Thanks For The Mentions
All
of those oversized Country Music history books that are made to fit only on
your coffee table and are much too tall to fit onto any normal bookshelf in your
den, usually have a page and a picture or two on the Statler Brothers. I think I have them all. Many I’ve bought and many I’ve been given by
friends and family. Even when some of
the history is wrong, I find them fun and interesting. There’s a new one out right now on Johnny
Cash that is, where else (?), on the coffee table in our den. And there are a couple of pictures of us and
John and June from Folsom Prison that I don’t remember ever seeing before. As I said, fun and interesting.
Also,
I hear from folks all the time that some novelist has mentioned the Statlers in
a book they’re reading. I can’t remember
all of them but I do know that Sharyn McCrumb, a very talented mystery writer,
has used our name in her storytelling a time or two. And this always brings a smile. Recently I was told about a book by Nora
Roberts who mentioned the Statlers in a passing, descriptive paragraph that was
germane to her story. And that was nice
as she is maybe the most prolific woman writer on the market today. She has to use two names (J.D. Robb) to get
all the books out of her head and on to the page. The only person turning them out faster than
she, is James Patterson. (But the glory
in this is Nora is doing them all herself while ole James is sitting on the
beach sipping a Mai Tai while letting his co-writers have at it.)
And,
of course, there was Kurt Vonnegut. I
think we told that story in Random
Memories. He talked about us in one
of his books and then got in touch with us and came to some concerts and we
became friends. Again, fun and
interesting.
But
the one I had forgotten all about was the Carolyn G. Hart incident. Carolyn Hart is a well-known, award-winning
mystery writer. Check her out. She’s
very good. So back when her new book was
Mint Julep Murder, I settled into a
summer afternoon with an iced tea at my elbow, my cocker spaniel (Sam) on my
lap and both hands full of her latest
novel. And it was only on the second
page when I read these words:
He’s
a buffoon who loves Dracula, Frankenstein, and Little Orphan Annie with the
Statler Brothers bellowing in the background.
What! I read it again and then again. I was glad to be put in such Pop Culture as
these other three, but at the same time I couldn’t, for the life of me, glean a
compliment out of this sentence. Bellowing! It was apparent that Carolyn G. did not like
the Statler Brothers. Oh well, you don’t
win them all. I laughed and continued
reading.
It
wasn’t until I reached page 34 and read these words that I decided something
must be done:
The city council’s compromise was to hire a
drug-sniffing “cocker spaniel”. Can’t
you just see it? A ferocious,
salivating, lop-eared, wiggle-butted cocker?
Wait a
minute now! I covered Sam’s eyes so he
couldn’t see what was being said about him.
I mean you can defame Dracula, mock Frankenstein, belittle Orphan Annie
and even vituperate the Statler Brothers, but let’s watch ourselves when it
comes to such name calling as “lop-eared, wiggle-butted cocker”.
And
here’s the fun and interesting part. I
sent Carolyn G. Hart a letter saying all this with my tongue firmly in my
cheek. I thought it was funny. But apparently CGH didn’t. Never heard a word and it’s been almost
twenty years.
DSR — October 15, 2013
