Page 54 - The Westerner Magazine Halloween 2018

Lorne Greene had a record out at that with someone else’s name on it but

time, didn’t he? everyone knew it was me because my
voice was so highly identifiable. It was a
He had a record out called Ringo. It was
huge rock and roll hit, oh yeah! It wasn’t
written by Don Robertson who was also
planned that way at all. It went to number
there that night.
two on Billboard here. They need to put

What did RCA do that made you such a me in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I’m
big star? What did they do right? in the Country Music Hall of Fame—now
they need to put me in the Rock and Roll
They promoted me to a younger audience. Hall of Fame.
Most of those records were pop hits first
and then became country hits even though I never thought you were strictly country
they were country songs. They put that anyway—

RCA juice behind it. They serviced the
Well I was living in California but I
pop stations and the country stations, plus
always considered myself a country
in the spring of 1964 they sent me, Chet,
singer. That’s why I moved from
Jim Reeves and the Anita Kerr Singers to
California because people were thinking
Europe on a promotional tour. We hit
of me as a semi-pop singer. I also wanted
every major city in Europe and it made
to get married and have kids and I didn’t
big stars out of me and Jim Reeves. They
want them raised in Los Angeles so we
were willing to spend money promoting
moved back here and I joined the Grand
us.
Old Opry.
Do you think record companies today are
Well, I’m glad you did. Let me ask you
as willing to spend on new artists as they
this—how much control did you have
were?
over the material you recorded? Did they

The answer to that is yes. They spend a lot pick it or did you get to pick it?
of money. They shouldn’t be called record
Well, Chet was so low key he wouldn’t
companies anymore, though—they should
say no to anything. He would say, “Well, I
be called ‘investors.’ Records don’t even
don’t know if that’s good for you or not.”
exist much anymore as we knew them. It’s
We were often very close on picking
all on the internet. When they sign an
material. I would often turn up with a lot
artist now, they get a piece of everything.
of records to record and he would have
They’ve got to spend a million dollars
the same records lined up. We were very
now to create an act. It’s a gamble.
close. I felt everything was the way it
You started as a rock and roll singer with ought to be. Chet saw me the way I saw
All American Boy, right? me, and it worked. If me, or any of his
artists, said they wanted to record a song
That was a re-write of “Country Talking he would normally let them go ahead and
Blues.” It was a freaky deal. It wound up