GOING HOME, AGAIN
by Stan Hitchcock
I left the Ozarks of Missouri in 1962 to move to Nashville and pursue the music that I loved and, as it turned out, spend the rest of my natural life singing and "whanging" away on my old J45 Gibson as I traveled down every backroad and blacktopped highway in America. Most folks, when they choose this way to make a living, strive to be "Rich and Famous", sell millions of records, have the adulation of screaming fans everywhere and, someday, ride off into the sunset on a white horse carrying an armload of CMA awards.
Ok, I can see the sunset just going down over the mountains, and sure enough, I got a white horse, but I’m not ready to ride off just yet. I’ve always had a missing link in my hillbilly genes ‘cause I never cared to be rich and famous (good thing, too, cause I’m sure not either one); I never sold a million records and my fans don’t scream, they just quietly put their hand on my shoulder and say, "Stan, I like what you do." All I ever wanted was to do my music and my television for the "regular folk" of America and that’s what I’ve done for the past 44 years. I am most richly blessed. I have a wonderful family, a great group of friends with BlueHighways TV, folks that like our programming and music, an old ’57 Chevy pickup and a white horse. Sure the white horse has some black spots, but underneath he’s all white.
But, I did get my award last week. It was great and I really appreciate my home state of Missouri inducting me into their Missouri Country Music Hall Of Fame. I joined Porter Wagoner, Ferlin Husky, Wynn Stewart, Smokey Smith, Leon Rausch, and Roy Queen in being honored and it was great company to be in. I got to spend a lot of good visiting time with Ferlin Husky and Leon Rausch and even got to sing on stage with Ferlin and all the inductees on "Wings Of A Dove". We had a sell out crowd that attended the event in Osage Beach at Lake Of The Ozarks. I came away with a new appreciation for the folks that work so hard behind the scenes to promote Traditional Country Music. For all the folks that have called and emailed me about the induction, "Thank you." The sunset is coming, but I am not riding off, just yet.
Thanks, Stan
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