Noelene and I have been a lot
quieter in the past three months, as far as performing Country Music
goes, health and family things have tended to intervene, but that's fine, we
do have things to look forward to, like a trip to Petone to take our son
Lindsay to play in a snooker tournament this week, the 1st to 4th of
July, we have the 40th birthday of The Manawatu Country Music Club
in Palmerston North on the 21st of August, (I was a foundation member) and
we have the occasional rest home booked-up.
I've just written a song for a
special project, and we expect to record that in the next few weeks.
We saw some of the Television
channels celebrating 50 years, and last night, there was mention of Brendan
Dugan winning the New Faces, which was fair enough, and the show
"That's Country," where the remark was made, by Ray Columbus, that
he encouraged Country singers from America, to perform on the show, with very
little pay, but to help compensate, he would teach them how to make a
television show!!! (or words to that effect)
I found that comment rather
interesting, when I thought, well, the American Country Music scene was very
active in television at least from the early 50s, with "Country Style
U.S.A." which catered for big names of the time, like Hank Snow, Ferlin
Husky, Roy Acuff, Webb Pierce, Jean Shepard, Kitty Wells, Faron Young, Jim
Reeves, Ernest Tubb, Mac Wiseman, Don Gibson, Mother Maybelle Carter and The
Carter Sisters, to name a few, then there was "Hee Haw", and
"The Porter Wagoner Show", which introduced the likes of Dolly
Parton, in the 60s, these were Country Music shows, when here in New
Zealand, we were just getting started when Noelene and I performed on
Wellington's "Have a Shot on Television" in 1964. At the time, there
were one or two television sets in most streets, in the country, it was so
new.
We did have a very successful
"Country Touch" TV show, which featured Tex Morton, and The Hamilton
County Bluegrass Band, in the late 60s, and "Studio One", where some
of us sang our own songs, but I thought Ray was a bit bold in his comment.
When I think of "The Perry
Como Show", "The Dinah Shaw Show", these were television shows
that included Country Music stars of the day (in America)
Our people must have been good, to have been better than what America
presented at the time. Maybe they were.
Terry Moratti is a Taranaki
singer who seems to be doing very well, Cliff and Cindy Burgess have
recorded another album, as have Lenny and Jocelyn Kirkpatrick, (their first) and
we wish Lenny the very best health-wise, he has been battling for a while.
The Country Music clubs seem to
keep drawing the crowds around Taranaki, and that has to be good.
Until next time, I'll close,
and continue my busy day.
