An American Legend and the Opry – Violet Hensley

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Violet Hensley on stage at the Grand Ole Opry on Aug. 6. (Photo by Marcia Campbell/http://www.facebook.com/marciacampbellradio)

There are moments which bring people together. Common experiences such as championship wins of athletes or sporting teams, pivotal events which shape our nation or world, or iconic performances or awards highlighting those who inspire us through performance.
I was honored to be among just such a group on Aug. 6, 2016. I traveled to Nashville to see a legendary folk fiddle performer and maker Violet Hensley. I spent a couple years of my life helping Violet bring together her life story for the book “Whittlin’ and Fiddlin’ My Own Way: The Violet Hensley Story.”
God Lord willing, Violet will mark her centennial as she celebrates her 50th year as Silver Dollar City’s longest serving spokesperson and folk artisan at a special event on Oct. 21 in Branson, Mo.
She has entertained countless millions both live and on television through appearances on American standards such as “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Captain Kangaroo,” “To Tell the Truth,” “Regis and Kathie Lee” and countless other shows through decades of performing.
One performance dream which she had yet to realize was an appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. The show came on the air when she was 9 years old and was initially heard on a battery-powered radio in the rural Arkansas farm area of Alamo where she grew up. Now known as the Whittlin’ Fiddler from Yellville, it was another Arkansas fiddler named Tim Crouch who read of her dream in her autobiography and called Grand Ole Opry star Mike Snider. Snider then arranged for her to guest on his portion of the Grand Ole Opry.
The hit making country group Shenandoah had just left the stage as a place was prepared for her and though now her sight is limited by macular degeneration, her daughter walked her to the stool that stage hands had placed center stage near where all the country legends have performed.
As the Opry announcer passed the show back to Snider, the excitement was already building. He began an introduction, and barely got out his first few words out: “I’ve had the privilege to introduce a lot of great people on the Grand Ole Opry but it’s rare I get to introduce a National Treasure and I have one sitting hear beside me. This little lady was born in 1916…”
When the audience responded with a standing ovation that filled the Grand Ole Opry House. A wave of sound flooded the stage as the centenarian’s face beamed, as did that of her daughter Sandra and grandson Sterling who joined her musically on stage with Snider’s band. That moment broadcast across the world on wsmonline.com and on the same airways that she listened to as a girl with her fiddle playing father brought people lining the stage to tears.
She is one of America’s first nationally known female fiddlers and fiddle makers. She inspired generations of girls and boys on every imaginable children’s show from coast to coast to know they could play American music and even learn to build a fiddle if they desired. Someone who became the image of one of America’s most iconic theme parks and thus a part of the fabric of America itself.
Much like Dolly Parton is to Dollywood and Mickey Mouse is for Disney – Violet Hensley’s smile, laughter, wit and uplifting spirit, helped shape the family memories and experiences that fueled rhe Midwestern American culture. On this night America was giving something back to her – love for a century of entertaining, teaching, and encouraging, while all the struggles and hardships that went along with it.
Among the audience in the Opry house and listening were many of her descendants, but in a way, all of us whom she had touched through radio, TV and in person were her musical descendants. Had this occurred just a few years earlier, she probably would have placed the fiddle on top of her head and while she fiddled and sang “She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain,: she would have danced a little jig, but tonight she selected the fiddle tune “Angeline the Baker” and seriously applied her expertise to make her Ozark forebearers proud.
She accomplished that goal and more. I think all that were touched by the moment will always remember it. Though now the focus of our attention is split between hundreds of media sources, unlike in the days when there were just a handful of clear channel radio stations like WSM or two or three local TV stations. In those days, you knew what everyone would be talking about the next morning.
This was one of those moments to talk about. If you missed it, maybe you can at least learn more about this amazing American Legend by visiting VioletHensley.com or liking “Whittlin’ and Fiddlin’ My Own Way” on Facebook. There is much to learn about life from someone who lived 100 years, raising a large family while living as a farmer, migrant farm worker, and keeping the tradition of Ozark music thriving.

Actor/entertainer/columnist Randall Franks launches newly designed RandallFranks.com

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RandallFranks.com receives an in-depth online revamp from http://www.quickwebcompany.com
widening its focus to cover all areas of the career of Randall Franks.

“I am so excited by the new look of the website,” Franks said. “We initially came to the web with three different websites in 2009. This new design by Chris Davidson combines all these into a one-stop-shop covering all aspects of my entertainment career, music businesses and where I invest my charitable energies.”

The new website incorporates dozens of photos, videos and highlights Randall’s work as an actor in 15 films including his latest “Broken” with Soren Fulton and three TV series including a page dedicated to his work as “Officer Randy Goode” on TV’s “In the Heat of the Night.”

“It was so much fun looking back through all these photos and videos,” he said. “I hope it will be as much for all who visit.”

The International Bluegrass Music Museum Legend now has his musical successes in bluegrass, country, comedy, Christian, and Appalachian folk music featured independently on their own pages.

“We also feature special pages on my production company – Peach Picked Productions, music publishing companies and my public relations firm,” Franks said.

As an award-winning author and journalist, visitors can read about his eight books and his upcoming releases such as “Encouragers III: A Guiding Hand”. Each week millions read Randall’s syndicated “Southern Style” newspaper column which appears each Wednesday on his website at https://randallfranks.com/category/southern-style-columns/

Randall dedicates much of his time to philanthropic endeavors including his work with the Share America Foundation, Inc. and its Appalachian music scholarship program.

The revamp includes its http://www.shareamericafoundation.org

“Folks can also find contacts on numerous organizations that I participate in and support with my time on the Community Service page,” he said. “We also have a special page – Initiative Ringgold focusing on my service in my hometown of Ringgold, Georgia. Check these out and see how you can help.”

Visitors can check out Randall’s latest film, book and music releases including his 2016 “Keep ‘Em Smilin” CD at his new store page, visit https://randallfranks.com/ to see all the changes.

Ringgold’s Randall Franks achieves Certificate of Excellence and attends Leadership Institute

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Ringgold Councilmember Randall Franks receives awards from GMA Municipal Training Board Chairman Norma Tucker, and Associate Director of the Carl Vinson Institute Stacy Jones

Ringgold Councilmember Randall Franks received the prestigious Certificate of Excellence from the Harold F. Holtz Municipal Training Institute at the Georgia Municipal Association’s (GMA) 83rd Annual Convention in Savannah on June 27.

He was also recognized for completing the annual Robert E. Knox, Jr. Municipal Leadership Institute.

“A key component of elected service is seeking out opportunities to improve what we already do for our residents and our visitors,” Franks said. “Learning what is done in other cities around our state as well as the most effective and appropriate ways to conduct our business help each of us to be good stewards and offer a better vision for the future of our community.”

The Georgia Municipal Training Institute, a cooperative effort of GMA and the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government, provides a nationally recognized series of training opportunities for elected city officials. To receive a Certificate of Excellence, a city official must complete a minimum of 120 units of credit, including at least 54 hours from the required list and the Robert E. Knox, Jr. Municipal Leadership Institute. The training program consists of a series of more than 50 courses.

The multi-day Leadership Institute, co-sponsored by GMA and the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government, featured a nationally recognized training development consultant and speaker. Participants also engaged in role-playing exercises designed to cultivate and enhance leadership skills.

 “This is an outstanding achievement,” said GMA Executive Director Lamar Norton. “We commend Councilmember Franks for this accomplishment and for the dedication he’s shown in using this valuable resource to become a more effective city official.

 “The Leadership Institute is an outstanding program and widely acknowledged as one of the best of its type in the country,” Norton said. “We highly recommend it to any city official who wants to be a more effective community leader.”

Franks is Ringgold’s former vice mayor and currently serves as Downtown Development Authority and Main Street Program Chairman. He was initially elected in 2009 and served Catoosa County and Ringgold as public information officer and volunteer coordinator during the 2011-12 tornado response and recovery efforts. He is former vice chairman of the Ringgold Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Based in Atlanta, GMA is a voluntary, non-profit organization that provides legislative advocacy, research, training, employee benefit and technical consulting services to its over 520 member cities.

On which side do I fall

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I recently found myself sitting in the doctor’s office for an annual test that I take. This was the first time that I noticed that the waiting room had been divided into two. On one side it was marked well side and on the other side it said sick side.
I figured that I should sit in the well side and before long I noticed someone else sitting in that side coughing.
I am sure this new division is to try to keep germs from spreading but since they are both sitting in the same room; I wonder about how effective the practice really is.
Why do you think folks that are well are going to the doctor?
I like my doctor, but I just don’t decide that he is lonely and go visit him and the pay for the
privilege of seeing him.
I really wonder if this division will soon bring on a new class action from one group or the other claiming they are being discriminated against because they can’t see the TV in the waiting room  as well, or the well folks have to walk further when having to go to the bathroom.
Maybe the Census department will add a couple of new categories upon which to divide us up, sick and well.
We may find the politicians working to curry favor with each of us to gain our votes by legislating more benefits to one side or the other.
As I sat there pondering the potential of these two new political powers, I wondered what would be the real defining criteria of membership?
I am in the well side because I am there to get an annual test. I get an annual test to make sure medication is not making me sick. I take medication because I am not well. So I really don’t qualify to be on the well side or I wouldn’t be taking meds in the first place.
So now I should be sitting on the sick side, but those folks might give me something, so I refuse to acknowledge that I should be there instead.
In reality, all of us must be sick in some way or we would not be there, maybe the signs should read somewhat sick side and sicker side. That way we are all in this thing together.
Really considering what our country is currently facing – the divisions that seem to be widened by the media and politicized by elected officials, maybe creating some new groups is not the best idea.
Maybe the best idea is to eliminate the divisions, create better understanding, foster cooperation and work together to make sure we are all along for the ride. Ultimately, whether we are well or sick, old or young, rich or poor, one color or another, one religion or another, one political party or another, one ethnicity or another, we must remember that within the borders of the United States of America, the goal is to be one people – Americans. The divisions we choose to align with or are born into must not prevent us from being that!

Foggy Mountain Troubadour – Curly Seckler inspires

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“First you cross the tie over this way and pull it back around and then…,” is how I remember Curly Seckler describing to me how to tie a string tie as he wore on stage. A lesson shared in my youth from a musical hero whose tenor voice soared in my mind as I listened to Flatt and Scruggs, and the Nashville Grass. I had convinced my mother to take me to see Curly in Nashville at an earlier point because I wanted to meet him and we searched out his home in a trailer park and went up one day and knocked on the door. He was so gracious to welcome us and share some time with an aspiring youth. He recounted this visit many years later at my mother’s home going service.
CurlySeckler

Sometime later as a bashful young fiddle player, I stepped to the concert area of the Lavonia Bluegrass Festival and find a place on a wood bench and peered up at the stage as the emcee prepared to bring on The Nashville Grass.
By the time my musical ability began to advance, the legendary Lester Flatt was ailing so I never got to see him perform except on TV or listening by radio before his passing on 1979, but on this day, I was going to see his band, the Nashville Grass perform. They were the closest link to the music which fueled my passion for bluegrass. As best I recall, Tater Tate was on fiddle, Blake Williams was playing banjo, Charlie Nixon on Dobro, Pete Corum on bass and the amazing Curly Seckler leading the troupe.
The music electrified my soul. After the show, I made my way backstage and once again was welcomed by a man who truly became one of my dearest friends in life.
A few weeks ago I received in the mail from University of Illinois Press Penny Parson’s book “Foggy Mountain Troubadour: The Life and Music of Curly Seckler” and I found myself once again feeling like that youth anxiously standing outside the door waiting to see one of my heroes.
As I looked inside and devoured the 239-page excursion walking along the path of the development of American hillbilly music that eventually became what we know as country, bluegrass, and Appalachian folk music, I was deeply impressed with Parson’s great depth of narrative, her enthusiastic approach to the inclusion of research which set the story in history; and the variety of interviews with notable performers and everyday folks who played a part that propels the story forward.
Curly, an International Bluegrass Music Hall of Famer, who is now retired at the age of 96 living with his wife Eloise outside Nashville saw the industry’s growth looking out of a car, bus and truck window mile after mile along the two lane roads crisscrossing America. He saw the American people from the stages of tent shows, movie theaters, the roofs of drive-in theater concession stands, courthouses, school houses, auditoriums, music festivals, and radio barn dances going by many names including the Grand Ole Opry. He helped sell two of America’s consumer staples Martha White flour and corn meal.
I learned more about his professional approach that opened doors for other legends like the Stanley Brothers, Jim and Jesse McReynolds and so many others. How his musical and vocal ability kept him always within sight of another opportunity around the corner with yet another group or musician which contributed so much in their own right to our musical experience. The book details his musical intersections with artists such as Charlie Monroe, Bill Monroe, Ramblin’ “Doc” Tommy Scott, the Sauceman Brothers, Shenandoah Valley Cutups, Steep Canyon Rangers, and countless others.
The depth of his experience and relationship with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and the other key Foggy Mountain Boys sets in stone his place of honor as the final surviving 1940s and 50s member of the Foggy Mountain Boys. In case, that doesn’t ring a bell, he was one of the musicians who inspired Paul Henning to feature Flatt and Scruggs music on “The Beverly Hillbillies,” making the group’s stars a household name.
“Foggy Mountain Troubadour” is a must read for anyone who would like a window into the world of the American South, the rise or country music and its early stars, and especially to gain an appreciation for an American musical treasure – Curly Seckler.

 Take down the fishin’ pole

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Ripples float endlessly across the lake as a large frog croaks in the distance.
The line running from the end of my pole drifts slightly with the light current pulling away to my left as the red and white float moves with the ripples.
I had spent much of my time working thus far in my first fishing adventure to bring the hook with the worm slid upon it into the drink.
My childhood adventures of fishing with my dad, especially early in the learning process reflected the scenarios of the episode of “The Andy Griffith Show” where “Howard Sprague” went fishing with Andy and the rest of the guys only to spend more time with his hook in a tree or his own pants than in the water.
In retrospect, my dad’s patience as he taught me the process and answered the questions the younger version of myself asked was amazing. Why do fish eat worms? Why do we have to put the hook through the worms, can’t we just throw them out and let the fish eat them? Why do we have a float on the line?
Why do I do better throwing the line behind me rather than in front of me?
These are just a few that I recollect in the process.
My father was someone much like myself – outdoor sports were not really his thing – but he felt it was important that I learned them, that we shared the experiences that he had shared with his father and uncles. There are lessons that are shared in the midst of the teaching that settle deeper beyond the immediate task at hand.
The bonds created between a father and son through positive joint experiences; respect for the world around us and the other people and creatures who share it with us; and an understanding about what is expected of you when you are a man.
I am so glad that he did take this time with me, oftentimes, it seemed strategically placed around tough points in my life when I needed the input, the lesson, the hope, the insights that he wanted to share.
Establishing the groundwork at a younger age, when the years passed allowed us a smoother path.
When as an older teen, I wished to push the bounds of our relationship by asserting my own authority on my life, we were able to work through those tense moments when I was spreading my wings, and make them teachable moments in the life experience. They added to our relationship rather than pushing us farther from each other.
Perhaps my father’s early passing set my prospective of our relationship forever in the nostalgia of my youth. We never really got to the good stuff of the best friend relationship that should have happened as time went on because he was still having to spend time being my dad. Not that such a role would have ever ended, but as I was able to take on more of the responsibilities for my life after college, I would have hoped that the lessons could have taken on a different form.
It is in this time of the year, that my father’s memory seems closest to me, because we shared so much in the summer months. I am thankful that God sent me to be in family where I had two parents who were present and participating. So many youths do not, and as the news of the world seeps into my life, I can’t help but wonder if a few more participating, present mothers and fathers would have prevented many of the headlines which plaque our country.
Are you present in your children’s lives? Are you teaching them the lessons needed? Do they respect other people, creatures, and cultures? If they don’t, may I suggest a fishing trip. There is something iconic and idyllic about those opening TV shots of Andy and Opie Taylor walking with fishing poles in hand along a country road. Funny how so many long for the simplicity portrayed. We may never have it, but it never hurts to take the walk.
“So, take down your fishin’ pole.”

Spittin’ for distance

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I ran my hands slowly over the green skin stopping occasionally to bring together my index finger and thumb to flick the rind. I listened for that just right thump to tell me inside that the red fruit was perfect for eating.
I often heard boyhood stories of my father and his brothers about raiding a relative’s watermelon patch to “borrow” one on a hot summer day. Then they would carry it down and corral it in the creek where it would get it cool and later in the day, they would then go back and break it open and split it between them.
As they sat there filling themselves inevitably they would break into a seed spitting contest to see who could send them flying the farthest. Of course this had a mixed purpose, the next season, they may just find a vine with fruit on it growing right there by the creek.
Watermelons were one of bright spots buried within the summer heat and endless hours of work in the fields as the family scraped by on whatever was the crop that would bring the most return in the year. Whether, cotton, corn or tomatoes, the acres of rows seem to reach as far as the eyes could see and in with the summer sun beaming down, there seemed to never be an end to the tasks in front of them.
Perhaps that is why the kin folks forgave a little “borrowing” of watermelons to ease the load. Generally, they would get a good showing of whatever crop was being brought in on their table as well once the boys and their pa harvested.
As I pulled the watermelon off the table at the produce stand and put it in my car, I drove by the creek that my dad and uncles once put their pick. I could not hardly wait to get it home and get it cooled off so I could cut it open.
I had the salt shaker ready and waiting as later that evening I pulled it from the fridge and cut my first slice. I took it out on the back porch sat under the fan and took a big bite causing the red juice to run down my cheeks. With each bite, it seemed the sweetness got even better. I could not keep myself from spitting a few of the seeds for distance. Maybe next year, they will come up. Sure wish dad was here to spit along a few himself. He sure could make the distance!
May your summer be filled with the sweetness of great memories and wonderful times.

A Harley and an ice cream cone

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One never knows from where your positive influences in life might come.
When I was an overweight teen on my first real job at the Dairy Queen, a man rode into my life on a black Harley Davidson to take a job as store manager who would widen my prospective on the world.
Ed Cross fit all the stereotypes a young teen might associate with a biker in the 1970s, long hair, wearing black leather and hanging out with other biker friends.
All I had seen of bikers in my life to that point were film depictions which left some initial fears and concerns on what to expect. Ed changed all those early misconceptions for me. He was a hardworking, caring individual whose laughter and jokes filled the hours of our work environment with a positive spirit.
His strength which carried an air of fear associated with it, kept a bunch of male and female teenagers as well as adults in line keeping food going out the windows from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
Ed taught me business tools which I have used throughout my life – doing product inventories, placing warehouse orders, counting cash register tills, and making deposits. I watched and assisted him in fixing equipment of all kinds to help us keep operating.
I saw him work double shifts when others were not available. I watched him reach out to help young people among our staff who were going through a tough time in their lives and who felt they could not turn to anyone else.
A few days ago, I learned that Ed passed away and it brought back memories of all the laughs, all the lessons learned and the hours spent together making an honest living. Without Ed, my early music career would have never flourished. Because of him and our store owner Joe Wyche, I seldom worked a Friday or Saturday, allowing me the opportunity to tour and appear around the country while keeping a steady income.
I think, at least I hope, Ed knew all the difference he made in the lives of us Dairy Queen kids. If there is someone who has made a difference in your life, I hope you will take the time to share with them the impact they had.

Film DVD – Randall Franks – Still Ramblin’ plus Trail of the Hawk – Ramblin’ “Doc” Tommy Scott

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16498f5a1f4257ce9721b478a7f5a200Still Ramblin’ plus Trail of the Hawk – Randall Franks hosts and directs

$25



Randall Franks hosts and directs Still Ramblin’ plus Trail of the Hawk
The story of Ramblin’ “Doc” Tommy Scott America’s Last Real Medicine Showman

Hosted & directed by TV star Randall Franks – Still Ramblin’ follows Ramblin’ “Doc” Tommy Scott’s unique career from the foothills of Georgia to stardom through interviews, rare photos, and never before seen film footage and western Trail of the Hawk

Randall Franks, Tommy Scott and his Hollywood Hillbillies, Frankie Scott, Sandra Scott, Gaines Blevins, Eddy Williams and Luke McLuke. Yancey Lane, Betty Jordan, Dickie Jones, Lafe McKee among others.

Ramblin’ “Doc” Tommy Scott’s (1917-2013) Last Real Old Time Medicine Show reached its 110th year in 2000 and celebrated on PBS in 2001 for with the release of Still Ramblin’ plus Trail of the Hawk.
The documentary “Still Ramblin’” gives a unique look at the life of America’s Last Medicine Showman. It follows his career from the foothills of Georgia to his days at the Grand Ole Opry and in Hollywood. Through interviews, still photos and never before seen film footage, writer/director Randall Franks includes greats like Roy Acuff, Stringbean Akeman, Sunset Carson, Carolina Cotton, Col. Tim McCoy Charlie and Bill Monroe, Lash LaRue, Minnie Pearl, Al “Fuzzy” St. John, Curly Seckler and many more.
“I just got the video back. Watching it brought back so many great memories of good times and old friends,” Scott said.
“Still Ramblin’” also features the digitally-restored anniversary edition of the western drama “Trail of the Hawk” featuring the music and comedy of Tommy and his Hollywood Hillbillies, Frankie Scott, Sandra Scott, Gaines Blevins, Eddy Williams and Luke McLuke. “Trail of the Hawk” was the directorial debut of Academy Award nominee Edward Dymtryk. The film, which was based on a James Oliver Curwood story, also featured western stars Yancey Lane, Betty Jordan, Dickie Jones, Lafe McKee among others.
Franks said, “It took us 2½ years to complete this project but it was more than a century in the making.” Franks, a former co-star of TV’s “In the Heat of the Night,” hosts the project which will run in PBS syndication around the country.
“All my life, I heard of “Doc” Tommy Scott. I had the pleasure of meeting him around seven years ago and have since been a guest star on his stage show. He is surely one of America’s greatest treasures,” he said.
Actor Tommy Barnes of Nashville has worked on countless projects including Tom Hank’s “The Green Mile.” He edited “Still Ramblin’” at his High Moon studios. ”It has an abundance of rich pictures . There was so much amazing color home movie footage,” Barnes said. “As a western fan what impressed me the most was that Tommy had home movie footage of his daughter playing with Lash LaRue. As a child, I sure would have liked to have done that.”
In 1936, Scott joined “Doc” Chamberlain’s Medicine Show, founded in 1890, when it rolled through Toccoa, Ga. When Chamberlain retired, he gave Scott the medicine and the show. As one of country music’s first generation of stars, he began recording for RCA in the 1930’s.
He performed as a regular on some of the South’s biggest radio shows from WWVA Wheeling, West Virginia to WSM’s Grand Old Opry in the early 1940’s joining stars like Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Bill Monroe, Ernest Tubb and Pee Wee King. Scott said, “We played live on many stations and by transcriptions on the powerful Mexican stations like XERF Del Rio, XEG Monterey, Old Mexico.”
Like many of the stars of his era, success came from a combination of factors: the new medium of radio beamed their live performances all over the country; the popularity of new hillbilly records which started in Atlanta in 1923 with Fiddlin’ John Carson and film “Soundies” which showed fans what their favorite singers from radio looked like on the silver screen.
He benefited from all of these mediums, but his most lucrative medium was touring with his stage show. Scott said, “We kept the show on the road almost 350 days a year.”
Scott’s stage show has taken many names in it’s long history. The Georgia Peanut Band and The Hollywood Hillbillies are a couple of them. He has even run several shows at one time featuring different stars. It is this dedication to the public that has put his show in more different towns than any other entertainer. He has walked on stage for more than 29,000 performances in front of more than 25,000,000 paid admissions.
In the days when westerns were king of the silver screen, fans could have not only seen him on screen in musical films like “Southern Hayride,” “Hillbilly Jamboree,” and “Hobos and Indians,” but for their 25 cents admission children catching a Saturday matinee at the Wink Theater in Dalton or the Tivoli in Chattanooga could have seen him live and in person with his whole show. “We played so many of those theaters, three to five shows a day. Sometimes more than 200 in one year,” he said.
Scott’s status as a treasure is evidenced by many accolades, including his recent nominations for the National Heritage Award, his 1976 placement in the Country Music Foundation’s Walkway of Stars and the 1996 – 2008 Georgia Music Hall of Fame exhibit, the museum’s largest.
Scott, who counts appearances on television with Johnny Carson, Oprah Winfrey, David Letterman and Walter Cronkite, was also a pioneer in that medium hosting two of television’s first country music shows, “The Ramblin’ Tommy Scott Show” and “The Smokey Mountain Jamboree.”
With over 500 recordings to his credit, his chart success with included three titles “Rosebuds and You,” “Dance With Her, Henry,” and “Mule Train.”
He wrote around 300 of his recordings including “Rosebuds and You,” recorded by numerous artists, and the bluegrass standard “Rainbow of My Dreams” popularized by Lester Flatt. While Lester Flatt, of Flatt & Scruggs, is considered the author of “Rollin’ In My Sweet Baby’s Arms,” Scott said, “Lester and I many times had a friendly discussion about who adapted the folk song first.”
In the seventies, when Suffolk marketing launched selling albums on television, Tommy Scott, Boxcar Willie and former Scott show alumnus, Slim Whitman reached an audience of millions in their homes.
Scott’s unique career spanned eight decades.

Music DVD – Atlanta Live

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Atlanta Live DVDMusic DVD – Atlanta Live

$25 Donation


Share America Foundation DVD features Randall Franks and his band in 2008 performing You Better Get Ready, This Little Light of Mine,  In the Garden,  Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,  The Old Black Fiddle, Interview,  and Amazing Grace

Musicians: Randall Franks, Mark Bramlett, Barney Miller,Bill Burdette and Bill Everett

To receive a copy of “Atlanta Live” DVD featuring Randall Franks and his band sharing an interview about Share America his work in television, and performing six songs, send a tax deductible gift to Share America Foundation, Inc. of at least $25 and request Atlanta Live