Mel Tillis
Published Monday October 12th, 2009
Country music legend will be at the Playhouse on Tuesday, Oct. 13
Mel Tillis clearly remembers the last time he performed in Fredericton. The show was held at the Aitken Centre in 1983. What does he remember about his stay here and that show 26 years ago?
"I'll tell you what. It was colder than hell."
In a telephone interview with The Daily Gleaner from his Nashville office, Tillis speaks fondly of the lobster he is looking forward to feasting on while he's here. He had some in Summerside on Sunday and he will likely eat it again in Saint John tonight.
"They're having a big meal for us before we go on. I may have to put some of it in the microwave on the bus. I won't turn it on. I'll just sneak it in there to hide it from the boys (in his band)."
Tomorrow night the 77-year-old country music legend will perform at The Playhouse. The show is sold out.
While this southern gentleman is used to much hotter temperatures at home, he will likely get a very warm reception from those who come to hear him perform some of his most popular songs - and some new ones, too.
Tillis has performed for over five decades. He loves it as much today as he did when he first went on stage with a group called The Westerners while serving as a baker in the United States Air Force.
He's had a long and successful career and he's not planning on retiring anytime soon.
"I live for it. As long as the people keep liking our show and receive us well, I will continue on."
He's cut back on his tour schedule. When he owned his own theatre in Branson, Missouri he was on stage every night.
"Back then I was doing 300 to 400 shows a year. I sold the theatre about seven years ago and I cut it down to 100 days. I love to perform. I've got a band that I've had for years called The Statesiders. They're a wonderful band. We play mostly country music."
Tillis has recorded 60 albums. He's also written over 1,000 songs and more than 600 of them have been recorded by other major artists.
"The good Lord gives you the ideas and then He tells you to write them."
Tillis says all of the songs he's written come from everyday life. The song Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town, made famous by Kenny Rogers, was inspired by a couple who lived next door to him when he was a teen.
His neighbours were a Second World War veteran and his British war bride. Injured in battle, the man was unable to walk. Tillis would often hear them arguing.
Years later that memory came back to him while he was stuck in Nashville traffic.
Johnny Cash's song Don't Take Your Guns To Town came on the car's radio. Somehow he thought of the soldier and his wife Ruby.
"I said 'Ruby, don't take your love to town.' I got home and I wrote the song in 30 minutes."
When he performs at The Playhouse, he says he may sing that song and any requests he receives from the audience.
He will also play a little bit of gospel and bluegrass and maybe one or two new country songs.
What does he think of today's country music?
"It's not exactly country but it's new times and a new culture. I got a song that I wrote called Keeping Up With The Times."
That's what Tillis is doing - keeping up with the times.
Often, throughout the interview, Tillis breaks into song when he talks about various tunes he's written and sung over the years. His commanding voice is just as smooth as ever. How did he get that beautiful baritone voice?
"When I found out I couldn't talk I said, 'I better start singing.'"
As much as he's known for his musical talent, he is also famous for a speech impediment he's had since he first learned to speak.
But when he sings there is not even a hint of stuttering.
"I've heard that your speech comes from one side of your brain and your creativity and singing comes from the other side."
He has never allowed his stuttering to get in the way of anything he's wanted to achieve. In fact, he's used it to his advantage, he says.
Now Tillis is a professional public speaker and he says he likes it almost as much as singing. He talks about how humour has helped him to deal with his stuttering.
Tillis is a very funny guy and a conversation with him is filled with lots of laughter.
He's appeared in many films, including Every Which Way But Loose with Clint Eastwood and an orangutan named Clyde. Tillis says when he found out that Clyde was a female he wanted to be sure.
"So I looked."
He also performed in Cannonball Run I and II, Smokey and the Bandit II and several others. His favourite, he says, was a movie he produced along with Roy Clark.
"It cost us $4 million and we raised the money and it was called Up Hill All The Way. It was a little western about two flim-flam guys.
"The other movie I liked doing was one with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kirk Douglas and Ann-Margret called The Villain and I wrote all the songs in it."
Tillis has earned many credits and awards over his career. In 2007 he became a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. This country music legend has no plans to ride into the sunset. It's been a great journey from where it all began.
"It seems like just yesterday that I left Florida headin' for Nashville, Tennessee in my '49 Mercury with a busted windshield, a pregnant wife and $29 in my pocket. If I lost it all tomorrow, I guess I could say it only cost me $29 and it's been one heck of a ride!"
But Tillis says as long as his fans continue to come to his shows, the ride is far from over.
Disabled
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
