In
these solemn days in Country Music, it lifts my heart to wish Happy Birthday to
one of the Unforgettables:
Willie
is EIGHTY today.
The
Sirius was set on Willie’s Roadhouse as we got in the car to go out for the
afternoon, and we left the driveway swirled in George Jones, bless his dear heart. Then as GREAT after GREAT sang and
sang---the first leg of the trip included Faron, Webb, Moe, Lefty, Charlie
Louvin and Tex Williams---we just floated along on music and memories.
After
lunch, we sailed away with Roy Acuff, Charley Pride, Loretty, and Conway. Several stops later, we wound down and
wended home with Johnny, Patsy, Jim Reeves, Ray Price, Ray Charles (he and Willie both turn GEORGIA into a religious experience), the Browns, Ronnie Millsap, and Vern
Gosdin.
What
a Birthday Gift to all of us Country Fans---especially the ones of us raised on
The Opry and those sublime voices and the sheer poetry of the songs.
On
a side note: I hugged Willie once, some
thirty years ago---one of the great surprises of my life was that he smelled
FABULOUS.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILLIE. You've always been a gift to us.
