Working hard to be your third favorite radio station.
Listen Live (does not work with Google Chrome)
Stay Updated
Follow us @ facebook.com/JethroFM949
The Story Behind the Song:
“Thank God I’m a Country Boy”
(written by John M. Sommers)
John Denver (#1 country, #1 pop, 1975)
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. is hardly the kind of name a disc jockey wants to see on the label of a record. That was pretty obvious from the start of John Denver’s career, but it wasn’t something he relinquished easily. John didn’t like giving up his real name, but on the other hand, he wasn’t going to let it stand in the way of doing what he really wanted to do with his life. He received all kinds of name-change suggestions, but the only one that ever rang true to him was “Denver.”
That name was familiar enough by 1975 that ABC-TV made him the centerpiece of an Emmy-winning special, “An Evening with John Denver.” The title of the program coincided with his two-record live album, recorded at the Universal Ampitheater in Los Angeles. The bulk of the material was credited to Denver, the classic singer/songwriter, but ironically, the lone single was written by a member of the band, John M. Sommers.
“Thank God I’m a Country Boy” was edited for radio airplay and even though the album earned gold status in February of 1975, the single performed with even greater success. Certified gold on May 26th, it reached the summit of Billboard’s country chart five days later and then landed at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart the following week. The record is one of five singles to top both charts in 1975.
With its lyrics surrounding farm life, country cooking and the mountain fiddle, “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” is certainly a celebration of country lifestyles. In fact, with reference to the song “Sally Gooden,” the song provides an interesting link of country’s past with its present. “Sally Gooden” is one of two songs recorded by Eck Robertson and Henry Gilliland in 1922. Along with its flip side, “Arkansaw Traveler” (Arkansas being mis-spelled on the label, perhaps intentionally), the Victor recording is recognized as the very first country record, and was a charter inductee into the Library of Congress’ “National Recording Registry” in 2002.
In spite of “Thank God I’m a Country Boy’s” obvious country flavor, Denver swirled in controversy less than five months later when the Country Music Association named him “Entertainer of the Year.” A provincial segment of Nashville expressed its displeasure with the fact that a “crossover” performer could take the CMA’s most prestigious award.
Denver, however, had grown up under the tutelage of his father, an avowed country music fan. The influence was rather distinct and eventually, Denver achieved a lifetime dream when he performed at the Grand Ole Opry for the very first time on November 12, 1976.
The Story Behind the Song:
“My Heart”
(written by Charles Quillen & Don Pfrimmer)
Ronnie Milsap (#1, 1980)
Songwriter Don Pfrimmer was a product of the Great Northwest, graduating from the University of Montana in Missoula. He was anxious to make his mark in Nashville as a songwriter and ventured down to Music City several times to pursue his quest. The first time was in 1973, but Pfrimmer didn’t have his first hit until Mickey Gilley cut “The Power of Positive Drinkin’” in 1978. Unfortunately, that song turned out to be a curse because Don bought a new car with the royalty check and got deeply into debt when he couldn’t come up with a follow-up hit.
During the dry spell, Pfrimmer signed a writer’s contract with Tom Collins at Pi-Gem Publishing. Collins had been producing Ronnie Milsap, but they had temporarily gone separate ways by the time Pfrimmer started writing for the company. Desperate for cash, Don left Nashville and headed to Alaska to replenish his finances by working on the pipeline (he had done this a couple of times before). But Collins telephoned, trying to convince him to come back to Nashville and give songwriting another shot.
Tom’s plea worked and before long, Pfrimmer had returned to Music City and his old job at Pi-Gem. Don had been back only about a month when he and Charles Quillen got together to write “My Heart.”
Although he wasn’t producing Milsap anymore, Collins still pitched “My Heart” to him, who selected it for his upcoming “Milsap Magic” album. Ronnie figured it would be just another album filler and had no thoughts of the tune ever being released as a single because it sounded so much like one of his recent hits, “Back on My Mind Again” (also written by Quillen). Actually, the similarities probably helped assure that “My Heart” would be issued as a single, because record labels (RCA in this case) usually want to keep a proven formula going and a follow-up often sounds like the last one.
“My Heart” was released as the “A” side of his new single, but Milsap thought the “B” side, “Silent Night (After the Fight)” (written by John Schweers after an argument with his wife about a cat), would be the hit. Instead, “My Heart” emerged as a pleasant surprise, becoming Ronnie’s 14th of his 35 Billboard chart-toppers on May 31, 1980. It’s one of only four country singles issued during the 1980s to spend three weeks at number one.
The Story Behind the Song:
“Long Black Train”
(written by Josh Turner)
Josh Turner (#13, 2004)
The year was 2000 and Hannah, South Carolina native Josh Turner had come to Nashville to study music at Belmont University. One night he ventured over to the campus library, where he became immersed in a collection of music he discovered there. Mercury Records had acquired the entire MGM Hank Williams catalog and was in the process of releasing not only Williams’ well-known hits, but also many rare cuts that even MGM hadn’t issued in the years since Hank’s 1953 death. Much to Turner’s excitement, the library had the complete boxed set of Hank Williams’ recordings on file, and Josh was intently listening through a pair of head phones in order to not bother anyone around.
The old, classic music by country music’s most iconic legend energized and inspired Turner. It seemed that Josh entered a whole new world that night. After listening to the Hank Williams tracks, he wanted to break down the music to its rawest form, as Hank had done decades earlier.
As Josh started walking back to his apartment, which was on the other side of the campus, he had a vision of a wide-open space on the plains with a railroad track running straight through the middle of the field. It was completely dark, but you could see everything around. A harvest moon was lighting up the sky, and in Josh’s mind, he could see a throng of people standing along the track. A long, beautiful, shiny black train was coming down the track and the people were trying to decide whether to get on board. Somehow they knew this train led to nowhere, but they were wondering what it would be like to ride on it. As Turner was imagining all of this in his mind while walking back to his apartment, he wondered what it all meant. Josh finally understood that the train was a symbol for temptation.
After returning to his apartment, Turner picked up his guitar and strummed a B flat chord. Although it was late, the lyrics started pouring out and he wrote three verses and a chorus before turning in. After arising the next morning, a feeling came over him that the song wasn’t quite finished and by 11:00 AM, he had written the fourth and final verse. After “Long Black Train” was completed, doubts started overshadowing Josh and he began to feel that it was all in vain. He thought, “Nobody is going to want to hear this song. It’s too old-fashioned. Listeners won’t understand the metaphor anyway.”
Fortunately, a friend heard Josh playing the song one day and suggested he perform it as part of his senior recital. Then it started snowballing. Josh started doing “Long Black Train” at showcases and writers’ nights around Music City. Before long, he recorded a demo of the tune there at Belmont University and played it in one of his classes. A fellow classmate was interning at a publishing company owned by Jody Williams and she asked Josh if she could take the song over there and play it for Williams. Josh said, “Sure,” and soon the classmate came back and said, “Jody wants to sit down and talk with you.” Not only did Williams sign Turner to a publishing contract, but got him an audition at MCA Records, where he inked a recording deal in November of 2001.
Although Josh hadn’t yet released “Long Black Train,” some strings were pulled and he was invited to sing at the Grand Ole Opry (customarily held at the Opry’s former home The Ryman Auditorium during the winter months) the Friday before Christmas, on December 21, 2001. At the time, nobody had ever heard of Turner when he walked out on the stage that night. He was understandably scared to death.
Josh started singing “Long Black Train” (remember now, this song hadn’t yet been released), and the audience just erupted. People were standing up and cheering even before Josh finished the song. He was completely overwhelmed. After the performance, Bill Anderson (who was hosting that segment of the show) stepped up to the microphone and said, “Do you want to hear some more?” and the crowd got even louder! During Josh’s encore of “Long Black Train,” he looked up into the balcony and realized it was the same view that Hank Williams saw from the legendary Ryman stage decades before. It was Hank’s music which had inspired Turner to compose “Long Black Train” in the first place.
For some unexplained reason, it was a year-and-a-half after that Grand Ole Opry appearance before “Long Black Train” finally debuted on Billboard’s country singles chart on May 31, 2003. Personally, I think it would have been a bigger hit if it had been released on the heels of Turner’s phenomenally-successful Opry bow, but I guess MCA had its reasons for holding it back.
Radio airplay was good but not sensational, and “Long Black Train” peaked at only #13 on Billboard’s country singles chart. So Josh was at least partially correct in his assessment that the song’s old-fashioned style would hinder its exposure. Amazingly though, the record lingered on Billboard’s playlist for an incredible 44 weeks (almost double the number of weeks of most major hits), giving “Long Black Train” the distinction of achieving the longest Billboard chart duration without ever reaching the Top Ten. Despite this, the single was still certified gold by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000 units.
“Long Black Train” became the title track of Turner’s first album and MCA sent him out on the concert trail to promote it. There, Josh discovered that many of the song’s fans had very differing ways of relating to it. They would tell him, “My brother is battling alcoholism,” or “My sister is going through a drug addiction,” things like that. Josh realized that “Long Black Train” was a song for everybody. Each of us has our own weaknesses and our own struggles. We all have our own “long black train.”
Turner went to the state of Alabama to do a promotional event for a radio station right after the song was released, and a lady pulled Josh aside after the show. She said, “Josh, I just want you to know that I’ve struggled with depression for years, and the other day I had a whole bottle of painkillers and I was going to take the whole bottle and end it all. The radio in my bedroom was on and, just then, “Long Black Train” began playing. I started listening to the words, and I realized how selfish I would be by committing suicide.”
She said, “That song changed my life. I flushed the pills down the toilet and walked away a different person.” She told Josh that she had almost fully recovered from her depression because of his song, and it was at that moment that Turner realized just how powerful “Long Black Train” actually is.
Calling all horse enthusiasts, cowgirls, cowboys, and customer service experts! 🤠
🔹 Do you love horses?
🔹 Are you a team player?
🔹 Love helping people?
We want you to join our team! Please contact us by one of the following below:
📱Call us 616.281.0777
💻 Email us at info@millbrooktack.com
👋🏻 Stop in and fill out an application!
This content isn't available right now
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.May 31: Remembering the late Donald Eugene Lytle, better known as Johnny PayCheck, who was born on this date in 1938.
"...but, if you're gonna play the jukebox, please don't play A-11."
To receive your no-cost obligation FREE basement inspection.
Call (800) 275-7910
Contact Us: everdrygrandrapids.com/contact-us/
Timeline photos"Hand2Hand gives me peace." - parent
What a blessing to meet with families to learn how Hand2Hand is helping them. We can't wait to share what they had to say in our impact report coming this July!
This content isn't available right now
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.West Michigan’s top senior basketball players to compete in annual all-star game
www.mlive.com
The 15th annual Ring of Fire All-Star Games begin June 6 at Davenport University.