A friend of mine, that I had known for some time, came up one day with an old guitar. I don't know where he got it, I don't know how long he'd had it, but he knew about two chords on it. He proceeded to teach them to me, and then we proceeded to go crazy over music.
Any accolades that anybody puts toward this band really makes me feel good, because I have devoted such a big part of my life to this band, making it what I want it to be.
Country music has changed tremendously, so what now is considered country was not considered country at that time. We were doing stuff that probably could have been called country music today, but would certainly have not have fit in at that time.
Every award I've ever received has been very gratifying. The Living Legend Award was extremely gratifying; it was voted on by the fans. It's just great to be remembered after all these years, to still be a viable part of the music business. So, I'm very deeply honored by all the awards.
I didn't really fit well with what was going on in Nashville at the time. I was too loud, I was too bluesy, I was too "a lot of things."
I had been on the road for a long time and was not really getting anywhere. Bob Johnston, a friend of mine, had taken over Columbia in Nashville. He asked me if I wanted to come down. I did -- thank God I did.
I just feel such freedom to do whatever. If a song's seven minutes or ten minutes long, then so be it - it's that long.
I just thank God I can make a living doing something I enjoy as much as I do playing music.
I played on three of Bob Dylan's albums. I have very pleasant memories, especially the Nashville Skyline album was a real fun album to do. He was in a great mood. He was glad to be in Nashville, where the musicians were very laid back and very creative. We had a lot of fun doing that album.
I should be the one to say what I do. It's just not done that way anymore in Nashville, and I can't do it the other way. That's how our record label came about.
If I come across an issue, or something I feel strongly about, and I happen to think of a song that would go in that direction, then I do it. But that's not what I start out, necessarily, to do. Sometimes I may have an idea for a song - "Well, I'm going to write about a thing."
My next project will be a Christian album, another one. I wrote the songs for the ones you're referring to, but I want to do some of my old gospel favorites. That's what my next album's going to be.
Some of our friends came and sat in with us, and it was just so much fun. We said, "Hey, let's do this once in a while." We did them every year for a while, then we took it on the road. We've done eighteen now, I think.
The funny thing is, the music that I'm writing now is probably some of the most cutting edge we've ever done. The music that I'm thinking about putting on our next album.
We didn't have a garage to rehearse in. We had to aggravate the folks in the house. But I got a chance to play in a beer joint, and that's how it started.
We played everything from "White Sports Coat" to Bill Haley and the Comets - whatever happened to be the "in music" at the time.
Well, I just can't play the game anymore. I'm 63 years old, and I've been in the business for 40 years now. I take good advice and direction really well, but I don't need somebody that finished college two years ago to come in and tell me what I should be recording.
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