CMT Blog: Archive

There are really three kinds of stories in my new book Behind the Grand Ole Opry Curtain, and that meant three different styles of writing.

The first group was driven by the quotes that the current cast members gave me about their great romances and tragedies. Those stories were built around their first-hand recollections. So what you read in the chapters devoted to folks like Marty Stuart, Martina McBride, Dolly Parton, Bill Anderson, Trace Adkins and many of the other Opry stars of today is "straight-from-the-horses' mouths."

The second stories are the ones based on the deceased cast members I have known. For those, I went into my files (I never throw anything away) and got out the interviews I'd done with them while they were alive.

It was like going into a time machine. I could remember where I was sitting in Johnny Cash's kitchen, what he was wearing and where June's many antiques were displayed. I could visualize Dottie West's living room and hearth. I remembered sitting across the desk from Faron Young. I recalled the collection of sheriffs' badges he had at his house.

Eddy Arnold's office in Brentwood was a treat to visit. Crowded with memorabilia and tiny, considering his vast wealth, it was also home to his longtime secretary, who still answered his fan mail on a manual typewriter.

One of my interviews with Johnny Paycheck was at George Jones' home, I remembered. I talked to Porter Wagoner once while sitting on the porch of a Music Row office building. And who could forget the "pillow room" upstairs at his Fireside recording studio?

Those chapters were very nostalgic for me. It was like bringing these folks back to life. I felt so lucky to have known those legends and so happy that I could revive their words for readers.

The third group of stories was the most challenging. There are five Opry stars I wanted to write about whom I had never met -- Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, Stringbean, DeFord Bailey and Hank Williams. I had to "bring them to life" based on research. And to make the familiar Hank and Patsy stories seem fresh and new, that meant a lot of research.

I hope that no matter which kind of story a reader chooses to read from Behind the Grand Ole Opry Curtain, it turns out to be " a page turner."

Editor's note: Read an excerpt from Behind the Grand Ole Opry Curtain.