Ma 'Dell'

Entertainer shares nourishing memories of mom, her meals

By MARY CONSTANTINE, constantine@knews.com
May 10, 2006

Faith, family, food and music have been constants in Con Hunley's life. They have molded him into the man he is today.

His love of music has provided the singer-songwriter a livelihood, while his faith and family have been unwavering during good times and bad.

His mother, the late Priscilla "Dell" Clodell, gave him the nourishment he needed, through the meals she prepared and the values she held fast.

"We always invited someone home from church and there was always a feast," he said. "She could throw a meal on the table in an hour's time and make you think someone had spent all day cooking it.

"She made beans and corn bread, fried potatoes, coleslaw, buttermilk chocolate cake, fried okra, green beans, sliced tomatoes, sliced onions and kilt lettuce."

He said his family wasn't wealthy but made do. "We never had high-price cuts of meat. We would have fried chicken or what they called cube steak, and she could fix it to where it was just delicious," he said.

A garden they tended in their back yard and harvest from their neighbors' gardens helped supplement their meals. "Someone in the neighborhood always had too much. They would pass it around. They gave it to everybody," he said.

One of his favorite items was his mother's biscuits. She made the "best biscuits in the world" and would make homemade syrup from sugar and water to serve with them.

She encouraged her children to clean their plates, and with six children in the family, there was little left. "We weren't very wasteful. We had to stretch, but we always had plenty to eat. We never went hungry," he said.

His mother had a "God-given knack to make friends," and she was always prepared to feed anyone who visited.

"Anytime anyone would come to Mom's house, she would say, 'Are you hungry?' I think she thought that everybody who showed up at her house was hungry," he said, laughing.

Once her children were grown, her nurturing instinct turned to her grandchildren, whom she enjoyed cooking for. "They were jammed-up and jelly-tight. They loved each other, and whatever they wanted, she would make for them," he said.

He described his mother as determined, "not afraid to talk to anybody," with a wonderful personality and very talented. "She had a huge number of friends," he said.

He hopes his daughter Brittany has acquired his mother's determination and ability to make friends. "She had a sixth sense about people. She could tell if they were real or not. I hope Brittany can pick up on that," he said.

He shares his mother's recipes for pinto beans, corn bread and buttermilk chocolate cake.

Pinto beans

2 pounds pinto beans (dry)

1 tablespoon salt

3-31/2 quarts water

2-3 ounces salt pork

Look through beans; remove all half beans or rocks that sometimes are packaged with dry beans. Put in 4-quart pot and fill with water. Rinse beans and wash one more time. Then fill pot with 3-31/2 quarts of water, add salt and place on stove on medium high.

Let beans come to boil, uncovered, for approximately 20-25 minutes. Add more water, covering at least 1-2 inches above beans. Turn heat down to medium, and let cook for approximately 1-11/2 hours; add water as needed. Turn heat to medium low and add salt pork. Let cook 15-20 minutes, until beans are tender. Add salt as needed for taste. Serves 6-8.

Corn bread

2 - 2 1/2 tablespoons bacon drippings

3 cups self-rising cornmeal

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2-1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put 10-inch cast-iron skillet on eye of stove, and on medium-low heat melt 2 1/2 tablespoons bacon drippings. Be careful not to let it burn.

In 2-quart mixing bowl, add cornmeal, eggs, sugar, salt, buttermilk and as much milk as needed to have a good blend of ingredients. Pour most of the melted bacon drippings into the mixture, leaving some in the skillet to crisp the bottom of the bread.

Pour mixture into skillet and place back on stove, on medium heat, 2-4 minutes, until mixture bubbles just a little. Place on medium rack of oven and cook 30-40 minutes, until brown on top.

Serves 6-8.

Buttermilk chocolate cake

CAKE

2 sticks butter

4 tablespoons cocoa

1 cup water

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 cups self-rising flour

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

TOPPING

1 stick butter, melted

4 tablespoons cocoa

5 tablespoons buttermilk

1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In saucepan, mix butter, cocoa, water and buttermilk. Bring to boil and then let rest. Mix flour and sugar in mixing bowl. Combine with buttermilk mixture. Add eggs and vanilla and blend well. Stir until combined, and then pour into greased 9-inch-by-11-inch cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool.

To prepare topping, melt butter in saucepan. Add cocoa and buttermilk. Bring to boil. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar, vanilla and walnuts. Mix together and spread on top of cake.

Free Concert in Market Square Features Country Music Star Con Hunley

The soulful sounds of Con Hunley will be echoing through the streets of downtown Knoxville on Saturday night, and you won't want to miss the Dogwood Arts Festival's most popular and most fun outdoor event!

Con Hunley and his band are the featured performers in this year's Dogwood Arts Concert on Market Square in downtown Knoxville on Saturday, April 22nd, following the Dogwood Arts parade. An up and coming female duo from Nashville, Bomshel, opens the show, and Con will take the stage around 7:00 pm.

The theme for this year's Dogwood Arts Festival parade is "Celebrate Freedom" and thousands of returning soldiers and their families will participate in the parade. The concert will begin in Market Square Mall immediately following the parade. Seating is very limited, so you may wish to bring a chair. There will be plenty of food and crafts vendors available in and around Market Square.

Hunley will be performing some old favorites as well as several new songs from his recently released CD, Shoot From The Heart. The CD is available locally at Cat's Records, the Disc Exchange, Ernest Tubb Records, Wal-Mart and on-line at conhunley.com. For a limited time, IMMI Records is offering a free download of "Just Like Old Times" from Shoot From The Heart to visitors to the conhunley.com web site.

"Knoxville is my home, and it's great to perform for the hometown crowd," Hunley said in a recent interview. He added, "It's always a thrill to participate in the Dogwood Arts Festival events, and I'm especially honored to perform this year for our heros in the armed forces and their families."

Spin Factor
By Ron Wynn, rwynn@nashvillecitypaper.com
February 14, 2006

Con Hunley
Shoot From The Heart
(IMMI)

Expressive, heartfelt ballads have always been a major part of the country canon, but there’s also a fine line between empathetic statement and overly maudlin fare. Con Hunley shows on such numbers as “Deep In The Arms Of Texas,” “I Can’t Make It Alone” and “Just Like Old Times” how to communicate and present romantic thoughts, tender feelings, and sentimental testimony without becoming melodramatic or ineffective. He also delves into uptempo territory at times, particularly on “That Old Clock,” and delivers a solid tribute to longtime idol Ray Charles with a fine rendition of “Georgia On My Mind.” With a string of outstanding songs provided by a cross-section of venerable and contemporary songwriters, Con Hunley is in top form on Shoot From The Heart.

Copyright 2006 The City Paper, LLC

Soundcheck
by Bill Littleton
February 2006

Con Hunley - Shoot From The Heart - IMMI Records

Well, Ole Con is back in full abundance -- we recently got a CD update of his very first album from "way back" and now here's some new material. The music endeavor has always had a few folks who fit nowhere and everywhere, almost to the point that they are genres within themselves. If anybody fits that description as well as Sonny James, it's Con Hunley, who obviously got to where he is listening to a lot of different things but never losing himself. His pairing with producer Norro Wilson is appropriate, as the same description applies there. Combined with a tremendous slate of pickers and a vocal group that is comprised of two brothers and a sister of Con's, we have a powerhouse. Oh, yeah ... the songs. The songs may be the strongest reflection of his country music influence, as they bounce around the emotional scale like pingpong balls in an earthquake. Larry Bastion's "I Can See You With My Eyes Closed" gets my vote for radio play where such matters are still decided by real music people, but anything on here would work. "Why Me Lord," especially, has a dramatic touch that your heart could just be ready for.

Copyright 2006 Uncle Willam's Place

Tuesday February 14, 2006

30-year-old song by Gravel Switch woman finally released

By JENNIFER BRUMMETT
jenb@amnews.com

It might have languished for 30 years, but the song Jeanne Lane penned back in the 1970s finally has been released. What's more, it's on two recordings.

The song, titled "Look At Me Loving You Again," is on two Con Hunley recordings. It was written by Lane, of Penn's Store and Outhouse Blowout fame, in early 1974. She re-arranged it in 1975 with her co-writer, Kelly Bach, who died in 2001. It was recorded in 1976 by then-rising country music star Hunley, who Lane describes as a "country-rhythm and blues singer."

Then, "the master was kept under lock and key by producer Larry Morton," Lane says. Changing producers and labels led to the song being shelved for years, she adds.

"It has to go in the Guinness Book of (World) Records for sitting on the shelf," Lane notes.

On Jan. 10, "Look At Me Loving You Again" was released on Hunley's latest album by Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee and famed producer Norro Wilson. That recording is called "Shoot From The Heart."

The song, in its "original production," Lane explains, also was released by producer Larry Morton on Hunley's "The First Time from Studio B" album.

Lane says the song itself came from a friend talking about her romantic woes.

Stroke of good fortune

"A friend of mine at the time- this was early 1974 - was relating her romantic woes and made the comment, 'Hey, look at me, loving him again.' And, I thought, 'Wow! Now, there's a song!' So I wrote it," Lane explains. "It had a melody I was not quite thrilled about, though, so I stored it away.

"Then everything began happening. I met Kelly Bach that summer and we began writing together. By autumn, I signed a songwriters contract with 4 Star Music of Nashville and Hollywood, as did Kelly. One of our songs was picked as the new single for Jerry Wallace - his hits included 'Primrose Lane,' 'In The Misty Moonlight,' 'To Get To You,' and 'Release Me' - and also was chosen as the title song for his album."

The stroke of good fortune didn't stop with Wallace.

"Jimmy Elledge, who released 'Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away,' of Willie Nelson fame, was releasing another one of our songs, 'One By One," Lane says. "I also did some writing with another lady and one of our songs had just been recorded. I also was doing demo work with Lee Martell, a friend of Jimi Hendrix's bass player, Billy Cox. So, by early 1975, things were really busy - I was writing a lot and doing demos.

"Our Wallace cut, 'Coming Home to You' was making its way up the charts - it went to either 38 or 40 on Billboard - the album was doing great, and "One By One" had come on the charts. I never thought about the song I had written a year earlier until one night at dinner with Martell, Kelly, and some others.

"Billy Cox stopped by the table. Somehow the conversation came around to old songs written, and I happened to remember then that song I had written. I told them a little about it, and when they asked to hear some of it, I did the first couple lines. Everyone said 'Wow!' They thought it was great."

Song was reborn

Lane says Bach wanted to work on it with her. Her original title was changed, as were some words and music. Then the song was born - or reborn.

Lane was in Nashville Jan. 19 at a release party for "Shoot From The Heart." She loves that the song is coming out of obscurity now.

"It is truly amazing," says Lane. "To have the same song on two albums at the same time - one production from 1976 and the other from 2006. Even more amazing, it took 30 years.

"All of us along the way connected with the song have always believed in it, though. And there's no one else I would rather have sing that song than Con. I know Kelly would say the same if he were here. Con Hunley is one of the greatest voices on the planet today."

She isn't sure exactly what the release of this song will mean to or for her.

"It's bringing back a songwriting career - maybe," she says. "Dawn and I have been doing some things together. ... We'll just see where it takes us."

The recordings are for sale at Penn's Store in Gravel Switch, as well as larger music stores.

Copyright The Advocate-Messenger 2006

Shoot From the Heart

Con Hunley

IMMI Records

* * * * (out of 5)

If you're new to country music, the name Con Hunley may not be familiar to you, but make no mistake, this artist is no johnny-come-lately. Con had a string of hits in the 70s and 80s and then walked away from the industry. However, music never left him and by the 90s, he was performing again, locally and at celebrity golf tournaments. In 2004, Con released his comeback album, Sweet Memories, to critical acclaim. Now, he's following up that success with his new album, Shoot From the Heart.

Shoot From the Heart is filled with strong, passionate, soulful ballads. Not only are the songs excellent choices for Con, he infuses each song with enough emotion for you to feel that emotion. While there is no doubt this album is country, steel guitar is heard clearly throughout the album, there are also other influences on this album. From a southwestern flair, to a pop feel, to Gospel, to Soul, this album is a great blend of musical styles.

Although most of the songs on this CD are excellent, there are a few that stand out. “I Can't Make It Alone” starts off emotionally restrained but at the chorus the heart-wrenching truth in the words comes on strong. He walked away from the woman that he needed and now he knows he was wrong, but it's too late. The song builds to a crescendo of emotion only to return to a restrained acceptance. Con's tribute to Ray Charles, “Georgia on my Mind,” is a fitting tribute, indeed. Managing to keep the song true to Ray's version, Con also managed to put his own style to it. You can bet Ray would be very pleased with this rendition of his classic song. “That Old Clock,” is three minutes of rollicking good fun. The strong piano presence gives the song an old-time rock and roll feel. Although Con does a great ballad, he can belt out the rockers and should put a couple more on his next album.

Shoot From the Heart is a definite pleasure. With strong songs and Con's vocal skill, you can't go wrong. Whether you're a long time fan or just now discovering Con, this is an album to add to your collection.

© 2006 Mary L. Duval, all rights reserved

I have been listening to Con's new cd for the past couple of days. Wow!!! After "Sweet Memories", I wasn't sure what to expect, but, Con has absolutely blown everyone away with "Shoot From The Heart". Honestly, I believe his vocals are just getting better and better. Incredible power and range, but, with such feeling. If the truth be told, Con's is a voice with heart. When he sings a song, you can believe it.

Here are some of my favorite tracks. The first being the title track, particularly when he sings about that old Stella guitar. I think we have all had that guitar at some time or other. Another one that gets to me is "The Keys". Somewhere along the line, each of us has been handed the keys, whether it was from one of our parents or grandparents or whoever happened to be taking care of you in those teen years. Those are the keys that open life's lessons. This is a real winner from the pens of Hank Cochran, Dean Dillon and Dale Dodson. But, after listening to all of the great songs on here several times, I keep going back to Con's tribute to Ray, with "Georgia On My Mind". An absolute stellar performance!!!

And I have to mention one other thing, that being the great instrumentation on this project. It is top notch all of the way, particularly the steel playing of my buddy, John Hughey.

After you listen to this new cd of Con Hunley's, you will agree, too, that it is his best, yet. "Shoot From The Heart", Con Hunley.

Con Hunley, WIVK, IMMI Records and Litton's Restaurant Host Contest Winners

By Charmin Foth

Litton's Restaurant, a Fountain City landmark, was the scene for Con Hunley's 'Shoot from the Heart' CD release and contest party. WIVK, IMMI Records and Litton's Restaurant hosted the evening's events for about 40 people, including 20 lucky WIVK listeners who won the opportunity to have dinner with Con and a preview of the CD with an intimate concert.

The worldwide radio debut of "Shoot From The Heart" took place January 10th on the prime-time show "The Ride," hosted by popular WIVK radio personality, Gunner. During the one-hour broadcast, Con and Gunner talked about the project, played selections from the CD and took live callers. The phone lines remained busy with hundreds of fans hoping for the opportunity to speak with Con throughout the entire interview.

Before dinner, fans were able to talk with Con about the new release and old times. Litton's, home of the best burger in Knoxville, treated Con's guests like royalty and Litton's back room was the setting for a wonderful night of music. Con played the heart-touching songs "I Can't Make It Alone" and "Hollow Man" from his new release, but the crowning moment of the evening came when he received a standing ovation with his tribute to Ray Charles' "Georgia On My Mind."

After the concert, IMMI Records gave out "goodie bags" with a copy of the "Shoot from the Heart" CD and fans had the opportunity to get photos and autographs. Con wrapped up the evening by thanking everyone for their support of his latest release.

Con Hunley Previews Album at BMI Party
Fri. January 20.2006 6:26 PM EST

When Knoxville's Con Hunley released a new album in 2004, it surprised a lot of people. "Anybody else would've just retired, but this is what I do," says Hunley over lunch at Litton's in Fountain City. "And as long as I can do it, why not?"

The reaction to the disc, "Sweet Memories" (Hunley's first album in more than 20 years), was wildly enthusiastic. Critics, including Billboard's Deborah Price, Music Row magazine's Robert K. Oermann and CMT's Edward Morris, praised the disc, and Hunley made appearances on CMT, GAC, XM Satellite radio and radio stations across the nation. E-mail from longtime fans began pouring in from all over the country, and the independently released disc (on IMMI Records) began selling online and at Wal-Mart stores. A single from the album, "She Ain't You," earned respectable play on independent country stations and became a bona fide "beach hit" on the Carolina coast. It seemed that fans were all just waiting for Hunley to return.

"When that record came out, I was hoping it would be well-received and hoping that if it wasn't that I'd be strong enough to handle it," says Hunley. "When the feedback started coming back, it was a real surprise and a real blessing."

Hunley definitely needed the encouragement. During the recording and release of the disc, he had overcome a longtime alcohol problem and had to deal with the deaths of his parents.

Yet it probably shouldn't have been such a surprise how the album was received. Hunley's voice and vocal instincts had only improved with age. His sound was steeped in classic honky-tonk and rhythm and blues - styles too-long absent from the airwaves. And in a time when much country music seems to be designed by marketing departments, Hunley sounded like a true individualist.

"All these people classify me as a stylist," says Hunley. "I don't just sing a song like other people. I don't feel it the same way."

His new album, "Shoot From the Heart," is no different. Once again, Hunley teamed up with legendary producer Norro Wilson (who helmed Hunley's first disc, in 1978) along with some of Nashville's best veteran session musicians. He also recorded in analog, rather than digital, believing that the medium has a warmer sound.

He chose songs that meant something to him - not because they were the correct drive-time tempo. He co-wrote several songs on the disc with songwriting greats, including Kim Williams, Larry Shell and Mountain Heart's Steve Gulley. And songwriter Larry Bastian had actually written the song "I Can See You With My Eyes Closed" for Hunley in 1983. During Hunley's absence from recording, Bastian hadn't pitched the song to another singer.

"He told me, 'I heard you were doing a CD, and I had to get it to you,'" says Hunley.

Williams, Gully and Shell wrote the song "Hollow Man."

"It's about recovery," says Hunley. "Having everything in the world and being empty inside. There's a spiritual message at the end."

A much older song, Kris Kristofferson's "Why Me," provides the coda to the disc.

Hunley was actually encouraged to sing the song by gospel great Bill Gaither. Gaither and his wife, Gloria, invited Hunley to a small gathering on a houseboat, which happened to be equipped with an electric piano.

"Bill said, 'I want to sing you my favorite gospel song,' and he sang 'Why me, Lord,'" Hunley says.

Gaither then asked Hunley to sing along and changed the key to accommodate Hunley's voice.

"I sang it, and then I looked around and everybody was crying. Bill was playing piano beside me, and I saw he had tears going down his cheeks. That experience really struck me."

Hunley says he made a vow after his mother died to include one gospel song dedicated to his mother on any new album he recorded.

If audiences didn't like Hunley's new album, it wouldn't be because they found it to be insincere.

"It's heartfelt, and it's honest," says Hunley. Unlike most modern singers, he refuses to augment his voice with any technological sweetening - something that the artists he has always admired would appreciate.

"When Ray Charles sang a song, it was from the depth of his soul," says Hunley. "You believed it. Same with George Jones. They sang and played from their souls."

There's little doubt that "Shoot From the Heart" is as appropriate an album title as Hunley could've chosen.

The AngryCountry.com Interview: Con Hunley

By Christine Bohorfoush

For those of our readers who are younger and new to country music, the name Con Hunley may not be familiar. But Con is no stranger to the country music scene. In the 70s and 80s, he had numerous hit singles including his biggest "Oh Girl" recorded in 1982. During that time, he was touring with various artists including George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Alabama, The Gatlin Brothers, The Oak Ridge Boys and others. In 1984, Con went with Capital Records. One of his recordings for them, "What Am I Going to Do About You," was a hit and one of twenty of his songs that made the top ten on the charts. It stayed on the charts for fifty-eight consecutive weeks. It was during these years that Con was nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year and Newcomer of the Year by ACM and CMA.

Con has played in venues large and small and still loves to perform more than just about anything. He has an active tour schedule and does appearances between recording sessions. He has continued to participate in charity golf tournaments, which makes the circle complete since his recording career was launched during the Acuff-Rose Tournament in Nashville. His latest project is a marriage of the old and new. He and Norro Wilson, his first producer at Warner Brothers Records, kept in touch and began talking about another project a few years ago. "We decided to do a new album, Sweet Memories, and enlisted the top musicians in Nashville," Con says.

After Con Hunley was brought to the attention of AngryCountry and upon reviewing his new album, I was so impressed with his soulful voice and the return to true traditional storytelling songs that Sweet Memories brought, I knew that I wanted to reintroduce Con to our readers and ask the questions that both his fans, old and new, wanted to ask of him.

*****************************************************************************

Christine: Con, as one of six children, I understand that your first entrance into the world of music was singing gospel songs at church with your family... could you tell our readers more about this?

Con: Well, you know, Christine, for a number of years I thought that everybody played some instrument and sang. From the time that I was born, I was surrounded by that... all my aunts and uncles, on both sides of my family, on my mother's and father's side, all played and sang. And there were people in the neighborhood who played and sang. Of course, at that time a lot of the relatives kind of lived close. So I thought that everybody played and sang. There was a number of years before I realized that this wasn't really the case. They both inspired me to want to play; and of course, the early beginnings was in church. My grandfather on my mother's side was a preacher in a Church of God, and from a early time my mother always sang in church as well as with her brothers and sisters... they sang harmony and were very talented. And so when I was born, there was just me and my sister, Beth, for a while and then my brother, Steve, came along. We were all encouraged to sing and to sing gospel music and we did. Then I learned to play guitar; I remember that I got an old used Stella guitar when I was like nine years old... I think it was a Christmas present. I drug that thing around the house and they taught me chord patterns and several songs. Actually at the time, my hands were too small to really make the chords, but I managed to learn some simple songs. That's really the early beginnings... it was just family.

Christine: Well, you first taught yourself to play guitar by ear and learned Ray Charles' "What'd I Say"... what was it about Ray Charles that so influenced you?

Con: My first hero... the first person whom I idolized musically... was Chet Atkins. I really wanted to be a thumb style guitar player. I worked on the thumb style playing and I used to listen to all of his albums. Back in the 60s, Ray Charles came out with the song "What'd I Say" and just the kick-off on the piano kind of reached out and grabbed me and I just loved it. Of course, I was a fan of Jerry Lee Lewis and I never really had thought much about learning to play piano. But when I heard the song, it just kind of set me on fire. During that time, my folks had bought an old used upright piano to give my sister, Beth, piano lessons... to be able to accompany the family group singing in church. So when my sister wasn't on the piano - and there was this local guy in the neighborhood who was teaching her how to read music - I was on the piano. You've heard of the old hunt and peck on the typewriter? That was sort of what I was doing on the piano. With the Ray Charles thing, I was doing my best to learn the intro and finally did and that is what really influenced me and that particular song. Of course, the more I became acquainted with Ray Charles' music, the more I enjoyed it and the more I appreciated it because it always seemed like he sang from the very pit of his soul and from his heart. It was always so inspired and it just touched me. I was a huge fan from the get-go!

Christine: In May of 1965, you joined the Air Force to learn a trade... could you tell our readers about your military experience?

Con: It was really a great experience... the draft was still in effect at that time and I was going to be drafted into the Army. I thought, 'Well, I'll just go ahead and join the Air Force because I thought that they had some great programs available as far as learning a trade.' I was always pretty mechanically inclined; I could fix things and figure things out from an early age. When I went into the Air Force, I went through basic training in Texas. I was shipped out to a base in Illinois for Air Training Command, so I went through tech school there. I made really good grades and it came pretty easy for me. And so after going through tech school, they pulled me out to become an instructor in what I had chosen as a career field... that was Aircraft Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems. I taught that for two years at the Air Training Command in Illinois. That was during the Vietnam War and they needed technicians and mechanics and what have you. So they pulled me as an instructor and that is where I was for the better part of two years.

Christine: I understand that a golf tournament helped lead to a record deal in 1977 with Warner Brothers Records... could you explain more about how this came to be?

Con: Well, when I got out of the service, I spent a little time in California... I had a good friend that I was in the service with; he got shipped to Vietnam and I stayed in Illinois. Then I wound up in Castle Air Force Base in California. But he and I got out of the service about the same time and so I spent some time with he and his family in California. Anyway, I moved back to Tennessee and at that time I was into the music thing and tried to play as much as I could. But when I moved back home, I was kind of a stranger in my own town... I didn't know a lot of the people, especially musicians or anyone who was playing in a band. I started playing at a place called the Corner Lounge which was a Thursday night gig that I started doing just to be heard. And then there was a place called the Village Barn and I played there for quite some time. Just out of the clear blue a friend of mine at WIVK Radio, Bobby Denton, played every year in the Acuff-Rose Golf Tournament in Nashville. It just so happened that this particular year he asked me if I wanted to go with him to the golf tournament. I said, 'Sure.' He said, 'Well, I think that I can get you an invitation.' I love to golf! I wasn't great at it, but I love it and I enjoyed it; and I certainly enjoyed the music part of the tournaments. So anyway, I went down there and we played golf. Generally after golf, they have a little banquet and they give the awards. After that they generally have what they call "a guitar pulling" and it is like a big suite at a hotel and there is a number of songwriters, singers, pickers, and grinners in the room. We went there just to listen... I mean, I was just sitting there on the floor with my legs folded listening to all the great songs... Chet Atkins was in the room. They were passing the guitar around and people were doing new songs and old songs and songs they had written and all of this. Out of the blue, the guitar was sitting pretty close to me, having gone around and around the room. My friend, Bobby Denton, said, 'Well Con, why don't you sing one?' I thought, 'Oh my God.' It scared me to death... I mean, I was sitting there listening and very relaxed and suddenly the heat was turned on me and I'm sure my heart rate jumped to 160. (we laugh) As it turned out, I sang a couple of songs. I did not know it at the time, but there were a couple of people from Warner Brothers Records in the room. Everyone seemed to like what they had heard. I did not think about it much at the time, but about two weeks later Warner Brothers chartered a plane and flew to East Tennessee and brought a bunch of people in. I was playing at the Village Barn and they came out to hear me and the next thing you know, I got offered a contract. People ask me how it happened, and I said 'well, playing golf.' After Warner Brothers began pursuing me for a contract, I had offers from a total of five major labels in a matter of two weeks. It was unbelievable! I was almost overwhelmed by it all.

Christine: In the