"WHEN WILL THE 'SPRUCE PINE' BLUEGRASS/COUNTRY TRIBUTE TO HANK ALBUM BE AVAILABLE?"
THE FIRST SHIPMENT OF THE NEWLY RELEASED "SPRUCE PINE - COUNTRY/BLUEGRASS TRIBUTE TO HANK WILLIAMS" (WITH IT'S BONUS TRACK OF "HANK'S OLD SCRATCHED RECORD" BY ROBERT ACKERMAN) HAS ARRIVED AND IS AVAILABLE FOR ORDER.
CLICK ON THE "MERCHANDISE/CATALOG" LINK ON THIS WEBSITE AND YOU WILL BE DIRECTED INTO THE STORE TO DIRECTLY FROM OUR WEBSITE.
"WHY IS JIMMY PORTER REFERRED TO AS THE ONLY "LIVING" ORIGINAL DRIFTIN' COWBOY?"
REPLY FROM: A.W. BLAKE, DIRECTOR OF BIBB PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTIONS
MARCH 7, 2004
BIBB PROMOTIONAL APPRECIATES AND WELCOMES ALL COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS REGARDING STATEMENTS, COMMENTS AND/OR OPINIONS MADE ON ITS WEBSITE.
ONE OF THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS IS IN REGARD TO THE "DRIFTIN' COWBOYS" LINK FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE. IN PARTICULAR, THE COMMENT ABOUT "JIMMY PORTER" AND HIS RELATIONSHIP AS A DRIFTIN' COWBOY.
FOR CLARIFICATION PLEASE REREAD THE COMMENTS ON OUR WEBSITE ABOUT MR. PORTER. YOU WILL NOTICE THAT IT DOES NOT SAY THAT "JIMMY PORTER IS THE 'ONLY' LIVING DRIFTIN' COWBOY. IT STATES THAT "JIMMY PORTER" IS THE ONLY LIVING ---"ORIGINAL" DRIFTIN' COWBOY.
ALTHOUGH, ALL OF THE OTHER WONDERFUL GENTLEMEN WERE MEMBERS OF THE "DRIFTIN' COWBOYS", NONE OF THOSE STILL LIVING TODAY WERE OF THE --- "ORIGINAL" --- DRIFTIN' COWBOYS. THOSE GREAT GENTLEMEN ALL CAME ALONG "LATER" AS MEMBERS OF HANK WILLIAMS, SR'S BAND.
WHILE DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS WE HAVE RESPECTED THE PLACE OF, AND LOVED ALL OF THESE VERY TALENTED GENTS, MANY HAD FORGOTTEN AND LITTLE RECOGNITION WAS GIVEN TO ONE OF THE VERY FIRST OF HANK WILLIAMS'S BAND MEMBERS. A MEMBER WHO BECAME A "STAR" WITHIN HIS OWN RIGHT.
NOT ONLY IS JIMMY PORTER THE ONLY LIVING "ORIGINAL" DRIFTIN' COWBOY, HE IS ALSO THE "YOUNGEST" DRIFTIN' COWBOY EVER TO PLAY IN HANK WILLIAMS'S BAND.
JIMMY PORTER WAS HIRED BY HANK WILLIAMS WHEN JIMMY HAD JUST TURNED THIRTEEN (13) YEARS OLD. HE WAS THE "YOUNGEST" MEMBER TO EVER JOIN HANK'S BAND. HANK WILLIAMS, HIMSELF WAS ONLY EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OLD AT THE TIME.
HAVING RETIRED EARLY ON FROM THE MUSIC INDUSTRY (WHILE AT HIS BEST) THIS MEEK AND SOMEWHAT SHY JIMMY PORTER HAS RETURNED TO PUBLIC ATTENTION THROUGH THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND EFFORTS OF MANY OF HIS FRIENDS AND FANS.
JIMMY AND HIS LOVELY WIFE OF OVER 50 YEARS, GERALDINE, ARE STILL GREAT FANS OF THE LATE HANK WILLIAMS. BOTH DEVOTE A GREAT DEAL OF THEIR TIME WEEKLY TO VOLUNTEER SERVICE AT THE HANK WILLIAMS MUSEUM IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA. JIMMY SAYS THAT THIS IS HIS WAY OF SHOWING HIS LOYALTY TO HIS OLD "FRIEND", AND THE FAMILY OF THAT TRUE FRIEND. JIMMY PORTER TRULY LOVED AND STILL LOVES HANK WILLIAMS AS A GREAT FRIEND TO THIS DAY.
THANKS TO STEVE MAZE WITH "YESTERDAY'S MEMORIES" MAGAZINE IN ARAB, ALABAMA, WITHIN THE LAST TWO YEARS PEOPLE HAVE BEEN REMINDED AND BEGAN TO RECALL HOW MUCH A PART OF OUR LIVES THIS GREAT MUSICIAN PLAYED. ONCE AGAIN, "JIMMY PORTER" IS BEING RECOGNIZED FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION NOT ONLY TO THE WORLD OF HANK WILLIAMS'S MUSIC, BUT OF THAT OF ALABAMA'S BEST IN MUSIC. (You must read Steve's article on Jimmy Porter and the story of the evening they met in Montgomery at a concert).
ON THE LAST DAY OF OCTOBER OF 2003 I MADE A TRIP TO MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS FOR A "STARGANZA" PRODUCTION AT THE HANK WILLIAMS MUSEUM. WHILE THERE I WAS TO ALSO MEET WITH "JIMMY PORTER", WHO HAD GRANTED ME A PERSONAL INTERVIEW THAT AFTERNOON.
TO MY PLEASURE I MET WITH ONE OF THE DEAREST GENTLEMEN WITH WHOM I HAVE EVER BEEN GRANTED AN AUDIENCE. WE QUICKLY BECAME GOOD FRIENDS AND I WILL ALWAYS CHERISH THAT FRIENDSHIP.
DURING THAT INTERVIEW, I LEARNED RIGHT OFF THAT I WAS NOT GOING TO HEAR ANY SAD SONGS OR BASHING OF HANK WILLIAMS FROM HIM (THANK GOODNESS). WITH TEARFILLED EYES THIS GENTLEMAN WANTED THE RECORD SET STRAIGHT ABOUT HANK WILLIAMS.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, MR. PORTER TOLD ME THAT HE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT HANK WILLIAMS, JR. AND JETT AND ALL OF THE FAMILY KNEW THE TRUE, STRAIGHT STORIES ABOUT HANK, SR. THE STORIES NO ONE ELSE WANTED TO REMEMBER OR TELL.
HE LET ME KNOW THAT THERE WAS A HANK WILLIAMS THAT PEOPLE DO NOT SEEM TO "WANT" TO KNOW ABOUT. THAT WAS THE HANK WILLIAMS THAT HE KNEW PERSONALLY.
IN HIS COMMENTS TO ME, MR. PORTER SIGHED AND RELATED ABOUT THE HURT HE FELT OVER THE MANY LIES THAT HAD BEEN TOLD ABOUT HANK WILLIAMS. IN HIS OPINION, IT WAS ALL FOCUSED ON "DOLLARS". (You've all heard Waylon Jennings's song "The Conversation"...where Jr. points out that those who have ridden ole Hank down so much are the ones "still" riding on the fame of Hank Williams). SAD, BUT I AM AFRAID TRUE.
AS MR. PORTER STATED, "THOSE ARE THE STORIES THAT SELL. ONLY THE BAD ONES. NOBODY WANTS TO BUY THE GOOD ONES". AGAIN, SAD, AND VERY TRUE.
THE STORY OF JIMMY PORTER'S "LIFE AS A MUSICIAN" IS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE HANK WILLIAMS MUSEUM IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA. (See information to order at end of article).
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR JUST ANOTHER SORDID STORY THAT REVEALS ONLY THE SAD AND WORST SIDE OF THE LIFE OF HANK WILLIAMS, THEN THIS BOOK IS "NOT" FOR YOU.
BUT, IF FOR ONCE YOU WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THE "TRUTH" ABOUT AN ORDINARY YOUNG MAN NAMED HANK WILLIAMS AND HIS TREATMENT OF AND RESPECT FOR OTHERS, THEN YOU WILL CHERISH THIS ACCOUNT. AN ACCOUNT FROM A GENTLEMAN WHO SPENT MANY DAYS LIVING IN THE HOME AND ON THE ROAD WITH HANK WILLIAMS AND HIS MOTHER, LILLIE.
YOU MAY READ FOR YOURSELF THE TRUE AND INFORMATIVE FIRSTHAND ACCOUNTS OF THE LIVES OF THESE TWO YOUNG MUSICIANS STARTING OUT ON CAREERS TOGETHER. TWO YOUNG MEN WHO WERE CLOSE AS BROTHERS AND BEST FRIENDS TILL DEATH.
TO ORDER: "My Life As A Musician" -- by Jimmy Porter
Email to: HankWilliamsMus@aol.com
(Or, you may order through mail at the address below)
The Hank Williams Museum
118 Commerce Street
Montgomery, Alabama 36104
COST IS $10.00 PLUS POSTAGE (Museum will have this info)
"WHERE MAY I FIND MORE OF THE SONGS WRITTEN BY ROBERT ACKERMAN ON THE INTERNET?"
BIBB PROMOTIONAL IS FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO PROMOTE THE MUSIC OF THIS "NOSTALGIC" SONGWRITER. YOU MAY FIND OTHER SONGS WRITTEN BY ACKERMAN AT THE OUR WEBLINK FOR "DUSTIN HUNT" ALBUMS. DUSTIN RECORDED TWO OF ROBERT ACKERMAN'S SONGS ON HIS "TRIBUTE TO HANK" ALBUM.
ANY PROBLEMS ORDERING MAY BE DIRECTED TO BIBB PROMOTIONAL AND WE WILL BE HAPPY TO ASSIST YOU.
Can Bibb Promotional help me get airplay and recognition of my demo or songs I have written?
If you have made a demo or written music that you would like to be heard, this is the right opportunity. Larry Simpson and Frank Dell, will put you right out front to do just that; and even assist you in making suggestions and contacts to help move you along.
Check the schedules found at the weblink below and just see how your music can be heard by Dee-Jay's around the globe.
This is the website of "Country Legend Artists"..... spokesperson is "WILLIE NELSON" himself and many members of the "Grand Ole Opry" are there to join in the discussions. You never know who will show up.... It may be Willie or Jerry Reed, Roy Clark or Crystal Gayle. Or even, "yours truly", Bibb Promotional.
Come on over any time. Someone is always home and waiting for your visit.
www.sweetsouthernsounds.com
(All you have to do is enter your "name" and click on "enter". You don't even have to download the software referred to there, nor do you have to enter a password. Larry will meet you at the door and help you with any problems you may encounter in volume control or connection. And don't worry, most of us had to be walked through it at least once.)
Bibb Promotional will look forward to meeting you there.
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