CHAPTER 6: "Celebrity Sweepstakes: Music Edition"

Published on 8 July 2025 at 17:23

Taking It to the Stage

 

From the the time I was a small kid until today, I have never been particularly impressed or intimidated by celebrities or people with wealth. Part of that comes from my raising that people are just people no matter who they are or how famous they may be. Some of it is just how I've always viewed things, plus I was exposed to celebrity at an early age.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I've really enjoyed meeting so many celebrities over the years, which is a list so long I can't even remember them all. In my line of work in broadcasting, as a concert promoter, and in some crazy non-work scenarios, meeting extremely famous folk became common-place and part of what I do. Never cared about autographs, never really cared about getting my photos taken with them. I knew I met them and talked with them and that was enough for me. I never felt the need to share with others “Hey, look at all the famous people I met”. Plus in doing that I would just sound like a bragging blowhard. Besides, it's just what I do, not not unlike what you may do all the time in your job. And as far as getting photos are concerned, back when I worked with a lot of celebrities there were no cell phones to take selfies with, and it would be considered unprofessional in certain situations such as a sports locker room. Virtually all the old photos I have of me with a celebrity were taken by someone who then sent them to me.

 

Now having said all of that, since this is an autobiographical blog and these encounters have been a pretty significant part of my professional life, I will finally share those meetings and some pretty interesting stories involving some of them. I think and hope you'll find these tales entertaining.

 

This chapter is focused on the many music entertainers that I've either emceed a show for, interviewed, or booked as a concert promoter. I will actually get a little more in-depth about the artists that I have booked and produced shows with in some later chapters, and will do the same with the sports figures I've come in contact with over the years.

 

When I say I was exposed to celebrity at an early age, that happened because of my Mom. When she was a teenager she and my Nanny and Grandpa used to frequent the legendary live radio broadcasts of the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport. There they got to meet many prominent music artists including a very young Elvis Presley. Elvis actually picked my Mom out of a crowd of young women to specifically meet. Much like me, my Mom virtually never tells that story to anyone for the same reason I don't generally tell folks about my celebrity encounters.

 

One country artist that my family got to know well and became life-long friends with was Slim Whitman. Yes, that Slim Whitman of 1970's TV record offers and Tim Burton's film “When Mars Attacks!”, and was a popular yodeling country singer in the 1950's, 60's and 70's. Getting to know Slim led me to my second, Slim being the first, celebrity encounter in1964 when I was five years old.

 

While I have vague memories of seeing Slim perform at Magnolia Gardens in Houston, my first concert I have vivid memories of was one at the Austin Municipal Auditorium which was set along the shore of Town Lake in downtown Austin. Slim was on the bill along with Claude King (“Wolverton Mountain”), the headliners Ernest Tubb and the Texas Troubadours, and a very young up-and-coming artist who was the opener named Roger Miller. Roger had just recently released his first album which produced two big hits “Dang Me” and “Chug-A-Lug”. I loved both of those songs and was excited to see Roger perform. I remember being enchanted with the whole experience: the crowd, the lights, the music, and those powder blue rhinestone encrusted Nudie suits that Tubb and his band wore.

 

After the show I got to sit in Slim's Lincoln Continental and operate the first power windows I had ever seen. The next morning we had breakfast with Slim at the Villa Capri where Slim was staying. But the night before, after the concert, while sitting in Slim's Lincoln, we saw Roger Miller heading out to his car in the parking lot. Seeing him my sisters Gayle and Sandia and I hurried over to see about getting an autograph. Roger was as charming as he could be and talked to us and I got my autograph. But the most memorable part of the experience was when Gayle, who was about 13 at the time and who has rarely ever had a filter on her when talking to people, asked Roger “How old are you? About 40?”. Roger, who was actually 27, smiled and chuckled “Not quite”. Even at 5 years old I knew enough, looking up at Roger, to feel embarrassed at Gayle's question. But then that's my wacky but lovable big sister.

 

By the time I was in high school I had already begun doing interviews with celebrities as I became a frequent visitor to Houston Oiler football practices and writing stories for my high school newspaper. More on that in a later chapter because this chapter is about music.

 

As I looked back and tried to remember the dozens of music artists I have worked with, even I was astonished at the who's who of big names on the list. A veritable all-star cast of artists primarily country and most of the biggest names of that genre from the 1980's and early 90's.

 

So I decided to break it down in like this: Artists that I emceed shows for, artists I have interviewed, and artists I have booked. Now in many cases I did at least two of those, and some cases all three with particular artists. Now without further adieu, let me take you on a walk down a musical memory lane, that for the most part, a very joyful experience.

 

The Mount Rushmore of Country Music

 

If there is one thing I'm kind of proud of as far as dealing with famous music artists is that I emceed shows for four artists, and also interviewed one of those icons, who in my mind make up the Mount Rushmore of Country Music. Now you could make an argument for Hank Williams Sr. (but he was dead before I was born) or Johnny Cash (who unfortunately I never met), or later George Strait, but I think most folks would agree that this group of four are definitely at the top of the list of candidates for greatest and most influential Country artists of all-time.

 

Loretta Lynn – MC @ Gilley's Rodeo Arena/Pasadena, TX

Never got to visit with Miss Loretta and didn't even see her until I brought her on stage. But when I did she shook my hand, smiled sweetly, and said “Thank you” in that familiar Kentucky holler voice. That was enough for me just to have met the most awarded woman in Country Music, a living legend, the Coal Miner's Daughter.

 

Merle Haggard – MC @ Arena Theater/Houston, TX

This was an interesting gig, made so by our Program Director at KILT, Rick Candea. Rick was a HUGE Merle Haggard fan and came up with this crazy idea to make a special presentation to Merle. He had this giant piece of lumber painted with our station call letters and Merle's name adorning it. This monstrosity was hauled to various special events KILT sponsored for fans to sign beneath an inscription that said something like “KILT and Houston Love Merle!”. Then the plan was to present it to Merle at the show. Except there really wasn't a plan of how to execute this as far as I knew.

 

On the night of the show I bring on The Strangers, Merle's long-time terrific band, to play a few tunes. With Merle, if you emcee, you bring on The Strangers and they bring on Merle. Much the same with George Jones. You bring on the Jones Boys for a couple of songs and then they bring on The Possum. If you emcee for Willie you go out on stage promote your radio station or whatever and warm up the crowd. Then you walk off stage. Seconds later you hear the instantly recognizable sound of Willie's guitar strumming the first few riffs of “Whiskey River” and Willie walks on stage.

 

This night with Merle, I get done on stage and Candea says to me “Hey, I'm going to have a couple of guys carry the big sign up on stage and then you can make the presentation to Merle”. I said “Do Merle's people know about this?”, to which Candea replied smiling “No, but Merle will love it!” I'm thinking “oooo-kay”, but not feeling real sure about this. So a few songs into his set, Merle stops for a few seconds between songs and Rick tells us to jump on stage. I was first right up in the middle of the stage followed by my two cohorts hauling this big-ass sign. I say to Merle “We have a presentation we'd like to make to you and he responds “Right in the middle of the damn show?” I said “Yes, sir”, and he sort of smiled and waved me over to the microphone. I made the presentation, the crowd gave a big ovation, Merle smiled, was very gracious, shook my hand, and then show went on. I have no idea what the hell happened to that sign, but feel pretty certain Merle didn't take it on the bus with him!!

 

George Jones – MC @ Southern Star Amphitheater/Houston, TX & George Jones Country Music Park/Comesneil, TX

I had the opportunity to emcee two shows with George Jones. The first was at Southern Star Amphitheater situated at the old Astroworld amusement park just across the 610 Loop from the Astrodome. The Southern Star stage was gigantic, and this particular night George was headlining the show with T.G. Sheppard and a new-up-and-coming artist named Dwight Yoakam as the under card, and me as the emcee for the entire show.

 

I felt very honored to be asked to emcee a big Memorial Day Weekend show at the new George Jones Country Music Park located about two hours from Houston just outside of the small town of Comesniel, situated in the piney woods of East Texas. My wife D'Anna, seven months pregnant with our youngest son Kellen accompanied me, as we made the trip in the KILT Mobile Studio. When we left Houston I knew I would need to put gas in the van somewhere along the line. What I didn't prepare for though was the precious few gas stations we would find on this journey.

 

The further we drove the gas gauge was excruciatingly dipping towards empty and I started to sweat it, worrying I would be late for the gig. Even worse would be running out of gas in the middle of nowhere (remember no cell phones in 1988) on a sweltering Texas Sunday morning with a pregnant lady! DAnna, to her credit, said nothing about my stupidity while I was freaking out, but I know darn good and well she was justifiably thinking “Why does he always do this?!”. Thankfully we did finally find a gas station, averting disaster.

 

Willie Nelson – MC @ Gilley's Rodeo Arena & Interview @ Floyd Tillman Celebrity Golf Tournament/Houston, TX

Some time before I emceed the show with Willie at Gilley's, I first met him and interviewed him at the Floyd Tillman Celebrity Golf Tournament in Houston. I was standing just outside the clubhouse back door when I see Willie riding up the cart path towards me. I'm thinking “Cool, there's Willie”. Then my eyes turned to the person driving the cart and it was legendary former University pf Texas Head Coach DARRELL ROYAL!! All of a sudden Willie becomes an afterthought! You have to understand, I have been a die hard Texas Longhorn football fan since I was ten years old, when we lived in Austin and the Horns won a National Championship. To me Coach Royal was a god. I mean, c'mon, 100,00 seat plus DKR Memorial Stadium is named after him!

 

Though, as I previously stated, I am virtually never impressed by celebrity, the exception is when I've gotten to meet childhood idols. Then its as I have somewhat reverted back to childhood and have to reel in my initial awestruck reaction and turn back on my professional demeanor. Which I did and conducted by interviews with Coach and that other guy, uh, oh yeah, Willie.

 

A few years later I organized my own celebrity golf tournament in Austin featuring a slew of former Longhorn football greats. I was attending a meeting of the Austin chapter of the NFLPA (National Football League Player Association) Retired Players to drum up support and participants in my tournament., when former Green Bay Packer Al Matthews approached me and asked“Have you talked to Coach Royal?”. I responded no and that I didn't have his contact number. So Al then writes down Coach Royal's home phone number and hands it to me. Holy crap, I know have the hotline number to god!! So I call Coach Royal. Nice as he could be like when I interviewed him. He told me he would love to play in the tournament. Yes!! Unfortunately something came up the day of the tournament and Coach contacted me and said he was sorry but he wasn't able to play after all. Sure I was disappointed, but it didn't take away the joy of once again interacting with one of my biggest childhood heroes. HOOK 'EM!

 

No Stage Is Too Big

 

I have always loved emceeing concerts, and though I'm usually uncomfortable tooting my own horn, I think I'm as good as anybody anywhere doing so. Many of the shows I emceed were during my stint at KILT. I wasn't the biggest radio star at KILT, but I'm thankful Rick Candea and Dickie Rosenfeld recognized my talent on-stage, and consequently I emceed about 90% of the concerts the station hosted over about a three year period. I have never been afraid of speaking to large crowds. In fact the bigger the crowd the better. I want to do Woodstock! It is way easier to emcee a show with a huge crowd than it is a smaller one.

 

Maybe I love it so much because, at one time, I wanted to be that musician who took the stage and enchanted an adoring audience. When I was really young I used to stand on a piano bench at home (my stage) , put on my favorite band's album, play my air guitar and pantomime singing to the music. Live albums were the best because you actually had crowd noise for your imaginary audience..Well that dream obviously didn't happen, but emceeing a show is the next best thing. For several minutes I get to take center stage and be the star.

 

To me emceeing a concert is actually a very easy public speaking assignment. You usually have a very enthusiastic crowd who is in a great mood, waiting excitedly to see the bands, many probably a little liquored up. All I'm doing is getting them a little more amped up and bringing on the bands. Easy peasey and a ton of fun for me. And much like my radio shows, I virtually never have anything planned or memorized when I crack the mic. I just roll with the flow. I just feel more comfortable working off the cuff.

 

Each concert and each interview is of course different. When emceeing a show sometimes you get to spend time with the artist and get to know them a little bit. Other times it's just a brief meeting before the show, and there have been a few times I didn't meet the artist until I brought them on-stage. It's a different dynamic when you are the promoter and paying the band. Then you get to spend significant time with the artists as well you should if you booked the gig and are handing over a paycheck. And when booking an artist (especially if multiple times), you sometimes develop a friendship, direct contact with the artist without having to first deal with a booking agent or tour manager, that can lead to some special favors from the artist.

 

So there you have a little insight into some things I have always enjoyed, that have been a big part of what I do professionally. Now I present the rest of the list of the music artists I have worked with, and some stories of my experiences with them. I've dealt with Country artists by a large margin over artists in other music genres, which is great because virtually all of them are down-home, nice, regular folks, with one exception that I'll mention towards the end of this chapter. Many if not all of these artists were at the peak or near peak of their careers when I worked with them. Artists that I have booked and produced shows with will be covered in more detail in later chapters of this blog., though I will share a few tidbits in this chapter. Believe me, how I got into concert promoting may be the craziest story of all in this Improbable Life of a Regular guy!!

 

The Artists

 

Dwight Yoakam – MC @ Southern Star Amphitheater/Houston, TX; Arena Theater/ Houston, TX; & Gilley's/Pasadena, TX. Remote Broadcast @ Sound Warehouse, Houston, TX

I crossed paths with Dwight numerous times over about a one year period. So much so that I got to know him fairly well along with the members of his band. His debut album “Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.” had recently been released and was a big hit that I personally loved. Dwight was nice as he could be, and I really enjoyed visiting with his lead guitar player Pete Anderson, who is also a terrific record producer. Who knew at the time that Dwight would become a legendary star and could portray such an unsavory individuals as Doyle Hargraves in the movie “Sling Blade”, and other villainous motion picture characters.

 

T.G. Sheppard – MC x 2 @ Southern Star Amphitheater/Houston, TX

T.G had 14 #1 hits and a pile of Top 20 singles during the peak of his career. He was genuinely charming with a big smile. During one of the shows I emceed with him, the crowd wasn't as rowdy as I wanted to see, so I threatened to not bring T.G. on until they were loud enough to suit me. By the time I brought T.G. On they were crazy loud. As T.G. Walked to center stage he shook my hand with a broad smile and said “You're really good at this.”. Nothing better than an artist telling you that you're good at what you do. This would happen a number of other times at shows I worked.

 

Steve Wariner – MC @ Kenny Stabler's Diamondback Saloon/Houston, TX & Johnny B. Dalton's/Houston, TX

If someone was to ask me who the nicest artist I ever emceed a show for I would answer Steve Wariner. An incredible guitarist Steve has recorded 20 Top 20 hits including one of my all-time favorites “The Weekend”. Interesting side bar to the show I did with Steve at the Diamondback Saloon: Steve introduce his band towards the end of the show, which included Steve's brother Terry, but also on drums was George Grantham, one of the founding members of the legendary Country Rock band Poco. I was a huge fan of Poco and sought out George after the show. He was really pleased that I recognized him and we had a great conversation about Poco. Incidentally, I tried like heck to get Steve up to Michigan's Upper Peninsula when I was Executive Director of the Calumet Theatre. But, just when I had thought I had him his booking agent informed that Steve had decided not go on tour during the time frame that I was looking to book him.

 

Gene Watson – MC @ The Junction/Channelview, TX

If there was ever a venue that treated me like a king every time I walked in the door (and I did a lot of promotions there) it would have to be The Junction. Located on the outskirts of East Houston, the patrons of The Junction were friendly blue-collar folks who liked to get rowdy, so you know this show was fun! Gene, a native Houstonian, had a string of hits with over 25 Top 20 recordings including classics like “Love in the Hot Afternoon”, “Farewell Party” and Fourteen Carat Mind”. Now in his early eighties Gene still tours and still sounds great.

 

Earl Thomas Conley – MC @ Southern Star Amphitheater/Houston, TX

In my opinion, if there is one Country music artist from the 1980'st hat is shockingly underrated and underappreciated, its the late Earl Thomas Conley. Between 1980 and 1989 the man had 27 Top 20 Country hits along with 18 songs that topped the Country charts. Only Alabama had more #1 hits during that time span.

 

John Anderson – MC @ Unknown Venue/TX

Best known for the Country classics “Straight Tequila Night”, “Seminole Wind” and, of course, “Swingin”, among other hits.

 

Kris Kristofferson – MC 4 shows @ Rockefeller's/Houston, TX

I had the honor of emceeing four shows over two nights for one of the great songwriters ever, and also a pretty good actor. That was time enough for me to visit some with Kris before and between shows. He was as kind, engaging and gracious as could be. Billy Swan, best known for his 1974 #1 pop hit and one of the greatest skating rink songs of all-time “I Can Help”, was touring with Kris and sang that song during each performance. I really wanted to book Kris once I became a concert producer/promoter, but never got the opportunity. I was really saddened at his passing in 2024.

 

The O'Kanes – MC @ Rockefellers/Houston, TX

Singer-songwriters Jamie O'Hara and Kieran Kane comprised the duo The O'Kanes. Although they only spent four years together as a duo they managed to produce six Top Ten Country hits including a #1 “Can't Stop My heart From Loving You” in 1986. I loved their sort of folkie country sound and they were super nice guys, as were their band members which included Roy Yeager who played with a bunch of artists and toured with the Atlanta Rhythm Section for 3-1/2 years.

Extra bonus one of those concert nights was an appearance by native Houstonian and songwriter Mickey Newbury, member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, .and immortalized in Willie and Waylon's classic “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love). You may remember the line in one of the choruses of “Between Hank Williams' pain songs. Newbury's train song and Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”. After the show one night I walked to the venue's lobby and saw Mickey on a pay phone calling for a cab. I interrupted him and told him I'd give him a ride wherever he needed. to go. He thanked me and said he needed a lift to his hotel in the Galleria area. So Mickey hopped in the KILT Mobile Studio and off we went on about a 20 minute drive to his lodgings having a really fun and interesting conversation along the way.

 

Charlie Daniels Band – MC @ Rockefeller's/Houston, TX

If you grew up in the South like me, odds are you were already a Charlie Daniels Band fan long before the rest of the nation caught up with the release of Charlie's monster hit “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”. Another CDB classic “The South's Gonna Do It Again” was a Southern anthem eclipsed maybe by only “Sweet Home Alabama”, and the album that track was on “Fire On the Mountain” remains a favorite of mine to this day. Everyone knows about Charlie's fiddle prowess, but the man was also one helluva good guitar picker, too.

On this particular night of Charlie's show in Houston, I had the opportunity to sit backstage with Charlie and the late Bob Claypool, music critic for the Houston Post. Some folks didn't like Bob because he could come off as arrogant and snooty. But for some reason he really liked me and always invited me to sit with him whenever our paths crossed at various music venues. While backstage before the show, I didn't do much talking, but sat back and listened to these two seasoned music industry veterans talk. Charlie, in particular, had some really colorful tales to tell. And I'll tell you the man was every bit the genuine smiling, friendly country boy from Mount Juliet, Tennessee projected every time he hit the stage.

The most memorable moment of the evening backstage for me was when somehow the conversation turned to age with Charlie and Bob both lamenting getting older. During that conversation Charlie turns to me and says, “Marlin, how old are you?”, I replied “27”. He chuckled and said “You know if you were Hendrix, Janis Joplin, or Jim Morrison, you'd be dead already!”, to which we all laughed at his observation. Charlie was the real deal. A good Christian man not ashamed to share his faith, an enormous talent and an even better man. God bless you, Sir.

 

Gary Stewart – MC @ Virginia Dancehall & Saloon/Tomball, TX

For my money Gary Stewart was as good as it gets for pure, hardcore honky-tonk music releasing such barroom classics as “Drinkin' Thing”, “Out of Hand”, “Whiskey Trip”, and “She's Actin' Single (I'm Drinkin' Doubles”, which topped the country charts in 1974. No bigger than a minute Gary was yet another artist who was just kind as he could be. Tragically the day before Thanksgiving 2003 Gary's wife of 43 years, Mary Lou, died from pneumonia. On December 16 a distraught Gary took his own life. Those great songs will live on tough, brother.

 

Tanya Tucker – MC 2 shows @ Rockefeller's/Houston, TX & George Jones Country Music Park, Comesneil, TX

Tanya Tucker, a fellow Texan, is a rare example of me never getting to speak to the artist before or after a show despite multiple potential opportunities to do so. Tanya had long before I met her began cementing our legacy as a Country music icon, having her first Top 5 hit ”Delta Dawn” in 1972 when she was only 13. Over the course of her career spanning five decades, she recorded a staggering 37 Top 10 hits and ten #1 smashes. I emceed two performances in one night with Tanya at Rockfeller's in 1987 and one at George Jones Country Music Park in 1988, where she had #2 billing after George himself. Her older brother Don was her tour manager at the time and was a nice enough of guy, but for whatever reason (at least at this point in her career) Tanya did not leave her tour bus or dressing room until straight up showtime. So my only interaction with Tanya at any of those shows was when I brought her on-stage, where each time she smiled at me politely and started her performance.

 

Exile – MC @ Unknown Venue/Houston, TX

Exile was one of the most successful Country groups of the 1980's, with ten Top 10 hits. Before they moved to Country music they even had a #1 pop hit with 1978's “Kiss You All Over”. This particular show was held at some new club, that I can't remember the name of, on Houston's north side. There were many such venues that came and went during the whole “Urban Cowboy” craze.

The crowd that night was really lethargic which shocked me given Exile's current popularity. Well, I wasn't going to stand for that! As I mentioned earlier in this chapter concerning the T.G. Shepherd show where I threatened not to bring the artist on unless the crowd started getting rowdy, I did it again. Initially I don't think the crowd thought I was serious, but after several minutes of me berating them they found out I was totally serious and they finally got with it. Meanwhile Exile was in the wings watching this whole scene played out. Eventually I introduced the band to a loud ovation.

Now here's the really cool part to this story. After the band concluded their performance and I walked on stage to rally the crowd to give them an appreciative send-off for a great performance, the band motioned me over to take a bow with them. I had always wanted to be in that situation where a band puts their arms over their band mate's shoulders as they take a group bow together and now I was doing it! A fantasy come true!What a terrific group of guys Exile is, and they are still out touring, still sounding great, and amazingly still have their classic band lineup intact after almost 50 years.

 

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – MC @ Houston Farm & Ranch Club/Houston, TX

Talk about good sports that I've worked with, that would be the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. This show was in 1988 at an outdoor venue with a covered stage. NGDB were the headliners with John Conlee and Roy Head as the under card. The band was at the peak of popularity in the 80's with fifteen Top 10 hits between 1984 and 1989, including the all-time classic “Fishin' in the Dark”, which is still today a certified multi-generational sing-a-long crowd pleaser. Not to mention the fact that NGDB had years before recorded probably the most famous version of “Mr. Bojangles”.

When I brought the band on to start their performance, about thirty seconds into whatever song they opened with, the sound system died. The band good-naturedly smiled and walked off stage as the sound techs sought to find the problem and I did my best to entertain the crowd. Well apparently the problem was solved, I brought the band back on, and darned if it didn't happen again! So we repeat the previous process again. Now there are a lot of artists that would have been pissed and thrown a fit, but to their credit the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band did not. So, we try it one more time. I bring the band back on-stage, we briefly joked about what had happened previously, I asked the audience to cross their fingers and said it was going to be third time lucky and thankfully it was, and the band put on a great show.

Years later while Executive Director of the Calumet Theatre I tried pretty hard to bring the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but unfortunately we couldn't make schedules coordinate and I never got them booked.

 

Jerry Jeff Walker – MC @ Unknown Venue/Austin, TX

This one was a real treat for me as I had always been a fan of Jerry Jeff and “Viva Terlingua!” is one of my favorite all-time albums. I did this show while I worked at KASE/KVET in Austin. My brother Eric and I got to hang out backstage with Jerry Jeff, just the three of us, and had a fun visit. The man who wrote “Mr. Bojangles” and other great tunes was as warm and engaging as he could be.

 

Eddy Raven – MC @ BootKikkers/ Dickinson, TX

Eddy had a total of eighteen Top 10 hits and six songs that topped the charts (my personal favorite is “I Got Mexico”), during the peak of his popularity. Eddy also penned hits for other artists such as the Oak Ridge Boys sweetly sentimental“Thank God For Kids”. Speaking of great songwriters, Eddy's guitarist and band leader at the time was Frank Myers. Who is Frank Myers you ask? Well besides co-writing many of Eddy's hits, he is responsible for writing three of the best ballads ever: Eddie Rabbit and Crystal Gayle's duet smash “You and I” (sung at D'Anna's and my wedding), “I Swear” the Grammy-winning hit for John Michael Montgomery and later a hit for All-4-One, and the beautiful “I'm Already There” by Lonestar.

 

Dan Seals – MC @ Grant County Fairgrounds/Lancaster, WI & Interview @ Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

I liked Dan Seals when he was one half of the duo England Dan & John Ford Foley who had pop hits like “I'd Really Love to See You Tonight” and “Nights Are Forever Without You”. Dan later moved over to Country music where between 1985 and 1990 he had a string of eleven #1 hits. I interviewed him at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo where he was the opener for Reba McEntire that night. About eight years later I emceed a show with him at the Grant County Fair in Lancaster, Wisconsin. A fellow Texan, Dan was a very talented and nice man, who sadly passed way too soon in 2009 from cancer at the age of 61.

 

Louise Mandrell MC @ Lafayette County Fairgrounds/Darlington, WI

This show was memorable for a couple of reasons. The first being that the heat index that day in Darlington was 120 degrees, the hottest day I ever experienced in 15 years as a Wisconsin resident. I grew up in the sometimes hellishly heat and humidity of Houston, Texas and I was dying doing a remote broadcast outside. The Wisconsin folks must have really thought they were in hell! Second reason this show was memorable is that it was Louise Mandrell's birthday.

I was Program Director at WGLR at the time, and our Music Director Ryan McCall was a gigantic Mandrell sisters fan who had arranged to bring a cake to present to Louise during her performance. The fact that the cake didn't melt by showtime is a miracle. At some point during the show I walked out on stage and told Louise and the crowd we had a special presentation to make with Ryan following me with the birthday cake. I asked the crowd to join us in singing Happy Birthday to Louise. At this point Louise turned to me and Ryan and said “No. I want you and Ryan to sing Happy Birthday to me” Who am I to say no to Louise Mandrell, so Ryan and I obliged with the help of the audience who chimed in once we got started. It was a cool way to end a brutally hot day.

 

Johnny Paycheck – MC @ Gilley's Rodeo Arena/Pasadena, TX

When I emceed this show with Johnny he was in the midst of an appeal of a conviction for shooting a guy. Considering that I was a little apprehensive about meeting him. My fears were unfounded as he turned out to be a very sweet and appreciative little guy. He rolled through his hits such as “Slide Off of Your Satin Sheets”, “She's All I Got”, and his signature tune “Take This Job and Shove It.” Johnny eventually served 22 months in prison for his conviction before being pardoned by Ohio Governor Richard Celeste.

 

Joe Stampley – MC @ Unknown Venue/Houston, TX

I'm pretty sure Joe was loaded for this show, but he managed to pull off a decent set of his hits including those he did with Moe Bandy, minus Moe.

 

Moe Bandy – MC & Interview/Virginia City Dancehall & Saloon/Tomball, TX

Moe Bandy recorded 51 songs that made the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart between 1974 and 1989, including two number ones. He had a lot of great tunes but my personal favorites are “Americana”, and two outstanding duets, “It's a Cheating Situation” (with Janie Fricke), and “Let's Get Over Them Together” (with Becky Hobbs) And who can ever forget the parody music video he did with Joe Stampley both dressed like Boy George!

When I did this show with Moe, I not only emceed the concert, but also interviewed him for what was supposed to be a segment for a country music video show that was to air locally. I had been selected by KILT brass to host the weekly show filmed at Virginia City. We had filmed much of the first three episodes, but unfortunately their was a disagreement between KILT GM Dickie Rosenfeld & KPRC 2, the Houston NBC affiliate as to what time the show would air. So damn, my chance at hosting my first TV show went down the crapper. On the bright side Moe was a wonderful interview subject. Many years later I ran into Moe at one of his concerts in Fort Worth. While backstage stepped up to Moe and figured he would never remember me after all those years. Yet when I told him who I was and where we had previously met, he smiled, shook my hand, and said he remembered me. Whether he truly did or was just being kind doesn't matter to me. I enjoyed working with him and seeing him again.

 

Larry Stewart – MC @ Cassville Twin-O-Rama, Cassville, WI

The lead singer of Restless Heart decided to go out on his own when this show took place on the banks of the Mississippi. Larry has a great voice, but his solo career only had minor success before he returned to Restless Heart, who were one of the the most successful Country groups of the '80's and early '90's that wasn't named Alabama.

 

John Conlee – MC @ Houston Farm & Ranch Club & Kenny Stabler's Diamondback Saloon/Houston, TX

John Conlee is a somewhat quietly hugely successful Country music artist. His name would likely never come up when discussing the biggest artists of the 1980's. But the man had twenty-three Top 10 Country hits between 1978 and 1987, including seven chart toppers. His debut hit, which reached #5, was “Rose Colored Glasses”, which became his signature song, and to this day he still wears a pair of of rose colored glasses on his head at each performance. Much like his singing style, John was laid back and almost seemed like your next door neighbor. By the way, I do a half-decent John Conlee singing impersonation, though I'm quite sure it would be pretty rusty by now.

 

Ricky Van Shelton – MC @ George Jones Country Music Park,/Comesneil, TX

This was a very anti-climactic concert introduction. This was 1988 and Ricky had just recently embarked on a music career that yielded sixteen Top 20 hits and nine #1's. He was a hot new artist at the time and was given third billing under George Jones and Tanya Tucker at this show. Unfortunately Ricky couldn't perform that day because of a bout with laryngitis. So I had to inform the large audience who responded in unison with ”Awe” and then brought Ricky on-stage to smile and wave at the crowd who politely responded with a nice ovation.

 

Con Hunley – MC @ Virginia City Dancehall & Saloon/Tomball, TX

Con is a really good singer, and super nice guy, but despite having 11 Top 20 Country hits he never achieved really big-time status. That was probably due in part to that his music style didn't really fit the traditional country standard. He was almost blue-eyed country soul, best reflected in his outstanding cover of The Chi-Lites classic “Oh, Girl”

 

Lionel Cartwright – MC @ Unknown Venue/Victoria, TX

Lionel had a short shelf life as a Country music star, but it certainly was a good one. I first became with Lionel for his role in the 1980' Nashville Networks' music- sitcom “I-40 Paradise”. By the end of the decade he had a major recording deal with MCA producing a number of hits including “ “I watched it All on the Radio”, “Give Me is Last Chance” and a #1 tune (and my personal favorite which he also wrote) “Leap of Faith”.

 

Sweethearts of the Rodeo – Unknown Venue/Victoria, TX

Much like Lionel Cartwright the Sweethearts had a short shelf life as a country duo, but long enough to produce seven Top 10 singles. The duo was a sister act comprised of Janis Gill (Vince Gill's wife at the time) and Kristine Arnold. I was fortunate to do this show with them and Lionel Cartwright at just about the peak of their popularity.

 

Mundo Earwood – MC @ Pasadena Livestock Show & Rodeo/Pasadena, TX

Mundo had a number of Country Top 40 releases, but he never hit it big nationally. However he had a really solid following in Texas, especially in the Houston area, where he performed for decades.

 

Cody Johnson – MC @ Crider's Rodeo & Dancehall/Hunt, TX

While most of the shows I've emceed over my career have been with what would now be considered “Classic” country or rock artists, Cody Johnson is an exception, and a perfect example of how an artist can hit it big almost overnight. The show I did with Cody was around 2015 at the legendary Crider's Rodeo and Dancehall, a short drive from tiny Hunt, Texas alongside the banks of the Guadalupe River. Sadly this beloved venue was severely damaged by the recent devastating and tragic flood here in the Texas Hill Country. Thankfully no one was injured or lost in this disaster including my friends Tracy and Bill Moore, owner/operators of Crider's. In fact, the venue has been in Bill's family since opening in 1925.

Crider's is a pure slice of Americana and an Lone Star State icon with its rodeo competitions followed by great Country music every Saturday night throughout the summer. With its outdoor open-air dance floor it exudes Texas charm. On any given night you'll see multi-generations of patrons, often times whole families from toddlers to great-grand-parents two-stepping at the same time across the large dance floor. Throw in a cold beer and good food and you're living the good life cowboy style.

I heard of Cody, a native Texan from near Huntsville, prior to this show via some of his songs played on regional Texas radio. Yes, Texas is the only state in the union to have it's own regional Top 100 music chart. Well the night of the show Crider's had a huge crowd with even more than the usual large number of young people in attendance. It was obvious Cody had already built a substantial following in the region. He was a very nice young man and when I brought him om-stage the crowd, especially the young ones, immediately rushed the stage. After seeing this and watching Cody and his band perform live, I had a pretty good inkling this young Texan was bound for bigger things, and that would turn out to be an understatement.

In 2018 Cody became the first independent/unsigned artist to sellout a concert at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He has since gone on to win multiple CMA and ACM awards and now sells out huge arenas across the US as headliner. So its kind of cool for me to look back the beginnings of a star.

 

The Geezenslaw Brothers – MC @ Unknown Austin Area Venue

This one was fun and I even involved D'Anna, Marlin III, and Kellen on-stage with me. The Geezenslaws were an Austin-based Country music comedy act, comprised of Sammy Allred and Dewayne “Son” Smith, who performed together for over 50 years. Sammy was also a long-time Austin disc jockey best known for the hugely popular Sam and Bob (Cole) Morning Show on KVET. For a time I worked at KVET and its sister station KASE. I worked every shift there was to work at KVET except the morning show, and that is where I started using the on-air name of “Duelin' Luke Dalton”. I sometimes worked the Midnight-to 5AM shift preceding Sam and Bob. Sammy always referred to my as Luke the Drifter, a name Hank Williams Sr for himself on several recordings.

The show I did with Sam and Son was in some big aluminum building, I believe it was in Pflugerville just north of Austin, that looked like it could have housed a machine shop, but instead had tables and chairs, concessions and a stage. This show came on the heels of the Geezens' novelty hit “Help I'm White & I Can't Get Down”. So when the boys started that song me, D”Anna and the boys, plus other kids from the crowd, all donned sunglasses and struck hip-hop poses while Sam and Son played. This was a really fun and special moment for me having family on-stage with me for the first time.

 

Shake Russell – MC Blue Sage Hall/Ingram, TX

How I never met or worked with Shake Russell before before 2017 is a mystery. With me working Houston radio as long as I did and Shake playing Houston music venues, either as a sole or as part of the Shake Russell Dana Cooper Band for so many years, somehow it never happened. Always a huge fan of his work, especially his touching self-penned classics “Deep in the West” and “Two Silverhearts”, it was a real treat to finally meet, visit with, and emcee a show with him.

 

Shotgun Red – MC @ George Jones Country Music Park/Comesneil, TX

How many can say they've emceed a show for a puppet? I can, having done so with Shotgun Red as the opener of a package show at George Jones Country Music Park. You may remember that Shotgun Red, puppeteered by Steve Hall, was co-host of Ralph Emery's Nashville Now show for ten years, and a regular on Hee-Haw for eight years. That was uniquely fun experience interacting with Shotgun when I brought him on-stage.

 

Radney Foster – MC @ Cassville Twin-O-Rama/Cassville, WI & 2 x Blue Sage Hall, Ingram, TX

You may have noticed that in most of my blog chapters I include a video or two that kind of fit the chapter's subject matter. You'll see a few of Radney Fosters later in this blog. I just love Radney! From all the way back to his Foster & Lloyd years to today I have been a big fan. He is one of my favorite singer-songwriters, a great live performer and a sweetheart of a guy. Plus it's always nice when an artist gives you a compliment. I remember doing a show with Radney (my third) at Blue Sage Hall in Ingram, Texas. When I brought him on-stage he said, “I love doing shows with Marlin because when says my name with that big voice of his, I feel like a big shot”. Thank you, my friend! In my book you've always been a big shot.

 

Pake McEntire – MC @ Crosby Fair & Rodeo/Crosby, TX

McEntire? Yep, Reba's older brother who had a brief moment in the Country music sun in the late 80's topped by a #3 charted hit “Savin' My Love For You”.

 

Baillie & the Boys – MC @ The Junction/Channelview, TX

This trio comprised of Kathie Ballie, her husband Michael Bonaggura, and Alan LeBoeuf had a nice little run on the Country charts between 1987 and 1991. During that time span they had seven Top 10 singles, my favorite being “(Wish I had A} Heart of Stone” which peaked at #4. Nice folks, really good harmonies, and the usual appreciative and boisterous crowd at The Junction made for a fun night.

 

Roy Head – MC @ Houston Farm & Ranch Club & Other Venues

When it came to showmanship Roy Head was tough to top. I did multiple shows with Roy over a number of years. Roy was born in Three Rivers, Texas, and started his first band at age 16 in San Marcos called The Traits.. His co-written hit, and released as “Roy Head and the Traits”, “Treat Her Right” hit #2 on both the Billboard and R&B charts (quite unusual for a white artist at that time) in 1965. The Beatles “Yesterday” was the song that kept Roy from hitting the top slot. Treat Her Right” has been covered by dozens of artists including ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, Otis Redding, and Bruce Springsteen

Roy had moves on-stage Mick Jagger would be jealous of and that never changed when he was starting to get up in age, and he still had loyal middle-aged female groupies that would follow him to shows. Never to be out-staged, Roy showed up at the Farm and Ranch Club gig in a Rolls Royce limousine! For those of you who follow “American Idol,” Roy's son Sundance Head (who was just a little squirt when I did shows with Roy) was a semi-finalist in 2007, and was the winner of “The Voice's” season 11 finals in 2016.

 

Randy Travis – Interview @ Gilley's/Pasadena, TX

This was a weird one. I interviewed Randy after his show at Gilley's. His career was just starting to really take off and he was hot as a firecracker. Randy wasn't the issue as he was very gracious. The problem for me was his manager (who later became his wife and was sixteen years older than Randy) Lib Hatcher. That woman stared a whole through me, sitting next to Randy, as if she was hanging on every question I asked. I'm virtually never nervous doing interviews, but she was creeping me out. She was obviously a very controlling person and I'm glad she and Randy finally split.

 

George Strait – Interview @ Doug Sanders Celebrity Golf Tournament

This was a real fun one! It was either 1986 or 87 and I was at the Doug Sanders Celebrity Golf Tournament to do interviews, accompanied by my trusty sidekick and college intern Dan “Boy Wonder” Cryer. A lot of big celebrities were on hand among them rising Texas superstar George Strait. So where did we do the interview? Riding shotgun with George as he drove his golf cart from hole to hole, with Boy Wonder riding on the back. George was just the regular guy he projects on stage, plus it was fun watching him hack away at golf balls with swooning women cheering every good (or bad) shot he made.

 

Reba McEntire – Interview @ Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

Miss Reba was just like you see her on TV when I interviewed her before her performance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Big smile, funny and charming. This was 1987, and while already a big star, her career would soon really take off and eventually make her an entertainment icon.

 

Ray Benson (Asleep at the Wheel) – Interview @ Sound Warehouse/Houston, TX

Asleep at the Wheel performed live at this KILT remote broadcast I was doing, back in the good old days when BIG radio promotions such as this were commonplace in big market, and there were actually large record stores where you go in look around and purchase the latest music on vinyl or cassette. Some new artist with wild Eraserhead hair did a short solo set beforehand. His name was Lyle Lovett. Oh, by the way Dwight Yoakam and his band were signing autographs at this event.

Ray Benson is a six foot seven inch Jew from Philadelphia who formed Asleep at the Wheel in 1970 before heading down to Texas in 1973 at the suggestion of Willie Nelson. Since then the band has become one of best bands anywhere of carrying on the tradition of Western Swing music and earned nine Grammy awards in the process.

At this remote I'm doing live on-air breaks in the KILT Mobile Studio. My late very dear friend Chuck Joseph was the jock on-air back at the KILT Studios. Chuck, who was beloved by all, had this gravely very distinctive voice that many of us, his co-workers, would imitate from time to time. So on one break Chuck sends it out to me with Ray, who with his gigantic size, was a struggle to squeeze into the Mobile Studio. When Chuck sent it out to me I told him I had Ray Benson with me and asked Ray to say hello to Chuck. Ray has a very deep voice himself and when he responded to say hello to Chuck, he did the most dead-on Chuck Joseph impersonation ever! Chuck almost peed himself laughing! It was classic! Moments like these were so awesome and we had way too much fun doing live unscripted radio.

 

Lyle Lovett – Interview @ Sound Warehouse/Houston, TX

Lyle Lovett was just emerging on the music scene as a solo artist with his first Top 10 hit “Cowboy Man” in 1986, which we had been playing on KILT. Our Promotions Director Mary Jo Prince introduced me to Lyle after his performance. She was all giddy because Lyle, who was born and raised in Houston, was a fellow alumni of Texas A&M. Great, two Aggies! You have to know that I'm a huge Texas Longhorn fan to understand my feelings for Aggies, but these two were ok, and after all they are fellow Texans which trumps (don't get triggered with TDS by that word!) anything else.

I talked with Lyle for a few minutes and he had that typical Texas charm and friendliness. Who would have thought that in 1993 he would marry Julia Roberts!! Today Lyle with his awesome Large Band who play tunes that span a wide spectrum of musical genres

 

Conway Twitty – Interview @ KILT Studios/Houston, TX

I was never a fan of Conway's music, especially when he did those hideous covers of pop songs in the early 80's such as “The Rose”, and worse yet “Three Times A Lady” where he sounded constipated on the choruses. But I liked his later stuff such as “That's My Job”, “Fallin' For You For Years”, “Desperado Love” and others. What made a forever a Conway fan though was not his music,

but actually meeting and visiting with the man. He was very warm and kind and our conversation was like I had known him for years. Not many years later in 1993, Conway passed way too young at age of 59. I was on-the-air at KVET in Austin when the word came across the AP wire and announced his passing to my listening audience. It made me sad, but also made me glad that I had the opportunity to spend a little time with Harold Lloyd Jenkins.

 

Randy Owen (Alabama) – Interview @ Unknown Houston Hotel

Alabama was in Houston for a concert date when I met Randy Owen, lead singer of the iconic band. What can you say about Alabama other than they are the most popular Country band of all-time who paved the way for other Country bands which were unusual until Alabama hit the scene. Their record of 32 number one hits and 50 Top Ten hits will likely never be broken by a band. They had approached their peak when I met Randy. Despite the incredible success and popularity the band had achieved, Randy was the Southern gentleman you might hope he'd be, and like the title of Alabama's 1990 #1 hit, he was definitely “Down Home”

 

Lee Greenwood – Interview @ Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

This was a quickie interview following Lee's performance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Like most of the music artists I have dealt with, he was very accommodating and cordial. And if you are an American and love your country (which sadly, disturbingly and ridiculously is becoming less common), how can you not love “God Bless the USA”, and the man who wrote and recorded this patriotic classic?

 

Johnny Rodriguez – Interview @ Gilley's/Pasadena, TX

Johnny was born in Sabinal, Texas, less than an hour from where we live in Bandera. Johnny was the first Country singer of American of Mexican descent to become well known. During his long career Johnny amassed nineteen Top 10 singles including six number ones. My Nanny loved Johnny's music and a number of his albums in her collection. Among my favorite Rodriguez songs are “Pass Me By”, “Down On the Rio Grande”, “Ridin 'My Thumb to Mexico” and That's The Way Love Goes”. Small in stature but long on talent, Johnny was joy to interview with that million dollar smile of his. Sadly he recently passed away In May of 2025 in San Antonio oat the age of 73.

 

Slim Whitman – Radio Interview @ WPVL-FM/Platteville, WI

You heard all about Slim earlier in this chapter, but I did do a radio interview with him in the late 90s during my stint at WPBVL in Wisconsin.

 

John Kay (Steppenwolf) – Interview @ Unknown Houston Hotel

As I mentioned earlier in this chapter, the interviews and meeting artists I grew up admiring when I was a kid were the ones I've always gotten the biggest kick out of.. John Kay, lead singer of Steppenwolf falls into that category. Is their a more iconic recognizable song than “Born to Be Wild”? Steppenwolf Live, which I bought in 1970 when I was eleven years old, still remains a favorite album

I met and interviewed John in his hotel room as Steppenwold was booked to play a local Houston music venue. This interview was filmed tin 1984 to be a segment in a propose local music video show that never happened. It also happened to be John's 40th birthday so we brought him a cake and sang Happy Birthday to him which genuinely pleased John. Contrary to that black leather wearing, ever present sunglasses rock and roll persona on-stage, John turned out to be one of the most intelligent human beings I have ever interviewed. We talked well over an hour about subjects ranging from history, politics, of course music, and more. To this day talking with John remains one of my favorite interviews out of countless hundreds.

 

Tony Carey (Planet P) – Interview @ Unknown Venue

Who the hell is Tony Carey you might be asking yourself? Well to begin with he was a quirky but nice interview subject, and though you might not remember the name, you may well remember a video of Tony's if you were a watcher of early MTV. Tony had been a keyboard player for Richie Blackmore's Rainbow before going solo where he had a rock radio hit under the name Planet P Project entitled “Why Me”. But his biggest claim to fame came shortly thereafter with the release of a really good single and great video called “A Fine, Fine Day”, under his own name. The song peaked at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached #1 on the Top Rock Tracks chart. Much of that success was driven by the video which received heavy airplay on MTV and still today, in my opinion of the best videos of the early MTV era.

 

The Concert Producer and Promoter

 

Some artists in this category will be covered in later chapters of my blog. Man, there are some good stories in this bunch, so get ready!

 

Wynonna Judd – Interview at The Summit/Houston, TX & Booked Show (Theatre Board Cancelled) @ Calumet Theatre/Calumet MI

I interviewed Wy before a show in Huston, and then had her booked as part of my incredible lineup for the 2021 Calumet Theatre season. But the Theatre board canned me and cancelled the entire season a day before the lineup was to be announced. Idiots!!!

 

Tommy Emmanuel – Virtual Interview & Booked Show (Theatre Board Cancelled) @ Calumet Theatre/Calumet, MI

This show, more than any other, broke my heart with its cancellation. Tommy is an incredibly nice man and extremely humble to have been named by Eric Clapton as the world's greatest guitar player. I had another phenomenal Australian guitarist, Joe Robinson, on the bill with Tommy. Calumet, Michigan you truly missed out on this one once again due to the ignorance of the Calumet Theatre board at that time.

 

Kathy Mattea – MC @ Hill Country Arts Foundation/Ingram, TX; Radio Interview @ The Hill Country Patriot/Kerrville, TX; Booked (Covid Cancdllation) @ Calumet Theatre/Calumet, MI

Kathy is such a sweetheart. Unfortunately another show that had to be cancelled due to Covid in 2020. But I did get a chance to emcee a show for her a few years earlier in Ingram, Texas, one of the towns sadly has been ravaged by the tragic Texas floods.

 

Rodney Crowell – MC, Booked & Produced Show @ Calumet Theatre,/Calumet, MI

 

Blackhawk – MC, Booked & Produced Show @ Lake Fanny Hooedown/Copper Harbor, MI

 

Joe Nichols – MC, Booked, & Produced Show @ Lake Fanny Hooedown/Copper Harbor, MI

 

Robbie Fulks – MC, Booked, & Produced Show @ Calumet Theatre/Calumet, MI

If you don't know Robbie Fulks you shuld. A tremendous Alt-Country singer-songwriter and hellacious picker, he was nominated for two Grammys in 2016. In his encoe at the Calumet Theatre he made up a song on the spot about is expereince at the Theatre that night and I was included in the lyrics! Pretty cool!!

 

Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad) – MC, Booked & Produced Show @ REVFEST/Kerrville, TX & Booked Show (Covid Cancellation) @ Calumet Theatre/Calumet, MI

 

Shelby Lynne – MC, Booked, & Produced Show @ Calumet Theatre/Calumet, MI

This honestly was vanity booking for me, as I've always felt Shelby was a monumental who wasn't as big a star as she could have been because she was a maverick and shunned fame. Starting out in country music when she was quite young, she the effortlessly moved over to Pop where she won the 2001 Best New Artist Grammy, which struck me as funny because she had been in the music business for years. More on Shelby in a later chapter. Bonus from my dealings with Shelby was meeting Ben Peeler who was her accompanist. Ben is a great guy I now consider a friend. He was a founding member of The Mavericks & currently tours with Jakob Dylan (Bon's son) and The Wallflowers. D'Anna and I took him, the afternoon of the show, on a tour of the Keweenaw Peninsula, a beautiful part of Michigan's UP all the way up to Copper Harbor. The whole weekend of the show was a lot of fun for me.

 

The Fabulous Thunderbirds – MC, Booked & Produced Show at REVFEST/Kerrville, TX & Calumet Theatre/Calumet, MI

 

The Texas Tornados – MC, Booked & Produced Show X2 @ REVFEST/Kerrville, TX

 

The Outlaws – MC, Booked & Produced Show @ REVFEST/Kerrville, TX & the Calumet Theatre/Calumet, MI

If there is any group of national musicians I have a close relationship with it would be the guys of The Outlaws and Blackhawk. Henry Paul was a founding member of and primary vocalist for both bands. The Outlaws are best known for their soaring guitar anthem “Green Grass and High Tides”, which only “Freebird” could possibly eclipse. Blackhawk had a string of hits in the 90s such “Goodbye Says It all: and “Every Once In Awhile” In between Henry's stints with those two bands, he had a successful run in the 1980's with the Henry Paul Band.

Now Henry and the boys book shows nationally ,as either The Outlaws or Blackhawk, with original member of Blackhawk Dave Robbins is part of both units. Both bands absolutely kick ass ebery tie they take the stage. Henry is a prince of a guy and now I call him first about booking a show before I contact the booking agent

 

Lee Roy Parnell – MC, Booked & Produced Show @ Calumet Theatre/Calumet, MI & MC @ Blue Sage Hall, Ingram, TX

LRP is a slide guitar wizard and Country hit maker. When I nooked my first and omly season at the Calumet Theatre, I relied heavily on artists I had worked with before and many who were native Texans like Lee Roy. When the show was vber and LRP was aout to headed out, he gave me a ig hug and said, “Marlin, you're a good 'un”. Thansk, Lee Roy, so are you..

 

Ricky Skaggs – MC, Booked & Produced Show @ Lake Fanny Hooedown/Copper Harbor, MI & MC @ Lake Jackson, TX

 

Uncle Lucius – MC, Booked & Produced Shows @ REVFEST/Kerrville, TX & ArmadilloFest/Taylor, TX

 

The Leroi Brothers – MC, Booked & Produced Show @ ArmadilloFest/Taylor, TX

 

Dale Watson – MC, Booked & Produced Show at CriderFest/Hunt TX; MC & Booked Show @ Gillespie County Fair/Fredericksburg, TX; & MC @ Blue Sage Hall, Ingram, TX

I've known Dale Watson for 43 years, first meeting him when he was just kid playing Houston area honky-tonks. If you want old school RESL Country music with a side of comedy, Dale is your man. Plus he's a helluva guitar player.

 

And the Biggest A-Hole is....

 

David Allan Coe – Attempted Interview @ Gilley's/Pasadena, TX

I won't keep you in suspense any longer. I have emceed shows for and interviewed literally hundred of music artists. Virtually all of them were accommodating and courteous. But then there is one, David Allan Coe. I was quite a fan of his music. In fact two friends of mine, Tommy Childs and the late Daryl Andersen aks Dr. Trivia formed a trivia contest team called The Sons of David Allan Coe. Twice a week for about six weeks at Kenny Stabler's (the former Oakland Raider and Houston Oiler QB) Diamondback Saloon in Southeast Houston, would have a trivia contest, that if you won you received $100 and a $100 dollar bar tab for the night. We went undefeated. In fact, towards the end of the competition fellow bar patrons stopped entering as soon as they saw us! We split the money three ways with each victory, but there was no way in hell we we could drink that much liquor in one night at 1982 prices. So we became the most popular guys in the bar buying drinks for almost everyone in the house!!

OK, back to DAC. When I first saw him before his show, he was actually sitting alone at a table near the stage out in Gilley's cavernous confines. I walked to up him, introduced myself and asked for an interview. He looked at me for a second, and while I don't remember his exact words, but it involved some profanity as he less than politely told me hit the bricks. So I did muttering to myself that was the biggest f'n a-hole celebrity I''d ever met and he still holds that dubious title to this day! Congratulations, David, you a-hole!!

 

The Next Chapter

 

I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I loved reminiscing. One of the cool things about being a concert promoter is being able to book artists that I have been a fan of for decades. I do have a few artists that are still on my wish list that I would love to produce a show with. Top of that list will always be my almost lifetime musical idol, Jackson Browne. I guess I better get on than quick as neither he or I are getting any younger! In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy a special Jackson Browne video message sent to me by old friend Doug Fager. Jackson addressed me as “Dalton” and asked why he hadn't seen me in the gym lately, referencing the fact that Doug and I used to spend a lot of time together in the Lancaster High School weight room. Pretty darn cool! Thanks, Doug!

 

In my next Blog chapter I answer the question many have asked me over the years, “Did you always want to be in broadcasting and the entertainment business?”. You may be surprised with the answer, so get ready for Chapter 7 “Hail to the Chief”!



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