It wasnt until I turned 50, that I ever belonged or associated with a fan club. I thought fan clubs were for teeny boppers and groupies--and I didnt consider myself any of thesenot until I went to see George Jones, the greatest living legend of country music, in concert.
It wasnt until 1987, that I discovered I liked country music all along--from way back when. The seed was planted a long time ago, I just never realized it--not until my favorite music no longer rocked and rolled me.
When I look back now, I remember I preferred the music with the country twang--long before 1987. I was born and raised on listening to music. I had three older brothers that did the same. And when youre the youngest, you dont have too much to say about it. We all shared the same bedroom.
As far back as I slightly remember, I was three years old--in 1955. The airwaves were busy playing the music of a new rockabilly singer from Memphis, Tennessee. His name was Elvis Presley, ni cknamed Elvis the pelvis--because of his gyrating hips when he sang. He couldnt stand still just to sing. His music had the flavor of country western twang--his early stuff. I liked it then and I still prefer the rawElvis sound--much better than his later music of the 60s and 70s. He was the king of rock and roll to many.
I also liked the sound of western swing in the 60s. There were such superstars as Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Then later, Johnny Cash appealed to me. And after that, I liked George Jones and Tammy Wynette, Glen Campbell, Tanya Tucker, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle and many more. I really liked Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. The music of Charley Pride sounded great, too.
By the 1970s, when I thought I liked rock and roll the best--because I was a huge fan of The Beatles ---I began to take an interest in Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Eagles. They had the sound of country music with rock and roll--la ter called southern rock. The Charlie Daniels Band and theOzark Mountain Daredevils, also, fit the bill. These bands were blazing a trail on a fine line between country and rock music.
By 1987, I was only listening to classic rock and country music full time. I pretty much disowned the mid to late 80s rock and roll. It seemed to me, rock and roll wasnt putting out the good stuff anymore. The new sound was grunge and I didnt like it. Rock and roll had reached its peak or maybe I was just getting older.
I was now liking the country music of George Strait, Randy Travis, Alabama, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Clint Black, and many more. The country music industry was calling it new country. I began going to Concerts. I seen Johnny Cash and June Carter in Silverdale, Washington. I also seen Willie Nelson, Charlie Daniels, Restless Heart and The Judds, all at the Western Washington Fair in Puyallup, Washington. The last rock and roll concert I went to was in 1987, to see Crosby, Stills and Nash and Heart in Seattle, Washington.
I always liked George Jones--so much that when I heard he was playing at the Moore Theatre in Seattle--I had to go. I went with my girlfriend who liked George Jones, too. This event was in 2003. He sounded great with his band, The Jones Boys. After the concert, I decided to join his fan club. And when I was down in Reno, Nevada, with my girlfriend--that same year--he was playing at the Silver Legacy. We enjoyed it so much, we stayed for both shows that weekend.
I read my newsletter from The George Jones Fan Club, and it stated I had the benefit to meet and greet him--and so I did. At the Silver Legacy, I waited at the door where all the other fan club members were congregating before the show. When the door opened, a usher escorted all of us to a pleasant lady that introduced herself as Nancy Jones, the wife of George Jones. She was very friendly to us all and was organizing a photo shoot , so we could individually have our pictures taken with him. When George Jones entered the room backstage, he greeted everybody and we all shook his hand and made some small talk. When it was my turn to meet and greet him, I told him I was a big fan of his and that I have a collection of 30 cds of his music. He answered, wonderful, thank you. He was just like Alan Jackson, his dear friend, described, when you meet him, hes just like the guy down at the corner gas station. And he was right--thats exactly as I saw him.
After meeting George Jones, I became a bigger fan than ever. My collection of 30 cds became 60 cds now. Frank Sinatra, once said, hes the second best white male singer in this country. Of course, he meant second best to Frank Sinatra, himself. Johnny Cash, once was asked who his favorite singer is--his answer was, you mean besides George Jones?
In 2004, I took a vacation to Tennessee. I wanted to see the biggest country music festival in the world --Fan Fair, in Nashville. Also, I wanted to take the tour of Graceland,-- the Elvis mansion-- and the Sun Studios tour, both in Memphis. The Sun Studios, is where Elvis cut his first record. It was also the place where Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Charlie Rich, first recorded their music. I also wanted to see Beale Street, the birth of the blues, in downtown Memphis. I had a lot of fun.
The highlight of my vacation, was my personal invitation to theGeorge Jones Ranch, in Franklin, Tennessee. All the fans in his club were invited. We took the tour of his museum, downstairs in his ranch home. Then we walked all over the beautiful, sprawling grounds of their Jones Ranch, where George and Nancy call their home. After the tour, he gave a private concert with The Jones Boys, near his barn on a grandstand. They served hotdogs and hamburgers. It was such a special, intimate event. I got burned to a crisp from the hot sun.
The next day, some of his fans and I, followed him down to his next concert date in Tunica, Mississippi, at Sams Town Casino. As we were leaving his ranch, we saw the bridge that he hit in his SUV, in 1999, that nearly claimed his life, near his ranchjust outside the Franklin city limits. From that day on--since the accident--he hasnt taken a drink of alcohol since. It was the birth of the new George Jones.
At Sams Town Casino,before his show, all of his fans, including myself, had our picture taken with him in front of his tour bus--before the show. Again, Nancy, was the host and photographer. He also signed my copy of his autobiography book, I Lived To Tell It All, and an album I brought with.
My pleasant and exciting experience of being a member of the George Jones Official Fan Club, led me to join the Charley Pride Official Fan Club and the Merle Haggard Official Fan Club.
In 2005, I met Charley Pride, and had my picture taken with him at one of his Concerts at the Emerald Queen Ca sino, in Tacoma, Washington. About six months later, I took a vacation through the states of Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota. I had bought a new jeep and I wanted to put some mileage on it. My destination was Minot, North Dakota. I wanted to attend the largest Scandanavian festival in the world. This was the famous Norsk Hostfest. It is a huge, annual event.
The other reason I traveled to this grand event, was to attend the Concerts of Charley Pride and Merle Haggard. Being a fan member of both clubs, I was entitled to a meet and greet session, where I would meet them backstage and sign autographs and have a picture taken with them.
I had the honor of meeting Charley Pride and his wife, Rozene. Unlike a lot of big stars, Charley has been married to Rozene, for nearly fifty years. This has a lot to say about his character. I found him to be very humble and pleasant to be around.
I was backstage having my picture taken with Charley Pride, and he personally signed his autobiography book I brought along, entitled, The Charley Pride Story. He asked me where I wanted him to sign it, and before I could answer, he said, ah, Ill sign it here next to my mama, thats the best place to sign it. Then I handed him one of his albums I brought along to have him sign. It was an album he made in 1972, entitled A Sunshiny Day with Charley Pride. While he was signing it, he said, this front cover was taken in front of my house back then. He also signed an earlier picture I had taken with him at the Emerald Queen Casino concert in Tacoma, Washington. It was a great pleasure to meet one of my favorite country singers.
In the summer of 2005, I traveled south to the small town of Sweet Home, Oregon. This was the home of the Oregon Jamboree, a huge, three day annual event of the biggest names in country music. The real reason I was there, was to see Merle Haggard. I was a member of his fan club, too, but I was unable to meet and greet him. Either he was untouchable or I wasnt in the right place. I never was able to meet and greet him at the Norsk Hostfest, in Minot, North Dakota either.
I will be attending an outdoor concert of hisin Lynden, Washington, at the Northwest Washington Fair, on August 18, 2006. I hope to meet him then. I think he is the most talented country musician of all time. He plays the telecaster guitar and fiddle, unbelievably well. And with his band, The Strangers, what more do you want? And all told, he is a great singer and songwriter, too. I really admire this guyand I have almost as many cds in my collection of him as George Jones.
These fan clubs I mentioned are a bundle of fun. So far, Ive had the pleasure of meeting two out of three of the top-rated, living legends of country music. I cherish my own small museum at home, with the autographs of albums, books and pictures from the best in the business. These living legends are in the final stage of their car eer, but they are still going strong. At nearly 75, George Jones plays over one hundred Concerts per year. Today, Merle Haggard is 69 years old and Charley Pride is 68 years old. Their Concerts are far fewer than the Concerts of George Jones. Nonetheless, these living legends are live and in living color. Go see them at a concert near you-- while their still around. You wont regret it.
Earl Erickson is an avid fan of country music. He loves writing, photography, watching old, classic television shows and movies, and listening to his favorite music. He also loves to travel and gardening in his spare time. He is an internet author and has writen for Ezine Articles in the past. He is currently writng a book on his life and struggles with alcoholism, depression and grief. his book is entitled, Abstinence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder. He hopes to be finished with that project early next year. he works full time as a public school employee. He owns and manag es two websites. They are: http://BobbiesMountain.com, dedicated to his late wife, Bobbie, and to cancer research. His other website is: http://sqwearlenterprises.com. Earl is a native and resident of Tacoma, Washington.
Author:: Earl Erickson
Keywords:: fan clubs, country music, living legends of country music, Concerts, Memorabilia
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