Our matchless hero

 Wine and dine with Bobby Cline

 Good Bakersfield Neighbor Sam

He once booked Monti Rock III to open for Josephine Baker

Small crowd in Kansas City June 6, 1959, for A's baseball at Municipal Stadium (Photo not mine). Myself and Possie Harrelson made our last trip here coming up in his dad's new Midnight Blue Mercedes 190D.
 

 

Dillard and Clark

Gene Clark after he left the Byrds and Doug Dillard

Right on! Mr. Miller, you have a way with words!
 

 

Los Angeles Free Press May 4-14, 1973

 

                                        Bakersfield's historical buildings, on old paper

 

I had to research this photo to see where it came from. I was correct in believing this to be Burleigh Smith in the part cutoff on the bottom. I still don't know who Barry Aubry is, the man wearing glasses. I thought it might be Kenny Hays instead. The photo here is from a past issue of Bakersfield Magazine about the El Tejon Hotel, where Channel 23 was at the time in hosting the Trading Post show.

 

 

It appears that this C-10 came into Merle’s life in 1987 and not much is said about the 10 years prior. Merle was friends with the owner of Lobo Camper Mfg. Co. in California, and he had this camper designed and built to his specifications. We’re told the singer sketched out what he wanted the final product to look like and Lobo went to work. When completed, Merle dubbed it “The Camper” and could be seen driving around in it for many years to come (Merle was a California native, born in 1937 and passed away in 2016).

The Cheyenne was a trim package on the popular Silverado pickup in the 1970s. It could be ordered with two or four-wheel drive, and with short or leg-length beds. This 1977 Cheyenne has the distinction of having once been owned by country singer Merle Haggard who had it converted into a camper.  The truck is said to have some special touches applied by Merle himself and sports a later vintage V8 engine.

NOTE: Yes, there is some irony here. Merle was doing Ford commercials at the time. Lobo Camper Mfg. Co. owner was Jim Collins. Merle bought the Chevy C10 show truck from Collins' son.  Merle was part owner of the Bridge Bay Resort north of Redding. He lived east of Redding. .

  Fill in: Any Time, Any Place, Rose Maddox

 

This Old Road

I just passed a Jimmie and a Mack and a white Cadillac

Counting' the hundreds of miles to home and sittin' back

Got some redskins in a bottle of Pepsi cold in my hand

My windshield is clear, steering through this rainy land

It's been a long old haul and I guess it always really is

Been a long time since I've had that good night kiss

This time though I've really put in some thought

Wondering' if I should give up this old road or not

God tell me and lay a hand on me

What's best and what should be

This old road it's talking to me

But it's your voice I know it to be

She'd be all for it, she's told me plenty of times

But all I've ever known is keeping it between the lines

It's too late to be a welder or a carpenter on a crew

Sure, I could quit this rig but then what would I do

God tell me and lay a hand on me

What's best and what should be

This old road it's talking to me

But it's your voice I know it to be

It's been a long old haul and I guess it always really is

Been a long time since I've had that good night kiss

This time though I've really put in some thought

Wondering if I should give up this old road or not

God tell me and lay a hand on me

What's best and what should be

This old road it's talking to me

But it's your voice I know it to be

© W and M by Bryce Martin 2024 BMI

 

Merle singing, Bonnie and Strangers bass player Jerry Ward providing dual harmony

 

\

Debut on WB

BATTLEGROUND KOREA 

Songs and Sounds of  America’s Forgotten War 

By Hugo Keesing With Bill Geerhart

Page 26 

"Pusan" (Fuzzy Owen) 

Billy Mize with Bill Woods & His Orange Blossom Playboys 

Kord 100 | OP 1953 

Other than "Heartbreak Ridge," a name assigned by U.S. war correspondents, Pusan is the only 1950-53 recording to use a Korean location in its title. The port city was the focal point of the U.N.'s last defensive perimeter when the Communists swept south in July/August 1950. Billy Mize's vocal, actually the B-side of I'm Still A Prisoner, is not about the battles that raged at the time but rather about the constant threat of enemy soldiers using guerilla tactics. Whether it was in the hills around Pusan, the shores of the Naktong River or on the land in between, "everyone saw the rice paddies doing the burp gun boogie" so they headed for the safety of the city. Note: Burp gun was the name for a Soviet-made submachine gun that could fire 900 rounds per minute. Neither side of the record found much favor with the 'Billboard' staff. Pusan was described as "another ditty, this a novelty effort about Korea," and given a 58 rating. William Robert 'Billy' Mize was born April 29, 1929, in Arkansas City, Kansas. Around 1950 he moved to Bakersfield, California where he formed a band, played at the Lucky Spot and found further work as a disc jockey at KPMC. In 1953 Mize and two others put together a local show that by featuring upcoming and established country music stars had a 13-year run on KERO-TV. One of his partners, Bill Woods, backed him on his KORD sides with The Orange Blossom playboys. Mize became a well-known television personality in the Los Angeles area and could be seen on a half-dozen local shows in the late '50s. His records did not begin to go national until 1966 when he entered the Country charts for the first time with You Can't Stop Me [COLUMBIA 43770]. He would then chart ten more times thru 1977. During the same stretch he played steel and rhythm guitar on many of fellow Bakersfield artist Merle Haggard's hits.

Jimmie Addington and his wife Carol have graciously extended an invitation for me to join them at their country ranch for a gathering prompted by an electrical power outage that resulted in the loss of their supply of beefalo steaks. Jimmie, who maintains a substantial herd of buffalo on the property, managed to salvage some of the meat and has assured me that there will be plenty to eat. 

I must confess that I have a particular preference when it comes to meat, favoring chicken, pork, or the more common cuts of beef. I am not one to shy away from trying new things, but I do have my limits. Creamy cow brains, squirrel, rabbit, duck, lamb, and other less conventional meats are not to my taste. 

In addition to the Addington's, Bob Poff and his wife Anne, who peddles Herbalife products, will also be in attendance. Neither Jimmie nor Bob is seldom seen not wearing a cowboy hat.

The beefalo steaks prepared by Jimmie were truly delicious, showcasing his skill as a charcoal grill master. However, it was Bob's pinto beans that truly caught my attention. Having spent a childhood in rural Kansas, I have a deep appreciation for well-prepared beans, whether they be lima, white, or pinto. Bob's beans were exceptional, and after some prodding, he revealed his secret ingredient: cabbage. 

The addition of cabbage, boiled down to a point where it is indiscernible yet enhances the flavor, truly elevated the dish. I found myself thoroughly impressed and eager to try this technique in my own cooking endeavors.

 Anne kindly gifted me a bottle of nettle leaf caplets, touting their numerous benefits. Bob and Anne spent 18 years in Alaska. Bob tells how after salmon fishing in an Alaska stream a bear chased him to his truck, wanting Bob's catch.

 

                       Buck Owens, brother Mel, sister Dorothy

 

     "You mind repeatin' that?"

                                                   A young Don Rich

                              Ernie Lewis, Johnny Owens, Mario Carboni, Jennifer Keel, Rick Stevens

Early Buckaroos, with a briefly departed Doyle Holly, and, to Buck's left, his replacement, Wayne Wilson. Otherwise, incumbents Cantu, Rich, and Brumley

 

 

There were the Ricky Nelson comparisons with his looks back in the 1970s. He released a slew of singles on various labels. At his peak he fronted a popular band at Ted Force's Funny Farm when Bakersfield was really hopping with music clubs all over town. In photo above at very top you can see his name on the marquee at the Golden Nugget in Nevada.

HAROLD COX (center)