Mel Tillis' regular guest appearances in the late sixties and early seventies on the nationally broadcast country music TV shows Hee Haw and The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour confirmed that he had well honed comic skills (well honed since childhood to avoid mockery of his stutter), using his stutter to get laughs - as well as his singing skills, and soon he was touring the country with an enormous band and an elaborate stage show. At one point his touring band contained 17 pieces, including 4 fiddles. Through the 70s, he averaged 250 concerts annually In addition to his much in demand for appearances on network TV shows. After years of writing high quality hits for others and growing notoriety as comic
relief on TV, Tillis finally landed his first # 1 hit as a performer in 1972 at age 40.
So just 3 days ago we had Webb Pierce's 1959 # 2 hit 'I Ain't Never', in which both Tillis and Pierce were credited as co-writers. but according to Tillis he wrote the song himself and agreed to credit Pierce as a co-writer in exchange for a pair of boots Pierce was wearing when Tillis pitched him the song (Webb was famous for his flamboyant Nudie suit outfits and boots). In Tillis' words -"Them old boots cost me over $800,000" in royalties. Perhaps to make up that loss, 13 years later Tillis re-recorded and released the song as a single. With it's lovelorn, lyrics, honky-tonk piano accompaniment, chorus harmonies and some pretty sweet guitar work, Tillis made this a neo-traditionalist hit a decade before neo-traditionalist hits were cool. Tillis’ 1972 recording finally resulted in his first # 1, in both the U.S. and Canada -
Originally written by Tillis in 1959 for Faron Young, following the success of 'I Ain't Never' Tillis re-recorded and
released 'Sawmill' - and was rewarded with it reaching # 2 in 1973 This unlikely Top 5 hit celebrates the working
man as effectively as the contemporary recordings by working class hero Merle Haggard and others at the time,
singing one of the traditional country themes of the blue collar worker, willing to work hard, manual labor for an
honest living (this was the era before most of those jobs were shut down by Wall St and moved to China) -
Written by Jerry House, from the album "Stomp Them Grapes", 'Midnight, Me and the Blues' also just missed topping the charts, reaching # 2 in the U.S. and Canada in 1974. Here we have Tillis again displaying his versatility as he adopts a more relaxed, laidback sound that had been made famously popular by Dean Martin - probably not coincidental, given that Tillis frequently appeared on Dean Martin's then top rating TV show -
The title song of the album, 'Stomp Them Grapes' reached # 3 in in the U.S. and Canada in 1974. The song might
have a classic theme of losing a woman leading to the demand for more wine to drown the memories - but despite
the 4/4 country shuffle beat, this song still has a somewhat blues feel to it (so much so, I'd like to see this covered
as a full on blues version) -
'Memory Maker' also reached # 3 in both the U.S. and Canada in 1974. Tillis tackles two of the ugliest four-letter words - pain and love - with this catchy, bass-led stroll. As one of the better breakup songs of its era this time, the singer is the one cheated -and yet still can't help still wanting the serial cheater, who obviously made some seriously good memories -
"... Cause I'm still in love with the girl that didn't do me right / But there ain't no way for me to forget her /
Cause I ain't never been cheated any better / And I bet she's cheatin' someone else tonight ..."
By 1974, Mel Tillis was consistently making top 5 hits and was a frequent guest on the top American TV variety shows like the Johnny Carson Show - mainly for his singing but also his humour. He was approaching his career peak so tomorrow will bring more.
relief on TV, Tillis finally landed his first # 1 hit as a performer in 1972 at age 40.
So just 3 days ago we had Webb Pierce's 1959 # 2 hit 'I Ain't Never', in which both Tillis and Pierce were credited as co-writers. but according to Tillis he wrote the song himself and agreed to credit Pierce as a co-writer in exchange for a pair of boots Pierce was wearing when Tillis pitched him the song (Webb was famous for his flamboyant Nudie suit outfits and boots). In Tillis' words -"Them old boots cost me over $800,000" in royalties. Perhaps to make up that loss, 13 years later Tillis re-recorded and released the song as a single. With it's lovelorn, lyrics, honky-tonk piano accompaniment, chorus harmonies and some pretty sweet guitar work, Tillis made this a neo-traditionalist hit a decade before neo-traditionalist hits were cool. Tillis’ 1972 recording finally resulted in his first # 1, in both the U.S. and Canada -
Originally written by Tillis in 1959 for Faron Young, following the success of 'I Ain't Never' Tillis re-recorded and
released 'Sawmill' - and was rewarded with it reaching # 2 in 1973 This unlikely Top 5 hit celebrates the working
man as effectively as the contemporary recordings by working class hero Merle Haggard and others at the time,
singing one of the traditional country themes of the blue collar worker, willing to work hard, manual labor for an
honest living (this was the era before most of those jobs were shut down by Wall St and moved to China) -
Written by Jerry House, from the album "Stomp Them Grapes", 'Midnight, Me and the Blues' also just missed topping the charts, reaching # 2 in the U.S. and Canada in 1974. Here we have Tillis again displaying his versatility as he adopts a more relaxed, laidback sound that had been made famously popular by Dean Martin - probably not coincidental, given that Tillis frequently appeared on Dean Martin's then top rating TV show -
The title song of the album, 'Stomp Them Grapes' reached # 3 in in the U.S. and Canada in 1974. The song might
have a classic theme of losing a woman leading to the demand for more wine to drown the memories - but despite
the 4/4 country shuffle beat, this song still has a somewhat blues feel to it (so much so, I'd like to see this covered
as a full on blues version) -
'Memory Maker' also reached # 3 in both the U.S. and Canada in 1974. Tillis tackles two of the ugliest four-letter words - pain and love - with this catchy, bass-led stroll. As one of the better breakup songs of its era this time, the singer is the one cheated -and yet still can't help still wanting the serial cheater, who obviously made some seriously good memories -
"... Cause I'm still in love with the girl that didn't do me right / But there ain't no way for me to forget her /
Cause I ain't never been cheated any better / And I bet she's cheatin' someone else tonight ..."
By 1974, Mel Tillis was consistently making top 5 hits and was a frequent guest on the top American TV variety shows like the Johnny Carson Show - mainly for his singing but also his humour. He was approaching his career peak so tomorrow will bring more.
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