Bob and Monte visit with Mr. Country Legend John Conlee

Monte and Bob visit with the legendary John Conlee who doesn't plan on slowing down anytime soon.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey, it's Bob Picket. Weare on our way to the legendary Broken
Spoke. Come on, let's getout of the truck and head inside.
A little Girl and rockets Land theytold, damn, you're proud of it.
Come on, let's go inside.Getting ready for another tale from the

(00:23):
Broken Spoke. Time for another greattale tales the Broken Spoke. I'm Bob
picking my buddy Monty Warden right hereand on the line with us. We
and got the legendary John Conley.Now you were just in Texas and Georgetown
saw a great show you that night. Ernie's an would and were you surprised
at the crowd getting up and dance? And I tell you there's nothing like

(00:44):
a Texas crowd at a concert,is there? I know, I mean,
all these weeks with the with thehot temperatures, and we've done several
dances amongst the various shows I've done, and there they dance anyway side this
is outside. Oh no, butman, correct, Well, you know
we're gonna get up and dance.You know, that's the that's the whole

(01:07):
thing is you know, that's thething about a Texas dance hall for our
listeners that might live in other partsof the country. Is the whole family
comes out, young mens come outand uh and also you know, if
I may, if you're at aJohn Conley concert, so you're gonna hear
hits, Yeah, non stop,non stop, and it ain't fun unless
you're sweat and let's just put itthat way, no matter what you're doing,

(01:30):
right, correct. Oh you,my friend, I could not believe
you told the audience your age andI will say the average medium age out
there, which is probably uh,mid forties maybe, but they knew every
one of your songs that you sang. That's one of the amazing things that

(01:51):
no matter where we where we play, there are always people in the crowd
who are who weren't born when thesesongs came out and they know the words
and that's very flattering. You know. Well, it's because the songs are
great, and that's the key.That's the key to you know, producing
a body of work, in myopinion, and having it last a long

(02:12):
time. So you know, I'mvery proud of that and thankful for it.
Before before I forget this, Igotta tell you, Monty, I've
never seen this before when it comesto your merch that you were selling.
Of course you had rose colored glasses, which we'll talk about in a minute.
But I have not been to ashow where they saw not only T
shirts, not only CDs, yourmusic was on thumb drive. Oh yeah,

(02:37):
yeah. We've got a serious calledClassics, which is a greatst sitch
package with a lot of new music, and we have it both in CD
form, three discs in the series, but we started this year carrying it
on a thumb drive. All threeall three albums on the little thumb drive,
and people are leaving it there.There's a great idea, I'd a

(02:57):
great idea. Oh yeah, that'sbrilliant, Yeah, brilliant. It works
great. You know, in thisstreaming world we live in, in this
digital world, it's just another wayto deliver it, and it doesn't take
up a lot of space. Well, and mister Connolly Monty Warden here,
Uh yeah, and listening, justcall me John bye, by the way,
Well, mister Conley, go away, just John. Well, hey,

(03:21):
we're all one big family. It'sokay, let's take that up with
my late grandmother. But but youknow, one thing I think that that
has allowed your music to be uhclassics and and timeless is your uh,
the records that you've made your entirecareer with with Bud, Bud Logan your

(03:42):
record. You know, I waslistening to your to your music over the
past weekend, just doing the showprep and refamiliarizing myself. Thirty two chart
records, twenty one top tens,seven number ones. But those records that
you all started making in the seventiesand still having hits up until just a
few years ago, there is atimeless quality to it. And I notice,
you know, y'all went through theurban cowboy phase and disco and country

(04:05):
politan and all that stuff in nashVegas and all that stuff. You and
Bud made timeless sounding country records andat the time were y'all purposeful in not
putting the frills on it that everybodyelse in Nashville was doing. Because your
music issues guitar based difference, andit gives it a timeless quality that makes

(04:27):
it just sound like a John Conleyrecord. Was that Why did you avoid
the gimmicks and the trends at thetime. I've always wanted to ask you
that, well, because those gimmicksand trends will date you, and there
will come a point in time whenthey will sound silly to somebody, I

(04:48):
think, and you know, andso we did that on purpose. A
long time ago, I worked withthe guy in the funeral profession. He
would never buy when all the carwhen when cars actually had a different look
year to year, like they nolonger do. But you know, one
one year some one of the carmakerswould have big fins and big curves and

(05:12):
they change the look of the car. He always said that if you buy
a car with a straight line fromfront to back, it will appear new
longer. And he's right, Uh, straight lines instead of all the all
the tricks. And that's true formusic as well. Amen, ah man,
that is it's I I didn't thinkabout that. It's beautiful. Well,
and that's the whole thing. Isthat what people need to know.

(05:34):
Uh, there's no such thing asa hit record on accident. And and
these records that mister Conley and BudLogan made together and make together sound timeless
like uh. I know, misterConnley, back about a few years ago,
twenty fifteen, and then again intwenty seventeen, you cut two songs
that my late father in law PhilThomas wrote, Standing in the Shade and

(05:56):
Walking Behind the Star, and thoserecords, say, sound just sound similar
and in the same vein as asif they've been cut on the Rose Colored
Glasses session or in the backside ofthirty session. It just sounds like a
John Connley record. And I thinkthat is what is so wonderful when people
put on your records, is theydon't sound old. They just sound like

(06:17):
a John Conley record. And I, as a fan, I just want
to thank you and Bud for makingrecords like that that don't that don't date
themselves. You know. Well,yeah, I appreciate that. And Budd
certainly gets the credit. He's producedeverything I've done. We agree our ears
are in tune as far as thetypes of songs we like to begin with,

(06:41):
and that's been a pleasure. We'venever had to argue with each other
about you do this, you know, and have to argue about what we
do. We just agree on thosethings. And uh. But he gets
the credit on that production value thingbecause he comes from you know, he
worked with Jim Reeves. Uh.And that's another great example of song quality,

(07:08):
if you will. That's one ofthe things I miss about today's music
is that we don't have enough songsthat tell a story, that have a
distinctive melody, that don't say thesame old thing, I mean everything.
We've had enough songs about pickup trucksand drink and beer. I'm sorry we
have that. We don't need anymore of those. Uh. And but

(07:30):
we you know, something that expressessomething positive and with a distinctive melody and
by a distinctive voice. And Imiss all of that in today's music.
I do too. Now it's aslice of life. And I got to
tell you you made a few people, more than a few people crying the
other night and the show, butI didn't mean to. I mean,
I didn't off in your gospel numbersand the way you ended your show with

(07:56):
a gospel tune. I mean itwas just beautiful money. Thank you.
Well, Yeah, we close everyshow with Amazing Grace, which me and
so many others have recorded. Ibelieve it's an anointed song and we put
it on our first gospel CD,and so I close every show with that

(08:18):
song because it's my favorite of alltime and all formats it it just preaches,
you know. And we're looking forwardto having this new gospel project out
here soon. We gave everybody alittle preview of of a song that'll appear
on that project. At the showthe other night. Yeah, what song
was that? Mister Conne Scars inHeaven is the name of it. Casting

(08:39):
Crowns one of the people Casting Crownshelped write it, and of course they
had it out as a single,but we're going to release it as a
single as well, both the countryand gospel. And you know, there
was a friend of mine, itwas at the show the other night and
you started singing that and she criedbecause her late husband that's the song they
played at his funeral, and itwrite so much for her to hear that

(09:05):
song. And then she told methe story when you're and she was just
she goes, God, I lovethis song. This Like we said,
your your music is timeless. Everytime I hear Rose Colored Glasses, it
takes me back to when I wasfirst this jockey, and it's your voice
is of course there's no other voicelike John Connley's voice. Well, and

(09:26):
also it's important I feel for thelisteners to know. I mean, mister
Connie's had such a he and Buddyou know, found so many great songs.
Sonny Throckmorton and Rape Van Hoy andHarlan Howard, well mister Conley John
Connley wrote Rose Colored Glasses and Backsideof thirty. So that's a pretty easy
pitch when you're pitching yourself. Andyeah, and you know the way this

(09:50):
business works. Of course, Iwrote those in nineteen seventy six, that's
also the year Budd and I met. But but when I demoed those songs,
we pitched those around town before Ihad my recording contract. Really,
we pitched those around town to everybodya town, and nobody picked up on
it. Nobody, well, oneexception, Joe Stampley did cut Backside of

(10:11):
Thirty before I did, and hereleased it on two different albums because he
wanted it to be a single,but he couldn't. He couldn't talk his
management and people into letting him dothat, and so he put it on
two albums in a row. Itnever did come out as a single for
him. By that time, wehad started recording and we released it as
a single, and uh, youknow, and it didn't work for me

(10:35):
the first time out it was itdidn't hit the national charts until it was
rereleased. It was our first andour sixth release Wow, I didn't know
that at all. Didn't know thatat all. Now you brought up a
you were a more titian. Wedid not get into this with the first
time I interviewed either day. Buthow long were you in the funeral business.

(10:56):
It seems like six years. Itseems like they jobs never going away.
Why did you leave it? Oh, no, it isn't. I
didn't mean to do it, youknow, I was supposed to do it,
but my plan out of high schoolwas to go to college to major
in radio arch. I was inlove with the radio and broadcasting, and
that's what I wanted to do.But I started working part time at a

(11:18):
local funeral home, mainly because mybest friend had already started doing that and
he talked about it incessantly got mecurious about it. So I started working
part time at the local funeral home, and indeed became intentionally interested in it
and felt called to do it,so I pursued it. I got my
licenses, which I keep renewed.I renew him every year. But wow,

(11:41):
yeah, absolutely, yeah, I'mstill a licensed undertaker in Kentucky.
However, I don't practice. Imean, that's the other question. I
was going to ask you until lasttime. Yeah, I have no intention
of doing it. However I couldif I wanted to, And I'm very
proud of having done it because Ilearned more about helping people serving people doing

(12:01):
that, and I could have withany other thing I can think of.
It was a ministry really to me, and it has influenced well. Plus,
the gentleman that that we both myfriend and I worked for was such
an incredible detailed person. He washe was He was a great educator,

(12:22):
a great trainer because he cared aboutwhat he what he did, and he
concentrated on the little things, doingthe little things that nobody expects you to
do. Uh. And I've appliedthat to everything I've done At the mean
time. It's all about the details. I'll the details. Yeah, exactly
exactly, mister Connley on Bud BudLogan, your producer, dear family friend

(12:43):
and best friend of my late fatherin law, right Brandy, my wife,
Brandy and publisher. She was talkingto Bud helping to set this up
and he sent over you know whatin the final mix or anything like that.
I guess it was a rough mix, but it is. It is
a song going on your your upcomingspiritual record something about is it the last

(13:05):
suit? The last suit you wear, the last suit you wear. Let
me tell you something, mister Connley, and I am a first chair.
I would say this standing on yourgrandma's kitchen table. There is not a
bigger John Connley fan than me.And and the Last Suit You Wear is
one of your finest recordings in yourentire care. Oh, thank you very

(13:26):
much, appreciate Wait till the folksget to get to hear the song,
but please give them the premise ofthe song and the story behind that song.
Well, the key line in itis the last suit you wear when
you die. It doesn't say whenyou die, but the last shuit you
wear won't need no pockets because youain't gonna take nothing with you when you
go here. When you leave thisearth, you're going just with what you

(13:48):
came with, which is your spirit. And uh, you know, whatever
you've accumulated here is going to stayright here. So that's the theme of
the song. And it's it's agreat song. I can't wait to hear.
Oh, it's it's about like inone of the verses is about a
banker. It might afford closed onsome properties well, this is the last
suit he's gonna wear. And it'sjust yeah and just you know, and

(14:09):
can nobody sell it like John Connley. It's it's a Brandy and I.
We had like old time country songslike you know, the first time you
heard he stopped loving her to dayor something. We had just tears coming
down our face. We must ifif B and MI was plugged into our
house, whoever wrote that song isgonna have a good day based on our
living room, I hope it was. That's a great Yeah, it's a

(14:33):
great song. I've had it inmy pocket for a long time. It
uh, you know, I heardit on a bluegrass album a long time
ago and fell in love with withthe that version. So I've had it
on my mind for years, andwe finally got to record it. So
I'm thankful for that. I'm gladfor it. And do you all yet
have a release date on your upcomingspiritual project? Now we're we're down.

(14:56):
We've got all the music mixed andwe're down to the the artwork and you
know, getting all that together andscheduling it. As you know, anything
you do today, you have toschedule it two or three months away.
From when you when it's due.So I'm hoping by the end of the
year we have it out, butJohn Connley dot com will be the place
to know when it's available, JohnConnley dot com. Now I didn't didn't

(15:20):
realize this until then I told itRose Color Glasses. Did you ever think
that was going to be hit atall? Well, I didn't. I
knew this. I had written itand backside of thirty, and we put
backside of thirty out first because ifI was going to lose a song,
and coming from radio, I gotand I was a music director, so
I got to see a lot ofrecords come into the library that never got

(15:43):
played, that never hit and ifI if I was going to lose one,
I didn't want to lose Rose.Rose was more special to me than
backside a Vote. But so Ididn't put Rosecolor Glasses out first. We
saved it till down the road andit ended up being the fourth release,
and and indeed the first three didnot make it, including backside of thirty.
And so you know, now,if Rose had not made it on

(16:08):
that fourth release, I'm sure theywould have done me from the label,
you know, rightly, so wewould have given it four shots and nothing
worked. But it did work andthanks thanks to doctor Bruce Nelson and Houston.
Okay, tell that story because Idid not know that story till the
other night about doctor Bruce playing it. Doctor Bruce Nelson, who was at
KAHE and R Radio in Houston atthe time, was the first to play

(16:32):
it in Houston, and it justexploded in Houston, and its spread from
there because Houston is such a largemarket, it spread from there to the
other regions of Texas and then theneventually the rest of the country. You
know, Rose never made it tonumber one. People don't believe this,
but it was not a number onerecord nationally. Yeah, but you know,

(16:53):
here's the reason. To have anumber one record nationally. All of
the stations in the country have totake it up their individual charts at the
same time. And because it bicycledfrom region to region, it stayed on
the charts forever. However, ityou know, the first region that played
it, it was an oldie bythe time the last region got on it.

(17:14):
So it couldn't be a national numberone record for that reason. But
I've always said, if every everyrecord could be as big as Rose and
become a standard like it has.I'd take seven every time. What a
huge hit? And again what atime was it? Well? And also
miss Conn when I was doing showprepped for this Rose Colored Glass. You
know, most songs hit songs,most top tens are in the charts about

(17:37):
three months, maybe a four monthride. Rose Colored Glass was then the
top ten three months. Yeah,right, exactly, That's what I mean.
It just stayed, you know,right, it pointed itself, so
to speak. Ye, that's right. Yeah, And that's why I know
you didn't hate that at all.Oh, I don't know. Hey,
the numbers got I've always because Iagain because I come from radio, and

(18:02):
because I knew what the chart thingwas all about and all that. The
chart deal and the numbers game isan inside deal for the industry. People
don't care. They either like itor they don't. And that you know,
it doesn't matter if it's number.We spread these numbers around, number
one, number ten, number five, It doesn't matter. Is it good

(18:22):
or is it not? And doyou like it or do you not?
That's the only important. It's ahit, exactly, that's right. Now,
you keep bringing up radio. Ialways thought that you were a country
disc jockey. Yeah, you weren'ta country disc jockey, were you.
The only country I played was ata small station I helped put on the

(18:44):
air in my hometown. I playedabout an hour of country every morning.
Before I went into the MR format. I had a block programming deal.
It was the way we did thestation. But no, I never worked
at a full time country station.But again that doesn't matter, because radio
is radio, whether you're playing rockand roll or Middle of the Road or

(19:06):
country. Radio is radio or newstalk. I was part of news talk
for In fact, when I cameto Nashville, I came to read news
for four hours every morning at anews talk station here WLAC and which later
became rock and roll. I endedup big music director for the rock and
roll part, and then they turnedit back into news talk. It's it's

(19:27):
news talk again. These days everythingcomes around, right, but it's uh,
you know again, radio is broadcasting. Is broadcasting. You're doing it
right if you're speaking to one personwhile you're doing it. And so yeah,
I loved it. I fell inlove with radio and music at the
same time. Well, you know, you got something to fall back on.

(19:49):
It this if this singing thing doesn'teither either radio or you go back
to the funeral home. Shut herhome. I'm still on a farm.
I still have the farm. I'mokay, let's talk about talk about farmaid,
because then you brought it up theother night. I forgot all about
that. You were involved with thatthe early by the first the first nine
or ten of them, I did. What happened is we did a concert

(20:11):
in Omaha, Nebraska in nineteen eightyfive. I called three or four of
the farm organizations National Farmers Organization andtwo or three others to put together a
concert to call attention to the farmcrisis that was that had reared up in
nineteen eighty five. And so wedid that show in June of eighty five.

(20:34):
Just behind that, Willie announced thefirst farm Aide to be held in
Illinois in September of eighty five.And I called Willie and volunteered to be
a part of that, and sowe did the first nine or ten.
I was sort of on the board, if you will, a farm aide
for a while, and uh,Willie keeps it going, God bless him.

(20:57):
He's still calling it to the issue. And that's what farmade was created
to do, is call attention tothe fact that there was a farm christis
yeah, keep it relevant, Yeah, yeah, certainly. Yeah, mister
Connor, I want to ask youjust real quick about just the whole recording
process. I just such a hugefan of your your records and just the

(21:18):
way your voice translates on tape andjust all those things. I mean,
just to give you some perspective,sir. Uh. You know your Greatest
Hits Package that came out in eightythree. I remember it as a summer
release. And the reason why Ido, sir, is I rode my
bicycle up to the Ecker Drugs inmy neighborhood and I put the album in
the basket and I was just inmy bike basket and I was hoping I

(21:40):
could make it home in time beforethe Texas Sun cook gets But I did,
and it was It was one ofthe best purchases ever made. Uh,
when your Greatest Hits Package came out, but with you and Bud You
and Bud Logan, And I wasdoing some research on this. So y'all
started making records in seventy six,correct sir, so right, so that's
forty six, that's forty seven yearsago. I know of no other artist

(22:07):
and producer relationship. And for ourlisteners, a record producer is kind of
like a movie director, you know. And uh, and in the relationship
y'all have of you and Bud understandingthe right songs and the right keys and
the greater right arrangement. I meanlike the Beatles had George Martin, the
Everly Brothers had Chet Atkins, LorettaLynn had Owen Bradley. But these relationships

(22:29):
only lasted at the most eight ornine years. Y'all have been making hit
records, incredible records for close tofifty years. I hope so I heard.
I hope in seventy six, y'allsorry, in twenty six, y'all
are going to do a fiftieth anniversary. You know that would be great.
Yeah, I'm for that. I'mfor that altogether. I mean, we're

(22:52):
like brothers, Bud, not justwe When we met and we've we met
in a restroom at a golf tournamentin nineteen seventy six. Yes, the
guy that I worked with in radio, his name is Dick Kent. He
ended up being my first manager aswell, but he was chairman of the

(23:15):
four star golf tournament outside of Nashvillethat year, and he got me to
come down with a guitar and justdo three or four songs during the dinner
meal under the tent of golf tournamentat night, and Bud was in the
audience, and I guess it hewas attracted to what I was, my
singing, my voice and everything.Anyway, we ended up in the restroom

(23:37):
together after I had done that.He introduced himself and we, you know,
made an appointment to get back togetherwhen we got back to Nashville the
following week, which we did,and uh, you know it started from
there, so I tell you,oh, absolutely yeah. And it took
us. You know, it tooka while. I mean we he and
I were hooked up before I everhad a recording. I didn't have a

(23:59):
record to contract at that time,and it took some months for that to
come together. But when I gotthat first recording contract with ABC Records,
I requested that Bud be my producer, and of course they agreed, and
we've been together ever since. Well, I know that Bud uh told told
all our listeners and told me inBrandy that just shortly before he met you,

(24:21):
he was just praying to God.He said, God, just please
please send me a voice, andit was just a few days later.
And of course, you know Bud, you know he can't tell that story
without without crying. Of course,you know it's Bud. He cries over
a good steak. But well heand you know what, he just told
me that within the last some monthsyear or two, he had never told

(24:42):
me about his praying to find avoice and and and then meeting me until
within the last eighteen months. I'dsay, before I ever knew that,
and I was I'm thankful to knowthat. I mean, well, you
know, when God knows what he'sdoing all the time, you know,
well, exactly right, exactly right. And that's why I've said earlier,

(25:02):
everything I've done to make a living, from being raised on a farm to
the funeral profession, to radio tome has led me to the spot I
am today. I was supposed totake all of those steps for a specific
reason, and it still serves me. Well. So it's it's among it's
among my many blissings. Yes,sir, Yes, sir, absolutely,
And you know I was just sothe listeners out there, you had said

(25:26):
John Conley dot com, uh jO h N C O N l EE
dot com correct your classics packages.I know classics one, two, and
three are on there, and it'snot just your greatest hits like you said,
Uh, Classics two and three havenew songs well, and new songs
too that people had and and that'swhy it's three this wide. You know,

(25:48):
we could have put all the hitson two this without any problem.
And uh, but we kept overthe course of putting this together, over
the course of a few years,we kept finding new songs. So we
decided to add the new music tothe old. And that's why it's three
this wide. Well, and I'lljust tell the listeners, as we said
earlier, you cannot tell one erafrom the next because you and you and

(26:11):
Budd just have that great John Connleyformula of making all the record sound like
a John Conley record. You know, yeah, right, well, we
we we we've tried to do thaton purpose and it's it's worked up pretty
well. I don't think your voicehas changed. I know that the older
we get it, we seem tohave our voice changes, but your voice

(26:32):
has not changed since you started recordingback in the seventies. In a lot
of ways, it's more mellow nowthan it than it was I know this.
It's it's more fun to sing thanever before. And but my voice
is that's the one comment we getmore than any other for people. It's
it's kind of funny in an autographline after a show, a lot of
people will come up and say,well, you really sound good, like

(26:53):
they're shocked. Well, and Isaid, well, thank you, I
appreciate it. But yeah, becausea lot of people's voices deteriorate with age,
and thank the Lord, mine hasgotten better, really and uh burne
mellow, and it's more fun tosing than ever So I'm thankful for that.
Well, what do you do totake care of your voice? He
thinks, Well, passed to moneynight, because we're getting it is it

(27:17):
is in spite of me. That'swhat another thing I tell people, it's
it's not my fault. That itis not my fault at all. The
only the main positive thing I didfor my breathing and my voice was I
quit smoking over twenty five years ago, and that helped me more than anything
else probably. But in the meantime, no do I do vocal exercises,

(27:40):
No do I eat right, absolutelynot. So So again it's in spite
of me that it's held up likeit is again common man's theme. Right
here. You sang a Vince Gill'ssong the other night, which I have
never heard before. Everybody and youtold the story. Then this has written

(28:00):
two songs about his brother, rightof course, go rest Town the Mountain
and the other song that you didthe night. What was the name of
that song? Bread and Water?Is the name of that? You and
he and yeah, he and LeslieSatcher wrote it. I found it on
one of his albums a few yearsago, and when it was brand new,
I went to Vince. I said, well, do you have a
plan for this song? Are yougoing to release it as a single?

(28:22):
He said no, he didn't thinkso I said, well, with your
permission, I will, And sowe recorded it and we did release it
as a single. And of course, you know these days, if you've
been around over fifteen minutes, commercialradio is not going to play it.
I mean, Merle Haggard could risefrom the dead and record and they still
are Elvis and they still wouldn't playit, I don't think. But at

(28:44):
any rate, so we released itas a single. But I do it
on every show just about unless thereunless it's a crowd that's talking and too
loud to be quiet, then Ileave it out. But it is an
incredible song story of redemption, anduh, I love it. I mean,
you know it's on Classics too,and we produced a T shirt with

(29:07):
that theme as well on it.Yeah, whose idea was it to come
out with the rose colored glasses tosell at your concession? Because I had
great idea. I know Willie sells. You know hair braids are used to
but boy, I tell you thattop seller. Once I got a pay
of those glasses of the night,everybody wanted them. Yeah, it is
a top item. And the guythat helped me write it, another guy

(29:27):
in radio. Uh and my firstroad manager, George Baber was his name.
He wrote the third verse to thesong. But it was his idea
years ago. And you know myoriginal pair when when the song came out,
I went to an optometrist or orglasses shop and had a had a

(29:48):
real pair of glasses tinted rose towear for the show. And I used
those for the first year and ahalf or so. Finally realized that I'm
going to end up losing these thingsor somebody's gonna grab them. They're gonna
get broken, so I put themin the safe and we found some people
to produce the ones we now selland that's what I use on stage.

(30:10):
And it's also, as you mentioned, a concession. Yeah, I think
the original pair of glasses should bein the Country Music Hall of Fame and
Nashville that's that should be the homewriteralong with John Connley. Well, we're
not going to talk about but Johnconn deserves uh membership in the Country Music
Hall. M definitely, definitely youshould be in the Hall of Fame.

(30:30):
I mean you're well maybe maybe oneday you know that that if they do
it, I'll show up, ButI'm not lobbying for it. I mean
it's okay, thank you. Yeah, I appreciate we will do that,
you know. Uh. And andjust so, just as a songwriter,
John Connley has just one of thosevoice you want a Conley cut, like

(30:52):
my late father in law, andhe had Johnny Paycheck hits and George Strait
and Alabama and Barbara Mandrell all this, Randy Travis and he said and after
he retired from writing on the row, Phil said, man, he goes,
I never got a Conley cut,and he goes, my must have
thrown two hundred songs at Bud andthen mister Conley cut the Shade and then
and Walking behind the Star and uhand he just uh and those were his

(31:15):
last two major cuts he got inhis lifetime. And he said, man,
he said, I can close thebook. I got a condott you
know, and well let me letme let me point this out to you
now now as closer I mean,Bud and Phil Thomas were best friends,
I would say, you know,especially in the later life. They were
a Bud missus him still to thisday. But here's the deal. In

(31:38):
spite of that friendship. It ittook the right couple of songs for us
to go to the studio with forBuddy even show him to me. Amen.
For whatever reason, the other songsdidn't didn't click with Bud, and
so he didn't use the friendship.My point is he didn't use the friendship
just to try and to make somethinghappen. You know, the songs come

(31:59):
first, the music is the songscome first. Yeah, exactly right,
well, exactly right. And speakingof that, you know, early in
my career was Condy, I kindof got mentor a little bit, uh,
kind of just took me on hiswing. Harlan Howard was a big
supporter of mine and those An don'tknow. Harlan wrote Heartaches by the Number
and I fall to pieces and gonegone gone, and it busted, and

(32:21):
I don't remember loving you for you, but I will tell you when I
was in his h in his officethere in Nashville, uh, and we
were talking about his favorite cuts,and of course he listed I fall to
Pieces, and then he was talkingabout Busted, and he said, do
you know my favorite cut of Busted? And I said, well, Ray,
Charles, I reckon, He goes, no, hell no, he
said my favorite my favorite cut ofBusted was John Conn. Wow that's pretty

(32:45):
big right there. Oh that is, That's that's great. And you know,
I mean he told Bud I thinkthat he'd sort of quit writing for
a while. And when we didBusted and it ended up coming back out
and becoming a hit for us,it short of got Harland picked his pencil
back up again, and he wrotea number of great songs after that as

(33:05):
well. Certainly, but he washe was, yeah, he was,
he was great. Harlan was.That's the one regret people ask me all
the time, do I regret?Uh? You know, missing a song
here and there or whatever. Andh Harlan was the first to show us.
I don't know a thing about lovethat Conway had a hit off,

(33:25):
but we had first we had firstcrack of that, and for whatever reason,
Bud liked it and I liked it, but I didn't, you know,
it just didn't knock me out thefirst time I heard it. But
here's the deal. My regret isI should have cut it just because Harlan
wrote it, you know what I'msaying, and exactly right, and uh
but anyway, that's the only regretI have that I didn't. And and

(33:49):
Conway had a great record, Iguess if he was supposed to have it.
And I got to tell you,I can hear you sing that I
here, I would love to hearversion. Yeah. Well, I guess
it's never to never no never.Two. I gotta tell you why,
Harlan howard story biggest thrill. Nowwhen I was a kid, my biggest
song that I love was Tiger bythe Tail right. Oh yeah, So
I'm in Nashville. This is backwhen I was on Case in Austin and

(34:13):
Case one station of the year CMAS. I take my mom out there to
the big ceremony in Nashville, andwe're I'm up there, sitting at a
table. They're getting ready to handout the CMA Station of the Year awards.
I look back. My mom issitting there and this nice gentleman is
sitting next to her, just talkingup a story. It's Harlan Howard talking
to my mom. And I'm goinghold a big fan. Of course,

(34:37):
so I get the award, comeback. Harlan's already gone, and my
mom goes, what the nicest gentlemanjust sit there and talking to me.
She goes, I'm sorry, Icouldn't pay attention to the ceremony. He
was he was talking up a storm. And I said, you know who
that was, Mom? I said, that was Harlan Howard. She goes,
who's Harlan Howard? And then Istarted listening to songs, you know,

(35:00):
and she goes, oh my god. I said, oh yeah,
yeah, yeah, my goodness,yeah exactly right. Well, and I
and probably just from the timing ofit, uh, I don't remember Loving
You was was one of those songsthat Harlan Howard had after he picked up
his pencil after Buster, because yeah, right, exactly yeah, right,

(35:22):
and he had that, you knowthat, that's one of those things he
had. He had made the hadthe idea and this happens all the time
with songwriters, but he had theidea of years before put it on a
scrap of paper and put it ina door somewhere and uh and then I
guess she got the pile out.He and Bobby Braddick were going through it
and uh, you know, theyjust I guess Bobby probably pushed him to

(35:44):
try to do something with it.And boy did they ever. The Roger
Miller school of writing right there.Man, it's yeah. Well, uh,
was this really going to be yourfinal tour through Texas? Uh?
I don't know. I doubt it. I mean, we're going to alter
things I am tired of. Ilove doing the shows. I love doing

(36:07):
the shows, but I am sickto death of the road and the rough
road and the bounce in the backend of the bus and all that stuff.
Come. So, how's that?Well, you know, that's one
of the things I'm I'm not goingto quit singing. No, I'm not
going to quit singing. How wedo it, I'm not sure yet,
I don't know. Maybe we'll makea couple of trips in the year,

(36:28):
longer trips and stay out for acouple of weeks when we do it.
I'm not sure how we'll do it, or we'll find someplace locally to play
and get people to come to seeus there. I'm not sure, but
i know I'm not going to doit like I've been doing it, which
is weekend after weekend after weekend,trip after trip after trip. That's got
to stop. Yeah, well,I'm just tired. I'm tired of it,

(36:52):
that's all. And also, MissConney, you know, let everybody
know, remind them they probably alreadyknew. You've been a member of the
opera since eighty one, and you'llbe doing it, still be doing operation
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly right. I'll be singing somewhere,
maybe in my kitchen, well theopery, but but I'll be I
would always saying I want to hearyou sing the last suit you wear live,

(37:15):
you know that. Yeah, hopefullyyou'll be doing that on the opera.
And of course when you finally cut, don't know a thing about love
when you do that, and Howardtribute out there, you go, well,
so we've already got something and I'lltell you we overcut for this gospel.
We've got enough a good start ona second edition of the gospel album,
so we'll no doubt be going tothe studio for that as well.

(37:36):
Well. In in twenty twenty six, your fiftieth anniversary compilation with Budd Low
and fifty tracks, right, fiftyfifty Okay, let's stop talking. I'm
getting tired, Mr Conny. Thishas been such a dream. Thank you
so much, and thank you forjust a lifetime of incredible music. Just

(37:57):
some of the best records I've everheard. Yeah, well, thank you
so much. Money. He wasthe first country artist that I got to
bring out on stage in Lubbock.Yeah, I think it was seventy eight,
and I got to bring him outthe other night, and it was
just just an honor. So Ihope to talk to you getting real soon,
mister Conley. Alright, gosh,thank you so much. I've enjoyed
been with you today. You gottathank you, all right, Okay,

(38:21):
Okay, John Conley tells some brokensmoke. That was a fun little conversation.
When John wouldn't it that was fantastic. I mean, you know,
at first, I was trying tobe cool and it want to be just
the fans, and then I wentto hell with that. This John and
his voice, really, it's it'stimeless. You know. I don't know
what you plan to do later thisafternoon, but I'm going to pull out

(38:42):
my John Conley album I'm Vinyl,which I still have, and well,
dog, I wanted to buy thatthumb Drive the other night, but I
thought this is so unique he's sellinghe's keeping up with the times. Not
only can you get it on CD, but thumb drives well. And if
you go to his website, whoever'sdoing that form, it's uh up to
date. Yeah, and they willsell you what you want. John Connley
dot com. So in the Connellyby the way, co O n l

(39:05):
e ees not to be confused withJohn Connley who was Texas governor. Believe
me, there's loads of different sabMore Taels and Broken Spoke coming up.
Tails from the Broken Spoke is recordedlive at The Broken Spoke in Austin,
Texas, hosted by Country Radio Hallof Fame broadcaster Bob Picket and Monty Warden,

(39:25):
recorded mixed down and produced by microVera