View From the Front Porch-Stan Hitchcock-January 14, 2013

Now folks, I gotta add to the story below about the ROAD, and the experiences we all had on it during the early years of country music. It wasn't that I was playing skull orchards, knock down drag out honky tonks all the time. Country Music in the 50's and 60's played anywhere that would book us. Sure, I played some nice auditoriums, theaters, outdoor parks, etc, but, until you got there you just didn't know what you were gonna get into. One time this promoter called and booked me in a series of high school auditoriums in North Carolina. My tv show and records were doing pretty good in that area, and in 1966 I was glad to get the gig. My booking agent sent a cassette tape of my songs to the promoter who was going to furnish the band for the show, and asked that they rehearse the songs and be ready to back me. I got there a day early to meet and rehearse with the backup band in one of the high school auditoriums in central North Carolina.
Well, the group was standing on the stage with their instruments and I walked in and introduced myself. The leader of the group was a big ole boy of about 50 years of age, wearing bib overalls and an old suit jacket and holding a guitar. We will refer to him hereafter as the "Guitar Holder". On his right was a tall skinny guy holding a banjo, who only played hard core bluegrass, and hated country music. Standing just behind these two was a man who must have weighed 300 pounds, and was being held up by a dog house bass fiddle. Sitting behind all of them was a kid of about 14, sprawled on the stage floor with his shoes off picking his toes next to a snare drum, "the percussionist".

When I introduced myself as Stan Hitchcock, the leader "Guitar Holder" kinda grunted, dug a finger in his ear in search of some unknown substance, and just stared at me to see what I was gonna do. I said, "Ok, boys, good to see you, and looking forward to working with y'all". Still no reply. I said, "Have y'all had a chance to listen to the cassette and learn my songs?" Finally, the "Guitar Holder" looks up at the ceiling over my head and says, "Uh, yeah Chief, we listened to yore songs alright...uh huh." (Stan) "Well, good deal, let's run through them then, ok?" I proceeded to run through my song list, playing my old J45 as loud as I could to get their attention....failing to do that, for at the end of my one piece band recital they had not played a single note on their instruments. I stood their in silence for a minute, and the "Guitar Holder" said this classic line....."Uh, Chief, yore songs kinda make the boys nervous, could you just do a show of Hank Williams songs, we all know pert near all of his'n."

Well, for the next 6 nights of shows, I stood at the mike with the old J45 and did my music, for 50 long minutes, while the band stood, lined up in a row behind me on stage, holding their instruments but not playinga single note, until I got to the last song, closing with "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and the boys in the band playing to a crescendo, sounding like the North Carolina version of the Philharmonic Orchestra, to the heartfelt applause of the crowd, who must have thought this was how I did all my shows. To cap this week from hell off, on the last night, as we hit the last number....I looked at the back of the auditorium in time to see the precious promoter heading out the door with the brief case full of show money....and I never saw him again in my life, nor did I ever see a dime of the money he owed me.
Yessir, music is my life and the ROAD is always fun!  -Stan