The Country Classics

NOTE: Update of November 17th. Eddie Kilroy’s bio is still missing from the XM-13 website, but he is slotted for 7 - 11. Eddie is on right now, playing songs that “put a lot of rocks in the driveway” - and the songs that made Willie’s Place as great as it is. Perhaps the XM-13 website is in transition. I talked with Eddie about the transition under the new XM - Sirius corporation. Catfish officially retired from Willie’s Place so he can do some fishing and take it easy. He certainly deserves it, and we already miss him.

In a previous post we said:

Gary Hightower, aka Catfish, and Eddie Kilroy are missing from XM-13, Willie’s Place. We still hear voiceovers from Elizabeth. Everything changes with time but one reason we listen to Willie’s Place on XM-13 is because we enjoy the stability of music that we remember. Add new traditionalists to the mix and we know the music we grew up with will outlive us. No, I am not knocking change, nor am I knocking Dallas Wayne.

Catfish, as he is known to many, is Gary Hightower, a Missouri man who grew up not far from us in Mansfield Missouri. I always enjoyed talking to Gary or emailing him. Between Eddie Kilroy and Gary Hightower, listeners could always keep their finger on the pulse of country music. Gary and I are the same age. We are both sixty years old.

There is something to be said for stability. Perhaps we learned to rely on Eddie and Gary to tell us about our country music heroes. After all, we are all getting older. Gary and Eddie made it possible for country legends to be real people that we could talk to, hear about, and joke with. I remember the morning that I was on the phone with Johnny Bush while Eddie called Willie Nelson on his bus, waking Willie from a deep sleep as he answered his cell phone. Moments like that are priceless.

As I listen today I understand what’s missing, besides Catfish and Eddie. I haven’t heard Dan Roberts, Mona McCall, Amber Digby, Ian Tyson, or Justin Trevino. Gary P. Nunn’s “Honkin Out Some Hank” is missing. I wonder where the Texas traditionalists went. So many people tell me they discovered a whole new world of country music from traditionalists like those mentioned above. We owe it to those fine people, and many others, to play their songs, promote their work, and let the world know about them.

I will not speculate about changes at Willies Place, XM-13. To do so would be unprofessional. However, I know I am not the only one who misses my friends. I heard Catfish on Memorial Day, and heard Eddie sign off that day. The sign-off sounded different. For now there will be no more emails and calls from Tim and Nancy in Windsor Missouri. No more calls from the Boston Leatherneck, Barb in Rosemont California, and many others. But at our age we think about each other, perhaps just a little bit more.

We also think about Ray Price, Melba Montgomery, George Jones, Norma Jean, and many, many others. We think of them as friends, real people, and pioneers who just happen to be famous.

During the transition we are establishing a hotline here at The Country Classics. The telephone number is (660) 530-7249. If you prefer to send email, here is the form. Catfish – call me buddy, when you get a chance. Meanwhile, here is Vernon Oxford’s “Shadows Of My Mind” on YouTube.