuff, Don.

Subject: Re: Music City Memories Sun May 17, 2009 3:37 pm

Wish I had been a little mouse in your pocket. Music City Memories 613632

Subject: Re: Music City Memories Sun May 17, 2009 5:22 pm

Chubby Checker, wow. I learned the twist watching Chubby Checker on TV. If I had those memories, I wouldn't trade them for anything either.

Ann

» Music City Myth: A Songwriter's Survival Guide
» An Awakening
» Memories
» Childhood memories
» Memories on Veterans Day