Where She Always Wanted To Be....

He's in country music, where he always wanted to be...

First off, let me tell you, it was really a great night. Dailey & Vincent at the Country Music Hall of Fame... performing songs from their new CD "Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers." With all four Statlers in attendance.

We got over there at about 4:15 for a pre-party interview. To say it was chaos, was an understatement. Tons of media running around. And you put Harold Reid and Darrin Vincent in front of microphones... well... let's just say schedules - and seriousness - go out the window!

My buddies Wil and Langdon were there. They've been in Nashville recording, but they're no longer known as Grandstaff. They're going by Wilson Fairchild now -- their middle names. (Wil is technically a Harold Wilson Reid the 17th or something...) It was great to catch up with them. They've been writing with Gordon Kennedy. And somehow in the conversation we got around to Garth, and how they're thinking about going to Vegas sometime with Bryan.

But anyway... back to the media rounds. We went back into the HOF's green room when it was getting to be time for radio/print. There were about 4 media outlets there... and the parties involved were sort of making the rounds with no real direction. Kyle wound up talking to D&V, and then the Statlers were supposed to join them, but it wound up being Phil and Jimmy for a while... then Harold came in and pretty much, chaos overtook at that point. Don was tied up with another reporter who didn't share, LOL. Which made me a little sad, because as I've mentioned, I know Don's an XM fan, and we've never had him on the air with us.

Anyway, more people kept coming in to the green room... including Ralph Emory, and somehow, there wound up being this big group picture with Kyle and Ralph and the Statlers and D&V. And Karen Byrd - who is an even bigger Statlers fan than I am - insisted I get in there too.

So in this hodge podge of people, there I am, standing right next to Don Reid. The man who's voice completely melts me no matter how many times I hear those songs. He, I'm sure, has no earthly idea who he's getting his picture taken with -- Kyle hasn't ever met him either. And at one point, Jimmy reaches right over him and hugs me. The good news is, I didn't babble like an idiot. The bad news is... I didn't say anything. Chalk it up on the opportunity missed wall. Literally... we're rubbing elbows. And I can't find a "hello" in there?

Some photographer somewhere has a picture of unknown quality that I'm in, with the Statler Brothers. Will it ever make it's way to my desk? Maybe. Don's son Langdon even teased me about how good I did in there with them. Seriously, the room was about 10 x 6 and there were 20 people in it. But the reality is - I failed.

The show itself was SO good. This album is really outstanding. And I can't IMAGINE what it must be like to play these songs, with the guys who wrote them and recorded them, sitting in the front row. In the Hall of Fame. Their new bass singer, doing Harold's parts, was good, but very nervous. Everything else was just smack on.

Lots of other artists came out as well. Duane and Joe from the Oak Ridge Boys were there, Bill Gaither, Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner. Charlie Chase and Lorianne Crook. Her hubby, Jim Owens was there. I've never met him, but I used to see his name as Executive Producer on all those TNN shows. It was his job I was after. Missed that opportunity too.

After the performance there was a reception in the rotunda of the Hall of Fame. The food, oddly enough, was NOT catered by Cracker Barrel. It was a nice reception, and I got to spend some time catching up with Jimmy's wife Nina. Cracker Barrel had set up a backdrop, and the guys spent the whole night posing for pictures and signing autographs. Knowing that the Ford Theatre holds 214... I would guess there was about 180 people there.

So as the night wound down, I said goodbye to Wil and Langdon, and left. The pics I took backstage didn't turn out. Just make another mark on the wall.