AngryCountry.com - Exclusive Interview: Bill Anderson

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The Angry Country Interview: Added: 01/08/04
Bill Anderson
By. Christine Bohorfoush - AngryCountry.com Staff Writer

Bill Anderson: A Songwriting Legend

Our first experiences with music, as we grow up, are simple... we first remember the lullabies that our mother's sing to us, the childhood favorites we share with friends such as: London Bridge Is Falling Down, and into our teenage days where we look at music with almost a 'Dick Clark' sense: "Oh, I give that song an eight because it is great to dance to."

Eventually, each of us mature and we begin to realize the importance of the songwriter to what ever style of music you enjoy. While Bill Anderson was already standing on the Grand Ole Opry stage next to the likes of Patsy Cline, I was first beginning to learn to have an appreciation for songwriters. For me, this appreciation was brought about by the songwriting team of John Lennon and Paul McCartney (for those of you in the Britney Spears generation, Lennon and McCartney were members of one of the finest rock groups in the history of music - The Beatles.) Whether a Beatles song made you laugh (such as: Uncle Albert), cry (such as John's song about his Mother entitled Julia, or think ( as with the song Imagine)... a great songwriter can move your emotions and paint a picture with his/her talent for the written word.

Bill Anderson is well known as Whispering Bill, a nickname given to him years ago as a result of his breathy voice and his warm soft approach to singing a country song. He was born in Columbia, South Carolina, but spent most of his growing up years around Atlanta, Georgia. His credentials, however, shout his prominence... one of the most awarded songwriters in the history of country music, a million selling recording artist, television game show host, network soap opera star, spokesman for a nationwide restaurant chain, and a consummate onstage performer.

Bill moved to Nashville and secured a recording contract with Decca Records and began turning out hit after hit, with songs like Po' Folks, Mama Sang A Song, The Tips Of My Fingers, 8x10, and the unforgettable country and pop smash Still. His compositions have been recorded by such diverse musical talents as: Ray Price, Porter Wagoner, Debbie Reynolds, Ivory Joe Hunter, Kitty Wells, Faron Young, Lawrence Welk, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Aretha Franklin, Walter Brennan and many many others. Bill has also been voted Songwriter Of The Year six times, was voted membership in the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame, and in 2001 into the Country Music Hall Of Fame.

Despite his hectic schedule and the demands of his multi-faceted business enterprises, Bill has made a renewed commitment to his first love - songwriting. "I feel like I've come full-circle" he smiles, "because songwriting is what got me to Nashville in the first place." In 1995, Billboard Magazine named four Bill Anderson compositions - City Lights, Once A Day, Still, and Mama Sang A Song - among the Top 20 Country Songs of the past thirty five years. No other songwriter has had as many songs listed. Anderson began 1999 with a pair of number one hits, Wish You Were Here by Mark Wills and the Grammy nominated Two Teardrops by Steve Wariner. His song Too Country recorded by Brad Paisley along with Bill himself and Buck Owens and George Jones won CMA Vocal Event Of The Year honors in 2001. The following year saw Kenny Chesney soar with his version of the Anderson-Dean Dillon masterpiece, A Lot Of Things Different. In November 2002, BMI named Anderson its first country songwriting Icon, placing him alongside R&B legends Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and James Brown as the only recipients of that prestigious award. His compositions can be heard on recent or forthcoming releases by Vince Gill, Lorrie Morgan, John Michael Montgomery, Sara Evans, Gary Allan, Tracy Byrd, and others... so is it any wonder why Angry Country felt we needed to interview Bill Anderson for our readers?

After Bill's performance on the Grand Ole Opry, alongside of Vince Gill and the Osborne Brothers, we slipped away to join him over a plate of BBQ. But before we could sit down, Bill was shown respect from his peers (as they each stopped him to shake his hand) and by fans who lined up outside the back door for an autograph and/or a photo with him.

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Christine: Bill, I have such respect for you as a songwriter... for the new

younger generation of country music fans who do not yet know

much about you, could you tell them what first brought you to

Nashville?

Bill: A Greyhound bus (he laughs)... I came here as a songwriter, it's really

what I came here to do. I had written a song called City Lights back in

the late 50's that Ray Price had a big hit on. People in Nashville began

to ask if I had written any other songs, because I was an unknown. That

song was published by a little publisher down in Texas, and so there

was a lot of curiosity in Nashville about who this guy was that wrote

this big hit song. So I came to Nashville with City Lights having opened

a lot of doors... that and a guy that I had met in Atlanta , while I was

working as a disk jockey on a little radio station in Georgia. He was in

the Army and we both wanted to get into the music business; he got to

Nashville before I did, so he opened a lot of doors for me too - his name

was Roger Miller.

Christine: I know that Kenny Chesney recently recorded the beautiful song

A Lot Of Things Different that you wrote with Dean Dillon; and

many of today's country music artists have recorded your music.

Is there anyone in particular you would like to work with or have

record one of your songs who has yet to do so?

Bill: Well lets see, Toby Keith has just sold two or three million records...

I'd like him to come along (he laughs) You know, it's very nice and

I am very complimented any time that someone records a song of

mine; especially one of these young kids - many of them weren't

even born, when I first started writing songs. So, it's very special

any time one of them cuts one of my songs. I don't really write for

a particular artist, I just try to write something and than if it fits a

particular artist, hopefully, it will find a home there.

Christine: You have been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1961;

what has been the most thrilling or memorable moment for

you, while appearing on the Opry?

Bill: There has been so many that it is difficult to narrow it down to just

one; of course, you never forget the first night that you are on... that

is always very special. I remember one night, my mom and dad

were in the audience at the Ryman, like tonight, I had just had a

record come out called Mama Sang A Song, which I wrote as a

tribute to my mother. I did that song that night, with my mother in

the audience, and got a standing ovation... that was pretty terrific.

There are a lot of wonderful moments and when you have been

doing it all these years, they begin to run together... I don't want

to start naming them because I'll forget so many. The first night

at the Opry, for example, with the president of the United States

in the audience... that was pretty special!

Christine: There has been much discussion by country music fans,

of late, about the turning away from traditional country

music into more of a "pop" style... what are your feelings

on today's country music?

Bill: I like a lot of it... I think there is a lot of very talented young people out

there. Obviously for those of us who have been doing it all these years,

we are not going to be here forever; so it has to be passed on to a new

generation. At the same time, I wish more of the young artists had a

real sense of appreciation of the history and roots of our music. I mean

I read the interviews with these kids that are cutting hit records today

and they ask, 'Who were your influences?' I would expect them to say

George Jones, Merle Haggard, Lefty Firzell, or even Vince Gill because

he has been around awhile now. But when I pick that up and read that

their influences were The Grateful Dead (he laughs), it bothers me. I

think it is great, don't get me wrong, that they were exposed to more

influences then I was... if you listened to country music than you were

influenced by Roy Acuff, Hank Williams, Carl Smith, Web Pierce, and

Faron Young... they were the big stars, when I was growing up. If you

listened to pop music, you were listening to Frank Sinatra or Tony

Bennett; there wasn't all this stuff in-between like there is today. And

I think that is great that they have all these other influences because

they bring a lot of that into country which helps it. But I think that they

ought to have a little school house over on Music Row and they ought

to teach a course called Country Music 101... and if you flunk the

course, you have to stay there til you pass and you know something

about country music and its past.

Mike (AngryCountry.com Staff Writer Michael Allison) Every time that we
have come to Nashville and the Opry, you have

been center stage... why are you so dedicated to the Opry? and do

you think that more artists should be?

Bill: Well, I just can't get booked anywhere else (he laughs) I do not think

that the country music business would be what it is and certainly would

not be headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee if it were not for the

Grand Ole Opry. That is what it grew up around... the recording

business, everything that is in Nashville music wise owes its beginnings

and its foundation or its roots to the fact that the Opry is here. The

Opry is what drew the talent here... it's what drew the songwriters here...

and the whole thing just kind of grew up around that. If I'm here on a

Friday or Saturday night and I'm not at the Grand Ole Opry, I feel like

I'm playing hookie and I keep waiting for the truant officer to come

and throw me in jail. I really enjoy the Opry! Sure I take time off and

I'm not there every time that they open the doors, but I enjoy the Opry

and the camaraderie with the other artists, I enjoy the fans that come here

from all over the world. I feel very privileged to be a part of the Opry

and I take that membership very seriously.

Mike: Excellent answer! More artists should... it is one of the things that

we look at, when we look at an artist: How often do they play the

Opry...

Bill: The dollars have changed so much... I mean these artists today can

go out and in one weekend make more than we made in a year, when

I first came here. So it's very difficult to turn your back on lucrative

things like tours to stay here and play the Opry... and I understand that

because these young artists are selling a lot of records and drawing

a lot of crowds right now. But there will come a time when that slows

down for them; and hopefully when it does, they will come and spend

more time at the Opry.

Christine: Our readers may not be aware that at one time in the music

industry co-writing with other artists from a different publishing

company or another licensing organization was not allowed...

now that this has changed, what have the newer artists in

country music taught you about songwriting?

Bill: Those walls came a few years ago and I am awfully glad that they

did, because it has opened up a lot of new avenues. Although I did

not do a lot of co-writing early in my career, I'd give anything, if in my

heyday, I could have written with Willie or Mel Tillis or people who

wrote for other publishing companies like Harlon Howard. You could

not get the publisher's to agree on splitting the copyrights... I'm so

glad that's changed. When I write with a new artist or new writer, I

like to think that I am bringing a perspective different from the

perspective that they are bringing. I treat a lot of it as learning, I am

never going to get too old to continue to learn or too old to try

something new. So I sit down with these kids and they come with

these different influences from what I had, and maybe they know

more chords on the guitar and know more technical stuff, but I think

that I know what is from the heart and what is real in a song and what

will touch people because I have done it for a long long time. I try

to bring my perspective with theirs; and when you are successful,

is when they have an open mind too and they want to hear what I

have to say and I want to hear what they have to say. When you get

that with one of these kids that really has the fire in their belly, it is

just plain fun to sit down and write with them.

Christine: Bill, I am certain that you are aware that many of the young

country music artists of today are struggling to be heard on

radio or to even be noticed because more and more of them

are signing with independent labels... what are your feelings

about today's music industry?

Bill: The music industry and the radio industry are so closely entwined

because radio is where you have to go, primarily, to get your

exposure. The radio industry has undergone tremendous changes

in recent years... they are owned by multi-million dollar corporations

and conglomerates today. Instead of a country music radio station

being owned by someone who just loves country music and wants

to expose it, like it used to be, these are corporations that own two

or three hundred stations... in the same town they may own four

or five different stations with different formats. It is just like a super-

market that sells bananas and carrot juice and bread and milk

and Twinkies... nothing really stands out; it's the overall thing, so I

think a lot has been lost in that. Radio, as a result, has become very

cautious and careful about what they play... they don't trust their

ears any more. When I was a disk jockey, I was the guy that opened

all the records that came into the radio station; I listened to it and

if I thought it was worth playing, I played it. Many times I would

leave it up to the listeners... 'Hey, what do you think? Do you like it or

don't ya?' And you listened to what the listeners said; what a

concept (he laughs); and I get the feeling they don't do that any more.

They have consultants and people; and some guy who sits in Phila-

delphia and tells some guy in San Antonio what to play. Well, I just

don't think that is really the right thing to do. I feel that a lot of great

music gets lost, because they are so afraid to try anything new. They

will play twenty proven hits over and over; and so much good stuff

gets lost.

Christine: Many new fans of country music are probably not aware that

you were a regular for three years on the soap opera One Life

To Live... could you tell us about the character you portrayed

on the show?

Bill: Yeah! I portrayed this weird guy named Bill Anderson (everyone laughs)...

he was a country music songwriter and Grand Ole Opry star. I played

myself and that wasn't much of a stretch. It was a lot of fun. This was

in 1979, 80, and 81... kinda in the heyday of the Urban Cowboy thing,

when everyone was walking up and down Madison Avenue in New York

wearing a cowboy hat and boots; so it kinda wove itself into the

story. It just started out as a one time or two time thing; but they noticed

that every time they put me on the show, their ratings went up... so it

ended up were they kept me as a recurring character for three years.

Christine: I understand that it was Steve Wariner's recording of your song

Tips Of My Fingers that influenced you to begin songwriting

again, after a several year absence... can you tell our readers

what it was about Steve's recording of the song that made you

realize you still had something to bring to songwriting?

Bill: Steve in 1992 recorded my old song Tips Of My Fingers, which I

had written thirty-two years before in 1960. I hadn't written many

songs for about ten years; I had kinda quit in the early 80's

and got evolved in the soap opera and game shows that I was

doing on television... and writing wasn't as important to me. The

music had changed a lot and I wasn't really sure that I knew how

to change with it; so I just kind of quit writing. Steve took that old

song and it went to number one; and I thought 'Now wait a minute!

If I could write a song thirty-two years ago that is a hit today, I can

write songs like that.' So I went down to Music Row and just

started knocking on doors; because so many of the players had

changed, during that ten years that I had been away. I started asking

these people if they would write with me; and one of the first people

to really encourage me was Vince Gill. Vince and I wrote a song

called Which Bridge To Cross, Which Bridge To Burn... which

became a number one record for him. That kind of legitimized me

with the new crowd; that 'Hey, well if he is good enough to write with

Vince, than maybe he is alright.'

Christine: You have done such a wide range of things in your career,

from television game show host to a role on a soap opera...

is there anything you would still like to accomplish in your

career that you have yet to do?

Bill: Oh yeah, I think when you run out of things you want to do - goals -

and dreams and all... I think you start to dry up. I have written two

books; one was an autobiography, the other a humorous look at

the music business. I've always wanted to try my hand at writing

fiction; try to write a novel. I don't know if I can write a novel or not,

I've peddled around with one for awhile. That is something that

requires a lot of time... I've just had to try to do it catch as catch

can. But I'd really love to have the time to sit down and see if

I could write a novel... get the novel published as a book - made

into a movie - I'd produce the soundtrack for the movie (we all

laugh) I don't ever run out of things I wanna do.

Mike: On a slightly different topic... we have begun working with XM

Radio; and who do you think was the first person I heard, when

I turned on my XM? (we all laugh) So, can you tell us a little

about your program on XM and what is coming up?

Bill: That's fun! I really enjoy that... a lot of my background was in radio

and in journalism; I have a journalism degree from the University

of Georgia. I do an interview show that I don't want to sound like

an interview show... it's called Bill Anderson Visits With The

Legends. It is a show where I just kind of sit down and have a

conversation with people of legendary stature in the music business.

We play their records; and if they want to bring their guitar and

sing live, we do that. The idea is Bill Anderson sitting down with

another legend and we let a few million of our closest friends

listen in. It is a real labor of love... I really really enjoy doing this

show and we are going to expand it. We are going to do some

new things; we're going to tape some this next year in front of a

live audience. We are going to take it out of the studio a little bit

and do some other things with it. I have been wonderfully blessed

with the guests; Willie Nelson has done the show, as well as Dolly

Pardon, Kenny Rogers... so many people have come and done the

show. Hopefully before the show runs out, I will be able to get

virtually everyone on the show. XM Radio is exciting, it the one

place that you can hear all kinds of country music on satellite radio.

Christine: We have a signature question we like to ask here at Angry

Country... what is the one thing that your fans would be most

surprised to know about you?

Bill: My wife used to say, when I was married, that my sense of humor

was the most kept secret in Nashville. People tend to think because

I do a lot of serious songs that I am a much more serious person

than I am. I take what I do seriously, but I don't take myself seriously.

I can laugh at myself; and Lord knows that everyone in the music

business imitates me. You know, Whispering Bill Anderson... and I

laugh right along with that. I like to think that I have a good sense of

humor. My parents taught me to see the humor in life. I'm not sure

that all my fans realize that I've got a good sense of humor. Just

because I go out there and do a lot of sad songs does not mean

that I'm a sad person at all. I am a very happy person.

Christine: And finally, is there anything else that you would like to tell

our readers?

Bill: Yes, order my latest record... (we all laugh; proving once again that

Bill does indeed have a great sense of humor) No, I'm teasing!

I'm just glad there is a place where people can go and read about

all different sides of the music business. You know if all you do is

listen to country radio or watch CMT, you'd think that this music

format is very narrow and it's not... it's a very broad format. There

is some wonderful music being written and recorded in Nashville

today that is not being heard. To be able to present, even if only

through a publication, wet someone's appetite and they go to their

record shop and say 'Hey, gimme this record.' I think it is so good

that you are doing what you're doing and giving people more than

just a narrow perspective; because what the public gets to hear is

so narrow and what is actually being created is so broad.

Christine: Thank you, we certainly appreciate that... it has been a

honor for us to meet with a true country music legend.

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Like Bill Anderson, I wanted to bring a strong voice about my feelings on continuing to see the country music industry grow and improve, while keeping its roots firmly planted in its traditions. There is no doubt in my mind that Bill Anderson will forever leave his mark on songwriting in country music; he is a true legend to whom new country artists coming along can learn from... whether that is a respect for the Grand Ole Opry and those who stood before on that stage or how to write a great country song that will express the deepest emotion.

On a personal note, I would like to add that I have felt that unexplainable emotion that reaches out and wraps around your very soul, as you walk through the halls of the Grand Ole Opry or on the field at Fenway Park or amid the markers at Arlington Cemetery... as if the voices of the past cry out: "Do not forget about us!" I cannot understand how anyone can feel that emotion and not be touched but it; for those are the voices of those who came before us. In the case of country music, it is a reminder to always remember the Grand Ole Opry and those who have graced its stage, respect for the fans, and the love for pure traditional country music. Those artists who feel this in their hearts and respect it are the ones who become present and future legends... Bill Anderson is one of them!

NOTE: Angry Country wishes to extend our sincere

thanks to Bill Anderson for allowing us to

interview with him; and to Betty for background

information and making it all happen.

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