Mel Tillis Interview in 1988

[Music] [Music] [Music] welcome to another edition two subs in country video hi I'm herb Sutton on tonight's show I have Mel Tillis as my special guests we just finished watching Mel Dewar show he's here for a few minutes before he does a second show I'd like to ask him a few questions and Mel welcome to southern country video where was your first public appearance Quinn wait going back a few years oh my goodness I guess it was in are you talking professionally public appearance well no not professionally you know did you ever get out there and just ham it up on a local stage as a kid or anything as a whole yeah I entered all the all the content all the talent shows and everything Sam to pitch theater well as a comedian anything oh yeah the singer most because I couldn't I couldn't talk to well in those days I still can't but I was a singer in those days I get up and I get up Boy Scout camp you know what entertained I'd do a mixture of it there wasn't much country in those days it was a big bang you know Frank Sinatra I do imitations of Frank Sinatra relax Mike Jones as soon as your first break into business into professional business and 1956 I went to Nashville and I had a song recorded by Webb Pierce Cole I'm tired that was a you wrote that song true yes I wrote the song and it was out not too long ago but Ricky Skaggs did you have any influences that motivated you in into the music business have any idols or anything like that in the past yes I love the Grand Ole Opry a lot I really look at those days there weren't a lot of radio stations and we picked it up on the Clear Channel WSM in Nashville and and we could I could pick it up on Saturday nights we would save our batteries until Saturday no to listen to the Grand Ole Opry and then my mama she'd listen to I guess to recall the soaps in those dates December bride and things like that in those days and we're listening to Chorus Archer and and Henry Aldridge and and the inner sanctum and all those alone but the Opry I love the Opera I loved all the I love Roy wake up Bill Monroe a comedy team called jam up and honey a blackface team at that in those days and I guess the biggest of inspiration of all was red Foley and Bob wheels did you reach public attention by writing or by singing well how did you get there first I would say through writing I don't three songs well I went to Nashville with the intentions of becoming a singer and they told me they didn't need any stuttering singers up there do you need and there's honey copyrights and I said well what's that you know I didn't know what he meant but that he said I need some songs so I became a songwriter and I wrote three songs and all and all and it's just amazing how this happened because I was not a songwriter before that but I don't three so I said well I'll write a song and I sit down and I wrote three songs and believe me all three were number one songs and then I'm tired ain't never and honky-tonks so what year was this in in 56 and 56 57 and 59 did you did you write for other singers in the past who were they named a few of them a few don't mind Kenny Rogers Brenda Lee Ray Price George Jones kitty whales you name it I've had over over 600 recorded songs yeah do you write from personal experiences or do you just pull ideas you know from from whatever you pass in a day you know like off the street you see something happening do you write from that experience but you can pick it up an idea out of a newspaper or a person can say something that will trigger an idea usually you start out with a title like on I wrote one called Ruby don't take your love to town and I I was humming in an old song of Johnny Cash don't take your guns to town son leave your guns at home Ruby don't take your love to town there was a song there was a song developed out of that and all the songs you wrote 600 songs copyrighted for what you just say I've had that memory ok record I'm much too written when over 2000 which songs had the most meaning to you out of can you name one or two that have real Ruby was the biggest just a true story actually how long did it take you to write it didn't take me very long about 15-20 minutes most hit songs are in in 15 or 20 minutes I'm blue and ignore it city is their basic theme when you see you're writing songs or less that just you prefer a writing love songs you prefer writing drinking songs you prefer writing you know what do you have anything just never pravartate know just what comes handy up to the brain just whatever is given I did some research on used some of the paperwork that was sent to me and said new patches album I read on the paper said has back to the basics what did you mean what did you mean by one on you scribes new patches album back to basics new patches is great song written by Tommy Collins and it's a it's taken from the Bible something about you you don't put new wine in old you know goat skins or something and and Tommy change it up a little bit but it's a it's a really really country song it's a real traditional song that's what I mean what happened to country music a few years ago you know kind of one different directions do you think we're pairing on the track now I don't know they are not you've been in Nashville 30 years so it changed the urban capital of thing everybody said Lord look here you know country is going to be big in the old all the producers from LA and Chicago in New York that they started and then moved to Tennessee and the lawyers got involved and the next thing you know they were trying to cut pomp and in Rock and they were trying to compete there at going after a younger audience and that and and I think it was the biggest mistake they ever made well it didn't have proper units in it but doing that because and then house it and even a day I was just down in my home county in West Palm Beach I went in there and he said no we can't interview you we don't you anymore on the radio and we came and we can't play your new record because go tot play this and my home county and they said but we will let you introduce Paul Harvey that was extent of MA and that was I said uh I said it still is too tight left out there running he's a Jewish real time and he said we're aiming for our younger audience and and I wanted to say yeah I wish that you would go to a Kmart store or Walmart or Sears and sit out in front and see how many young people go in them stores right right it's older people it used to be that the country music was music for everybody the young and the middle and do the work crossover I don't think it helped us at all in the country folks did you ever sing duets with anybody oh my goodness I saw with the girl but name of Sue York a little label unknown label great label and then I had Sharia Brides we had out I don't know power sticks out together and then I had two now I'm out with Nancy Sinatra how I played a song yesterday by Nancy Sinatra with Cowboys dream no we have about a cowboy with the Cowboys something with the cowboy I came in I forgot I played it yesterday but 4:45 yeah talk about your hit singles and near albums go ahead tell us about how many hit singles did you have 38 sango's 37signals the ones you record it these are York Mel Tillis recorded songs on top ten records I had about 18 number ones about about 37 number and the top can just take a ballpark figure how many songs have you did you write that hit the number one and you you have from the other artists from the other artists every well let's see I've done about it I got about 25 of wards I've just done with my next question being not awards how do you in six I finish six I got a new one will you cut an album how do you determine an a side of the record from a b-side I can never figure out what makes an a side record and the beasts side do their well everybody said boy that's the one that's the one oh that's happy point one huh right there that's the a side huh yeah and that and the beasts sided you summer cut off the outlet on it and now how do you do this on the next day you suck good usually get a couple records off a couple singles over now did you get about three or four get some mileage out of that album and that point defender to the next one savings at the other a side and it depends on the on the weather a time of the year the timing on the song the contents alerts and everything like that that all has bearing on them yes it does and the time of year the people in the mood and what's going on that's right going back to the awards go run through the CMA Award you had only comedy without a Peter Rabbit song what Oh nature you put out Peter Rabbit song at CMA Awards you what did you you made it had a few more I want Entertainer of the Year and we mother Decker 76 you had a few more Awards that one that comedian award that's five years in a row of six years and had the other than CMA did you know rather a Hall of Fame what country other than the United States enjoys country music as much as we do well I believe that leave England is pretty good for that be it has to be a real traditional they could be real traditional Sam and real went over there bless her heart and she had her big show you know that she does and it's that's a good show you know it's a it's contemporary and she makes it up you know she does a little bit a have a theme but they didn't like it over you know they wanted it to be real a real country and then you thought one of the biggest acts over there the pendulum of Berlin Oxford and and I mean he's just country has to come so if you're really really really country you can do we're a little bit Australia nothing really good these are all english-speaking countries now we're in the world how do they understand what country music isn't it on the country where they don't speak English do they Germany Germany or you know do them in German well the Mel Tillis have it's Mel Tillis do it in German no you don't know I never had a release in Drummonds about no one okay but now Brenda Lee she does Amol she sings more in a different languages right I didn't know that and I told him I said hail they gonna have to take my letter this cuz I can't talk about what you have out now it's it's a song that was written by Norman Mailer of all people hit he's in Angelo Badalamenti he did the music Angelo who lives in New York heal me to be here tonight on The Late Show Norman he wrote a book it's called tough guys don't dance and they made a movie of it then it started running on the air and Isabella Rossellini and and they needed a song and Norman I think you book the lyrics and then Angelo did the music and it's called you'll come back you always do let's talk about your autobiography the stuttering boy there's not much to say and I put it out then I didn't have a lot of backing on it and I got into a tremendous argument with the people that put it out and they sanitized me they cleaned the book of the law in it took out about 300 pages I had it bore that thick matrix then we can and they've got a we've been to in us they lost all my mother's pictures old pictures that that that mom had had for years years New Year's and I got some Manhattan I could die and I think I did I think I made them mad and I got the book they I bought them all back I think it did about about thirty thousand it's not in the stores and then books in today it's in the in paperback but I bought all the card backs they had left and I got the rats a ride back come back and I'll read release it later on down the line hundred new tile probably probably mail described classic country music 1988 are you gonna go back to when we were because how are you gonna describe like 25 years ago we had Hank Williams and we had Lefty Frizzell and Patsy Cline describe country music what we're gonna be able to talk about I don't think I don't think such a thing yes will be remembered that's it except with the exception of the ones that are that are coming pulling back back old now all right they're the ones they're gonna be remember Dwight Yoakam everything he puts out is is a normal song it sounds like well the new Samba let about the rot is a Noel that's for sale song which ones that always late with your kisses yeah that's a honky Tonk Man was about some Johnny Horton song that horn sure did that in 59 well I have no doubts I'm going to solve that has come a lot like bones bones you can have bones that's good country song who's gonna be remembered to most 25 years from now as being you know a Hank Williams or Lefty Frizzell or Patsy Cline are we going to talk about the most as far the entertainers are concerned today that's obviously a Randy Travis George Strait females Ricky Skaggs in the reba mcentire I think [Music] a lightness to Holly Holly Duncan Hawley done I've done is I saw her in concert a few months back well I have no more questions Mel do you think I covered enough ground here's why telling you you got to keep it that's the whole story there that's all ball that's a knob all the way [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music]

Channel: herbsudzin

Views: 5,229

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: herb sudzin classic, sudzin country, mel tillis, singer, songwriter, actor, stutterin boy, ruby don't take your love to town, detroit city, national medal of arts, old dogs, smokey and the bandit 2, cannonball run, country music, norman mailer, honky tonk, wsm, grand ole opry, i aint never, coca cola, im tired, pam tillis

Id: ivi8LuFcTt4

Length: 17min 9sec (1029 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 29 2018