1) I was friends with a performer/songwriter who lived to be over 100 years old. I asked his widow awhile back if she had received any royalty checks from her husband’s songwriting since he passed, and she said she hadn’t seen anything. This guy wrote songs recorded by the likes of Charley Pride and Dolly Parton. Is there a clearing house with BMI, ASCAP, or SESAC that one can contact to get royalties paid?
The first thing his widow should do is determine who published her husband’s songs and reach out to them. If she can’t find this information through regular channels, encourage her to seek out the Charley and Dolly records and look on the inserts or label copy. This should  tell her which of the three Performance Rights Organizations licensed the songs as well. Once she determines this, she should be able to move forward. Songwriter royalties cannot be legally withheld just because the writer has passed away.

2) “I Love You Drops” comes up on my playlist quite often. What made you write and record that song?
Two readers asked that same question this month, so guess I’d best try to explain.
I had been listening to the song, “Memphis,” by rock legend, Chuck Berry, when I heard him refer to the teardrops on his daughter’s cheeks as “hurry home drops.” I thought that was a very clever and unique way to describe tears. I carried it a step forward and called the singer’s tears, “I Love You Drops.” I followed my lyric by writing a country-oriented melody. Owen Bradley came up with the “falling teardrops” musical sound on the arrangement, and the rest is history.

3) In the second verse of your song, “City Lights,” you sang…”Did the God who put those stars above make those city lights?”…as a question. But when Dave Rich, who was the next artist to record it, came to that line he sang, “But God who put those stars above I don’t believe made those lights.” Why do you think he changed it? To me, the impact of the song hits deeper with the question.
I thought so, too, but Dave had very strong religious beliefs (he later became a full-time preacher), and he thought that I was implying there is more than one God which, of course, was not my belief nor my intention at all. Looking at it now, had I just taken out one word from my original lyric I think it would have passed muster with everyone. Remove the word “the” and the line reads, “Did God who put those stars above make those city lights?” But I was not savvy nor experienced enough in 1958 to suggest such a change. I wish I had been.

4) Our Question Of The Month comes from John in Ohio and it’s an interesting one: Back in the 60’s and 70’s you had some highly creative arrangements on your recordings that were different from what others were doing at the time. One song I’m thinking of in particular is, “My Life.” Can you tell me how a unique arrangement like this came to be? Was it developed ahead of time or worked out in the studio? I’m sure your input was essential to the arrangement. What part did your producer, Owen Bradley, play in arrangements such as this?

Owen played a very large part in the arrangements on all my recordings, particularly the early ones. And most were worked out in the studio. You can hear his creativity on records like “Mama Sang A Song,” “Still,” “I Love You Drops,” “Golden Guitar,” and others. Those records would have never been as successful as they were without his touch. As time went by, though, he began to allow me more and more freedom in selecting musicians for my sessions, and that was the first step in giving my records a “different” sound. Since I was also writing most of the songs I was recording back then, I got to experiment with different songs and sounds on my demo sessions. We often took the arrangements from the demos directly into the master sessions. In my mind, Owen Bradley was the greatest record producer Nashville has ever known because he not only created brilliantly but he listened to his artists’ ideas. He and I had a wonderfully successful relationship for almost twenty years.

Before we get to the Quickies this time let me straighten something out from our last newsletter. Once again, our readers have proven to know more than me.

Remember when someone asked what song the line, “I can hear you rattle the pots and pans” came from? I replied the only song I knew with a reference like that was the old rock classic, “Shake Rattle & Roll.” Well, two alert readers, Scott and Bryan, told me the line was actually from an old Porter Wagoner song called, “Be A Little Quieter,” which came out first in Porter’s “Sings His Own” album in 1971 and was re-recorded for the “Wagonmaster.” collection in 2007.

Thanks, Guys. Actually, I knew that all along…I was just seeing who was paying attention!  

Now let me see what other things I can get wrong:

Quickies: Do you still have your Po’ Folks Band? Yes, unless you know something I don’t know! My husband was looking through a streaming channel and found a movie called, “Las Vegas Hillbillies.” You were in it and sang, “Still.” Do you remember that movie? Of course I do. We filmed it in December of 1965, I wore a light green Nudie suit, and I also sang, “Bright Lights & Country Music.”  I see so many false things reported I need to know if Marty Stuart and Connie Smith are still living? Yes….and still living TOGETHER so far as I know. What was your age when you first performed in public and did you play an instrument? I was 15 and played guitar. When was the last taping of Country’s Family Reunion? 2018 is the latest I can find.  Larry Black says that was our last taping. It was titled, “Country’s Unbroken Circle.”  I was wondering if you ever planned to publish a book with all your song lyrics with some comments about the stories behind them? I would be very interested in such a book. Frankly, I’d never thought about it, but it’s an intriguing idea. Thanks for the suggestion. Most songwriters I know carry a harmonica with them in case a song idea comes to them while out. Do you carry one with you or wait ’til you have a guitar handy? No, I’ve never carried a harmonica, but I’m rarely without my phone or some type of recording device. If a song idea strikes me, I punch “Record,” and hum, sing, or whisper my thoughts into the microphone. That works until I can get home and pull out my trusty six-string. How do artists decide the order of songs on an album? The artists don’t always make those decisions, at least not by themselves. Sometimes the producer has a sequence in mind and will work with the artist on a line-up that seems to fit. Keys, tempos, and subject matter play a large role in the process as well. What suggestions would you give to someone who’d like to have a career as a songwriter but not as a singer? GO FOR IT!! You can certainly be one without having to be the other. Can you provide a list of all the vitamins, herbal supplements, and magic potions that you take? I want to have what you have. You sure have a lot more energy than I do. You are very kind. I have no magical pills or potions. I just try to eat right, get some exercise every day, and a good night’s sleep every night. I try to face each day with a positive attitude and enjoy the tasks that lie before me.  The Good Lord has definitely smiled upon me. I feel very blessed.

And I’m blessed to have you along for the ride here with me every month. When I first started this little column, I’d often have to stretch to find enough questions to fill out the space. Nowadays, I get so many questions each month that I can’t possibly answer them all. But please don’t quit sending them in! Write me at askbill@billanderson.com and I’ll try to satisfy your curiosity as best as I can. The Question of The Month earns the sender any item from our online store free of charge. So, let me hear from you, and I’ll see you back here again in October.