There are many, many entertainers and writers who fade into the woodwork in their later years. Not so for legendary writer and friend, Bill Anderson. Anderson is celebrating 52 tears as a professional in the music industry. He started out as a disc jockey while in college. He began his string of hits with “City Lights”, a song that has been recorded numerous times but became a big smash for Ray Price on Columbia Records.

I first became aware of Bill when I was with Decca Records in Pittsburgh and later Cleveland. Owen Bradley produced his “Po’ Folks” and the big hit “Still.” Our people worked the records in a mighty way and we got Bill on the Mike Douglas Show. Bill was the first country artist to be on the syndicated TV entertainment series. His popularity continued to grow quickly in the North and Midwest. He was managed by Hubert Long and was writing for Tree Music. He never looked back. He continued to move on to bigger and better things. Today, he is in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Over the years he has continued to keep writing hits and he’s still doing it today. He has the current Sugarland single, “Joey.” He also has the cut “No” which is on the current Brad Paisley album.

Bill also penned the Brand Paisley/Alison Krauss “Whiskey Lullaby” that became the song of the year recently. Each time we hear a Bill Anderson song we smile. He has come a long way. Bill is also a sports enthusiast. We see him at the Vanderbilt University baseball and basketball games. He has become the best entertainer on the Grand Ole Opry over the years. He always wears outstanding stage clothes and always has a top notch band. We’re proud of our long association with this country gentleman and we hope to see more of him soon