Friday, January 13, 2012

Remembering Charlie Collins

I found out earlier this morning that Charlie Collins has passed away at the age of 78. Charlie was born in 1933 near Caryville, Tennessee. After serving in the Army, he joined the Pinnacle Mountain Boys and after entering the Pet Milk talent contest, they made it all the way to the Grand Ole Opry. In 1966, Charlie moved to Nashville and joined up with Roy Acuff, becoming one of the Smoky Mountain Boys. He remained a member until Roy's death in 1992, after which Charlie played guitar with Brother Oswald. Charlie also was part of the Opry's Squaredance Band with Earl White, continuing in that role through last week's Opry show.

I had the pleasure of meeting Charlie one time and that was in Opryland back in the 1990s. He was friendly and I enjoyed meeting him. He even signed a birthday card for my wife. People tell me he was a joy to have around the Opry and he will be missed.

I know Charlie was not an official member of the Opry, but he has been a part of the show for the last 45 years. I hope that during this weekend's shows Pete Fisher will give a special mention to Charlie and that the shows will be dedicated to him. For sure, I would expect something to be said when the squaredancers come out for their performance.

Prayers and thoughts go to Charlie's family through this difficult time.

12 comments:

  1. I saw this on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1loqInX264. Thought I'd share it. Vince Gill is on tonight and I would expect him to say or do something. Charlie certainly deserves a tribute.

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  2. Thanks for the You Tube link. And like you, I fully expect Vince to mention Charlie tonight.

    (byron)

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  3. Peter Cooper did a nice piece for The Tennessean, including good quotes from Sam Bush and Mike Webb, along with a different You Tube link: http://blogs.tennessean.com/tunein/2012/01/13/country-multi-instrumentalist-charlie-collins-dies-at-78/.

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  4. I had to leave the computer at intermission, but a nice touch. Riders in the Sky closed their segment, as they always do, with "Happy Trails," and they usually say, at the end, "Happy trails to you, and you, and" then Too Slim says the announcer's name. Tonight he said, "and to you Charlie."

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  5. At the end of the show last night, Vince Gill, The Whites and Ricky Skaggs all sang, "Go Rest High On That Mountain" and dedicated it to Charlie. They did an awesome job with it. Thanks for the link to the Tennessean article. I also posted it on my facebook page. I am glad other artists also remembered.

    (byron)

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  6. Thanks, and that was nice to close the show that way. Fisher really should do an announcement to open the show tonight, as they do when a member dies, granting that Charlie wasn't a member in the usual sense. But--and I don't mean this in my usual nasty way--if they are going to list every Opry performer on the website instead of just members, they can do a formal tribute.

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  7. Continuing on with the fact that Charlie was not a member, I do remember when Waylon Jennings died that they dedicated the show to him. So it has been done in the past.

    (byron)

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  8. George Hamilton IV did a gospel song that he dedicated to Charlie. When it was time for the square dancers, Ricky Skaggs talked about Charlie and asked Earl White to talk, and he told a great story: the night he and Charlie were to do the televised portion and got so caught up in the music they were playing in the dressing room, they missed it completely! Ricky asked if he could play and Earl said, yes, otherwise it would be a bit lonely up there. So, while they didn't dedicate the show to Charlie--and if they did it for Waylon, they certainly should have for someone who was there for 45 years--they certainly didn't let him go unmentioned.

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  9. I had to miss most of last night's show due to a company dinner. I did catch the last part of Bill Anderson's final segment. I will be listening to the archive as soon as WSM puts it on their site. It sounded like a great show and I am glad that numerous artists mentioned Charlie.

    It will be interesting to see if they replace Charlie with another guitar player for the square dancers or if they will just rotate someone different every week. I hate to say it, but Pete Fisher might find this as another way to cut out a musician each week and save another hundred dollars.

    (byron)

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  10. I remember that when Ed Hyde became ill (and later died), Herman Crook wanted to hire Earl White to replace him. The management--I guess it was Hal Durham--pushed instead just to include the staff band. Mr. Crook felt that would essentially end his band, fought it, and won. And now Earl is the last performer on the Opry with ties to the original cast.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Michael. You are second only to Byron in your Opry insights.
      -- Fred in Bismarck

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  11. Fred, I appreciate it, but I'll take at least third behind Byron and you.

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