Bill Anderson

Whispering Bluegrass
 

by Chuck Dauphin

In a career that has been going strong for five decades, Bill Anderson has always managed to succeed in whatever career avenue he has chosen.  From writing to recording to even hosting TV network game shows (Fandango, The Better Sex), he has managed to carve out one of the most successful careers in show business.  The County Music Hall Of Fame member recently sat down to chat with Chuck Dauphin about his new Bluegrass project, WHISPERING BLUEGRASS.
 

MNN:  As we speak, your song “Give It Away” is nominated for Song Of The Year at the CMA Awards.  That has to be exciting.

Bill Anderson:  Well, that was kind of a surprise to me, because we won the Song Of The Year back in May at the ACM Awards in Las Vegas.  I thought then “Well, this has been a nice little ride, and it’s probably over…so when I saw we were nominated by the CMA, I was really quite shocked.  You know, if you’re nominated, you’d really like to win.  (Laughs) I don’t know whether if we’ve got a chance or not, but even if we don’t…we’ve had a pretty good ride with it.

MNN:  I know your new project, WHISPERING BLUEGRASS, has been a long time in the works.  Tell us about it.

Bill Anderson:  I was approached by some people about a year ago about the possibility of doing a Bluegrass album, and I kind of grew up on that kind of music…even before it was called Bluegrass.  They called it Hillbilly Music before I came along, but it was unamplified music…acoustic music….songs that told a story.  That’s kind of what I cut my teeth on.  I thought “Golly, it would be awful fun to do something like that, and it was.  We did eight secular songs and eight gospel songs.  We wanted to kind of paint a broad stroke through there, so we tried to do a little of all of it.  The early reaction from the fans and the people that we’ve heard from is that they like it….and hopefully, that’s an indication of things to come.

MNN:  One of the songs on the disc, “Slippin’ Away,” you wrote for Jean Shepard in 1973, and it gets a Bluegrass treatment here.

Bill Anderson:  Well, I think that song kind of lends it to that.  A couple of Bluegrass acts have done the song over the years, and I thought “I wrote it, so why don’t I try it, and when Vince Gill came in and put that incredible high harmony on it….How could I turn that down….He’s the best.

MNN:  Vince, I believe, was very instrumental in your resurgence as a songwriter, with the 1995 top ten “Which Bridge To Cross (Which Bridge To Burn).”

Bill Anderson:  It really kind of jump-started my second career as a writer, it really did.  I had been away from songwriting for about ten years or so, and a lot of new artists and new writers had come into town.  I wasn’t really sure if I could write for the current market or not.  Vince was so nice, and said “Yeah, come on over and we’ll see what we came up with.” We ended up writing two songs together, and he ended up recording both of them.  One was “Which Bridge,” and the other ended up on his THESE DAYS album, “Cold Gray Light Of Gone.” He really gave me some legitimacy with the young writers and publishers.  It was like “If Vince Gill would agree to write with this old guy, maybe he’s not so bad.  It really opened a lot of doors for me.”

MNN:  Another standout track is the duet with Dolly Parton, “My Perfect Reason.” This was the first time you recorded with Dolly.  What was that like?

Bill Anderson:  Well, actually on a released record, that’s true.  But back when Dolly first came to town, I got her to come out to Bradley’s Barn Studio one night when I was doing some demos.  She was totally unknown, and we did a duet demo together that I thought even then that our voices sound pretty good together because they are so different…but there’s a blend there that works.  Unfortunately that demo we recorded that night has disappeared.  I have no idea where it is or where to find it, but Dolly did agree to sing with me, and did her usual incredible job on it.

MNN:  Someone that you have had a lot of success writing with the past few years is Jon Randall, and you collaborate on the track “Everything I Want (And Not A Thing I Need.)”

Bill Anderson:  Eddy Raven and I started out trying to write that song, and we got kind of hung up on it.  I thought it was a pretty good idea, and we ought not to let that sit around.  I was with Jon one day, and I played him a little bit of what we had come up with.  He jumped right in there and helped us finish the song.  I asked him to sing with me on it, and he did.

MNN:  Looking over the pictures inside the packaging for WHISPERING BLUEGRASS, I see a lot of people that have recorded Bill Anderson songs over the years.  One artist that is pictured with you that never did was Patsy Cline.  Talk about this.

Bill Anderson:  You know, that’s one of the greatest regrets of my life because she and I were great friends.  We toured together a lot, we had the same booking agents, some of the same management and worked a lot of dates together.  I’d go over to Patsy’s house and take her songs, hoping to get a song recorded by her.  I just never wrote the right song at the same time, I guess.  But, she still remains one of my musical heroes.  There have been very few people come down the pike that can sing a song like Patsy Cline.  She was a fun person to be around, and I loved her a whole bunch.

MNN:  One superstar that has recorded your songs is Kenny Chesney.  First, a few years back with “A Lot Of Things Different,” and now on his new disc…a song called “Demons.” Talk about this powerful song.

Bill Anderson:  Well, it’s another dark song written by Bill Anderson and Jon Randall, who wrote “Whiskey Lullaby,” where we killed off two or three people.  (Laughs) Jon and I seem to get off on a kick sometimes of writing sad and serious songs.  I don’t really think “Demons” is a sad song, but it’s a very serious one.  I think it really relates to everybody, because we’ve all got things in our lives that we’d like to outrun, to get away from….whether they’re in our past or our present…hopefully, not in our future.  That’s what the song is about.  Demons come in all shapes and sizes.  They don’t discriminate…They pick on all of us.

MNN:  On this release, you also record with Willie Nelson for the first time.  How did this come about?

Bill Anderson:  When Willie visited on my XM Show, I just asked him “Willie, you have recorded with just about everybody---except Bill Anderson.  Why have you never recorded with me.  He looked at me very serious and said ‘You never asked me.’ When I was getting this project together, I thought, ‘This is my chance.’ He was coming to town to do some stuff, and we connected on a day that was convenient, and he joined me on a song I wrote for Cal Smith a few years ago called “The Lord Knows I’m Drinking.”

MNN:  Bill, in addition to the CD on WHISPERING BLUEGRASS, there’s also a DVD, which I know you have to be excited about.

BA.  I had never had a DVD released with a CD like this, so it was a totally new concept for me.  I thought it would give the fans a little extra value.  The DVD would be the cherry on top of the whipped cream.  The record company wanted me to do this, and sent a cameraman out to the Opry and followed me around a couple of nights…..and down to the Ryman, as well.  I’m real proud of it.  Some of the people that have already bought the package have told me they enjoyed it, so I’m glad it’s a part of the overall package.

MNN:  The DVD does an excellent job of showing what goes on behind the scenes at the Opry.

Bill Anderson:  Well, if you think the Opry looks chaotic from the audience on stage, you ought to see it backstage.  I’ve had a lot of people ask me over the years that ‘With everyone milling around, how do you know what’s going on?’…Who’s singing, Who’s next, and all this kind of stuff.  There’s a system to it, and once you’ve been around the Opry a while, you get used to it. 

MNN:  The new album features your version of “Give It Away.” I want to go back to this song, and ask you about your thoughts on its’ success.

Bill Anderson:  Well, any songwriter in Nashville is thrilled to get a song recorded by George Strait.  George has a great reputation for picking great songs.  He doesn’t write himself, so he goes into the songwriting community to find his songs.  Every writer in Music City is fighting to get a cut from him.  George sells a lot of records, and it’s a testament to your writing when George says something’s good enough for him to record.  So, I was very thrilled when he cut it.  I thought when went to put this record together that these weren’t really traditional Bluegrass songs I did----I just tried to give them an acoustical treatment, and was surprised that it fit a song like “Give It Away,” but it really does.

MNN:  Summing it up, you continue to be one of the busiest people in Nashville.  When do you ever slow down?

Bill Anderson:  I don’t hardly do anything from 3 to 4 in the morning…..I just lay around and sleep.  (Laughs) Sometimes I do catch myself getting a little overbooked, a little over extended , and I tell myself that I need to slow down.  I’m not as young as I used to be! But….I enjoy what I do….That’s the key.  I think if you can make a living doing something you really love and enjoy, you’re among the luckiest people in the world.  I just haven’t gotten to the point to where I want to quit doing it yet.  I’m like Willie.  I asked him one day when he was going to retire, and he said ‘I don’t but two things….I play music and I play Golf, so which one do I give up.’ I have a hard time deciding what to give up because I enjoy everything I do.

For more about Bill or to buy his new album, visit his website at: http://www.billanderson.com