tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post7291569719422403551..comments2024-03-28T13:34:02.271-04:00Comments on Fayfare's Opry Blog: May Opry Highlightsfayfarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00173166778978335059noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-91997766186858427802012-05-02T18:12:22.822-04:002012-05-02T18:12:22.822-04:00Fred in Bismarck:
Thanks, Byron. Pretty sly about...Fred in Bismarck:<br /><br />Thanks, Byron. Pretty sly about Travis Tritt.<br /><br />I will second Nat and Oldtime about Porter. He was one of the last of the authentic country boys; listening to him the other night, I marveled anew at his singing style, so plain yet so expressive. I would run him right up there with Hank Williams for greatest pure country voice (male category).<br /><br />As for his country background, he reminisced somewhere about the old farmer back home who tried to throw cold water on his youthful ambitions, telling him he would "never do anything but look up the hind end of a mule."<br /><br />Porter said, "I wish I could see him now." He seems to have the sentiment backward ... but maybe not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-63299717369849347742012-05-02T10:38:28.025-04:002012-05-02T10:38:28.025-04:00I had the good fortune to be backstage on the nigh...I had the good fortune to be backstage on the night of Porter's 50th Anniversary. It was electric. Honestly, the Opry has never been the same since Porter has been gone. We'll probably never see the same kind of leadership that he showed. His passing left a HUGE hole in the cast. <br /><br />Also, thanks for mentioning the note about Mother Maybelle's complaints about not being given many spots on the Opry. It's incredible Opry management did that to such a living legend, which as alluded in the book "Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone" (which by the way is an EXCELLENT read on the Carter Family)is one of the reasons the Carter's ultimately left the cast around 1967. Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters don't get the recognition, in my opinion, they deserve. They were one of the top acts in the 1950s into the 1960s besides being responsible for bringing Chet Atkins to Nashville. Let's also not forget that at one point Mother Maybelle left the music business and was working in a nursing home and largely forgotten until Earl Scruggs got her to record with Flatt & Scruggs. That album "Songs of the Famous Carter Family" is amazing. The story goes that Earl, who was an EXCELLENT Carter-scratch guitar picker, was having trouble with the lick on Wildwood Flower so Maybelle (who played autoharp on the album) picked up the guitar and did the solo uncredited on the album. One night, after a concert in Wichita about 2000 or so I was visiting with Earl and I mentioned Mother Maybelle to him. I will never forget what he quietly said: "It was a honor to have her in my home." Several years ago I bought a bootleg CD with nothing but live Opry performances from Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters and it is wonderful. I would really like to see Helen, June and Anita go in the Hall of Fame together.<br /><br />(OldtimeOpry)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-19548627849592104412012-05-02T09:41:35.557-04:002012-05-02T09:41:35.557-04:00Porter's last Opry performance was one I will ...Porter's last Opry performance was one I will never forget. He clearly didn't have long to live, yet was flawless in his delivery. He was still the boss when working with Dolly.<br />It was an amazing evening.Nat Hill IVnoreply@blogger.com