Gene Watson's Peers: Mel Tillis
Gene Watson's peers within the country music
industry believe in the sheer talent of this unassuming man from east Texas,
so much so that Gene is regarded by many of them as 'the singer's singer' -
and rightly so!
All of Gene's Peers who were contacted in 2005 were most
gracious with their time & words. It is here, within this special part of
gene-watson.com, that you have an opportunity to read
a quote from Mel Tillis, which he submitted to this site on
Wednesday 25 May 2005.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to
Mel Tillis who has
made a special contribution to a unique part of this online 'celebration of
a Lone Star Hero'.
Mel Tillis
This quote was submitted on Wednesday 25 May 2005
'I have to say that Gene Watson, along with
Vern Gosdin,
is one of the best country music singers to come along since Hank Williams
Senior, and I ain't kidding'.
Thank you, Mel Tillis, for your
support of Gene Watson
About Mel Tillis...
Mel Tillis was born Lonnie Melvin
Tillis in Tampa, Florida
on 8 August 1932; it is believed his stuttering was the result of a bout
with malaria at the age of three. As a child, he learned guitar & in
high school studied both the violin & the drums. At the age of
sixteen, Mel first performed publicly at a local talent show & after
graduation he entered the military. While stationed in Okinawa, Japan
he formed a group called the Westerners, which played local clubs.
After exiting the service in 1955, Mel Tillis went to college & held odd
jobs until moving to Nashville the following year. He found little
success as a writer or performer there & soon returned to Florida.
Then, in 1957, Webb Pierce reached No.3 with Tillis' composition 'I'm
tired', which earned the aspiring artist a song-writing contract with
Pierce's Cedarwood Music. After playing with the likes of Minnie Pearl
& Judy Lynn, Mel cut his first single, a cover of the standard 'It takes a
worried man to sing a worried song', in 1957; the b-side, the self-penned
'Honky tonk song', quickly became a chart-topper for Pierce. After a
few excursions into rock & roll territory, Mel Tillis earned his first Top
40 country hit with 'The violet and a rose' for Columbia Records in 1958.
While Tillis continued to chart singles like 'Finally' in 1959 a pair of
duets with Bill Phillips namely 'Sawmill' & 'Georgia town blues', his
greatest success at the turn of the decade remained as a songwriter.
Mel continued supplying Webb Pierce with hit after hit, including the 1959
smashes 'I ain't never' & 'No love have I', along with 'Crazy wild desire'
in 1962 & 'Sawmill' in 1963.
Artists also covering Mel Tillis' songs at this time were Bobby Bare ('Detroit
City'), Ray Price ('One more time', 'Burning memories' & 'Heart over mind'),
Stonewall Jackson ('Mary don't you weep'), Jack
Greene ('All the time') & Little Jimmy Dickens ('The violet and a rose',
which was also covered by Wanda Jackson).
In 1962, Mel Tillis saw the release of his first album, 'Heart Over Mind'
(Columbia Records, 1962); a
year later, he teamed up with Web Pierce for the hit 'How come your dog
don't bite nobody but me'.
In 1965, Mel Tillis recorded his first Top 15 hit, a song called 'Wine'.
A string of successes followed, including 'Stateside' in 1966, 'Life turned
her that way' (the title cut from his 1967 album) & his first Top Ten hit,
'Who's Julie' in 1968.
At the same time, Mel's his stature as a songwriter continued to grow thanks
to hit covers of his 'Ruby, don't take your love to town' (recorded by both
Johnny Darrell and Kenny Rogers & the First Edition) & 'Mental revenge'
(recorded by Waylon Jennings).
At the end of the 1960s, Mel Tillis & his esteemed new backing band the
Statesiders came into their own as performers; after two 1969 Top Ten hits,
'These lonely hands of mine' & 'She'll be hanging around somewhere', Mel
scored back-to-back Top Five hits in 1970 with 'Heart over mind' & 'Heaven
everyday'. In 1971, he began a successful string of duets with Sherry
Bryce which included 'Take my hand' & 'Living & learning' & he also released
the album 'Live at the Sam Houston Coliseum'.
Mel Tillis enjoyed his first No.1 song in 1972 with 'I ain't never' (No.1
for 2 weeks in September/October 1972). Most of the 1970s turned out
to be a very fertile period for Mel Tillis as an artist, as evidenced by a
series of Top Five smashes including 'Neon rose', 'Sawmill', 'Midnight, me &
the blues', 'Stomp them grapes', 'Memory maker'.
On 11 October 1976 (Gene Watson's 33rd birthday), Mel Tillis was awarded the
CMA (Country Music Association) 'Entertainer of the Year' Award.
Between 1976 & 1980, Mel Tillis scored five more number ones on the
Billboard country music singles chart:
'Good woman blues' (No.1 for 2 weeks in November/December 1976)
'Heart healer' (No.1 for 1 week in March 1977)
'I believe in you' (No.1 for 1 week in July 1978)
'Coca cola cowboy' (No.1 for 1 week in August 1979)
'Southern rains' (No.1 for 1 week in February 1981)
Mel Tillis also appeared in a number of films, including 'W.W. & the Dixie
Dance Kings' in 1975 (with Burt Reynolds, Jerry Reed &
Don Williams), 'The Villain' in
1977 (starring Kirk Douglas & Arnold Schwarzenegger),
Clint Eastwood's
'Every Which Way but Loose' in 1979 (which included Mel's No. 1 'Coca cola
cowboy' on the soundtrack) & 'Smokey & the Bandit II' in 1980.
Although Mel continued to work in films (co-starring in both 'Cannonball
Run' pictures) & notched the occasional Top Ten hit (such as 'A million old
goodbyes' in 1981 or 'In the middle of the night' in 1983), his days as a
superstar were over.
Still, Mel Tillis remained a popular songwriter, especially among younger
country music artists. His "Honey (open that door)' was a No.1 hit for
Ricky Skaggs (No.1 for 1 week in June 1984).
Mel Tillis also continued as a successful road act and, in the early 1990s,
his daughter Pam Tillis emerged to become one of country's biggest stars.
Visit Mel Tillis' Official Site
Visit Pam Tillis' Official Site