A #1 Song

BILL BLOG Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Tuesday morning it is. The temperature will hit a high of 81 today in Music City.

YESTERDAY On a rainy Monday, I drove over to Thomm Jutz’s home-studio and joined Thomm and Caroline Owens. Caroline just played the Bluebird Café, which is a big deal for any songwriter, so it was really nice to be able to congratulate her on that success.

Besides being a recording artist, songwriter, and noted guitar player, Thomm also teaches songwriting classes at Belmont University, where my daughter graduated. School is out for now, so he has a little more time to write.

We ended up writing a heartbreaking song for Caroline about ending a relationship that turned out great.

A very good way to start the first of June.

TOP OF THE CHART Yesterday, a songwriter friend texted me this GREAT news.

Yep, the song “Moon Shines on the Still” went to #1! Recorded by the great Grand Ole Opry duo, bluegrass stars Dailey & Vincent, which I co-wrote with Laure Leigh Jones. How about that? Thank you, Dailey & Vincent! And thank you to my long-time friend Robert Filhardt, who pitched the song to Jamie and Darrin.

The song is included on that new album of theirs, which you’ll be able to buy in any Cracker Barrel Store starting on June 12, and of course, it’s available online everywhere.

Did I mention the first of June was a good day?

NEW SINGLE And that’s not all. This also happened yesterday, and I found out about this while I was writing that new song with Thomm Jutz and Caroline Owens.

The French Family Band announced that their new single is “Here Comes the Sun Again,” which I wrote with Sonny French from the band and my friend Angus Gill. This too will be available everywhere on June 12, with an album release party at the world-famous Station Inn on June 9. The group you see in this picture just made a video of the song, which will be available to share in a few days.

AND… This new song from young Texas artist Payton Howie will be released as her new single on June 26. And it does rock. Check out “Truck Bed,” which I wrote with her and Brady Seals.

AMAZING TECHNOLOGY Physicist Praveen Gowtham became the first recipient ever of a 3-D arm.

Fully functional, allowing him to do things he never thought he could do. Like, twisting a cap off a bottle, or holding the leash as he’s walking his dog. All from a 3-D printer.

May the force be with you.

FLOATING CITY And how about this gigantic “floating city” that’s coming?

It will be nuclear-powered, and 80,000 people can live there while traveling around the world over and over. It will cost 16 billion dollars to build, and will have 20,000 crew members living on board. It dwarfs the size of any current cruise ship and is big enough to build a sports stadium on it.

Did I mention it’s a really BIG ship?

QUOTE OF THE DAY From Maya Angelou:

“I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh.”

TODAY I get to write with buddy Jimmy Fortune again this morning, and that’s a pleasure every time. One of the great things about writing songs with the former Statler Brother is the fact that I get to be THAT close to him and hear his amazing tenor voice.

Besides his busy solo career, Jimmy is also part of the amazing Gaither Family group, which also features the amazing talents of Ben Isaacs, Bradley Walker, and Mike Rogers.

We’ll see what we can come up with today.

Have a great Tuesday!

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A Book Fair

BILL BLOG Monday, June 1, 2026

Monday morning, back home in Nashville. And it’s the 1st of June.

82 for the high today with a slight chance of bad weather.

THE WEEKEND Friday morning it was off to O’Hare in Chicago with 5 guitars, and some downtime waiting on our Southwest Flight home after our writing retreat with veterans in the Chicago area.

We certainly had a great time writing with veterans up in Elmhurst, Illinois, and playing for those folks.

NEXT I’ll be back on a plane this Friday for a two-day Freedom Sings USA retreat in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina—our first trip to that city to write with veterans.

NEW TRIP I just found out that our Freedom Sings USA group will be returning to Greensburg, Indiana, for a second time. We will be there on February 12 & 13, 2027

Last year’s event had one of the largest crowds we’ve ever played for.

Last year, I wrote with Tom Sullivan, a Vietnam combat pilot who flew a ton of missions.

I’m very much looking forward to returning to Greensburg, where a tree grows out of the courthouse roof.

OTHER NEW SHOWS These three shows have been confirmed for our “Evening in the Round” show starring Linda Davis, with Lang Scott and me.

Friday, September 4, we will play at the Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center in Midland, Texas. 7:30 pm start.

The night before, we’re at another gorgeous theater in Alto, New Mexico, the Spencer Theatre.

And then Saturday night, November 7, we play the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center in Lenoir, North Carolina.

Details for all these shows and others are available in the tour section here on my website.

SATURDAY My wife Kathy and I got up early Saturday and headed for the Tennessee Fairgrounds for Kathy’s first-ever Book Fair for her book “Subtle Frequency”.

There were at least 64 authors, all selling books. Tables as far as one could see. And Kathy did great. Sold some books, met a lot of nice people. And we both learned a lot about how Book Fairs work.

I was proud of my wife. I think her table was as busy, if not busier, than most. And that’s a great thing. Don’t forget her book is available anywhere you buy books, so pick up a copy!

LONG DAY Yep, this would make for a long day. Several students got stuck on this roller coaster that stopped for over 3 hours in Texas before Galveston Firefighters could rescue them. A power outage was the cause.

I love coasters, but I think I’ll just ride the Merry Go Round from now on.

SOMEONE SAID IT “Of course, your wife doesn’t cook like your mom. YOU SHOULD. You’re her son. You ate her food all you life.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

From Henry Ford:

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said, faster horses.”

TODAY I’m back at the songwriting table with my friends Thomm Jutz and Caroline Owens.

Have a great Monday!

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A Veteran With A Cat Up Her Sleeve

BILL BLOG Friday, May 29, 2026

And it’s Friday, and time to catch a plane back to Nashville.

A high of 86 today here in Chicago. And it’s hard to believe we are into the last weekend of May.

YESTERDAY Our Freedom Sings USA songwriter group gathered at a beautiful house owned by one of the hosts of our retreat here in Chicago. Laura Michaud in Chicago. Her husband is a builder and built this gorgeous 7,500-square-foot home with plenty of rooms to accommodate 5 songwriters and veterans. I teased her at the concert last night that it was the most beautiful double-wide I had ever been in. \

Laura told us about this amazing collection of glass canes that her mother collected from all around the world—never seen anything quite like those.

I wrote down stairs with Army veteran Christine Seagrave, who served as an MP for several years, before a fight with a woman she arrested in Panama injured her wrist so severely that she was given an honorary discharge.

Last night, she was in the front row as I sang her song about some of the abuse she suffered at the hands of men she trained with, unfortunately, as well as the story about the time she saved a cat who was wandering out on the shooting range. She had a meeting with a superior right after that, and had a cat up her sleeve, literally. That’s just a part of her song, “An MP With A Cat Up Her Sleeve.” It was an honor to write it. (Crowd)

Everyone was so nice, including the Mayor of Elmhurst, who posed for a picture with all the writers. He was trying to look “country”, so he wore a bolo tie.

It was a pleasure writing Christine’s song, and it was a pleasure meeting so many nice folks who showed up to support our veterans.

I’m pretty sure they’ll be having us back again next year. And I’m already looking forward to it.

A PATRIOTIC SONG I got a text from my talented co-writer, Andrea Pearson, yesterday with s picture of her at the Sirius-XM Studios in Nashville.

Andrea was there to sing a song we wrote with Brian White, which is a Patriotic tune that will be part of a July 4 show on Sirius. I should be able to post a link soon that will let you hear that performance that will air on July 4, Independence Day.

SURVEY SAYS That 1 in 3 men are not working today. That’s a 20-year low for that statistic. (Makes me wonder if I’m part of that number, as I’m one of the lucky ones who never feels like I’m working, even though I am.)

When I asked AI why fewer men are working, it said it’s due to a mix of early retirement, chronic health issues, more young men pursuing higher education or trade skills, and a shift away from traditionally male-dominated industries like manufacturing.

Or, they got a job playing music, and they don’t ever feel like they’re working. Maybe.

JOKE My husband and I divorced over religious differences. He thought he was God; I didn’t.

SPELLING WHIZ Here’s your Spelling Bee Champ this year, 14-year-old Shrey Parikh. The final word was “bromocriptine,” a prescription used to treat menstrual problems.

Right. I knew that.

QUOTE OF THE DAY From Steve Jobs:

“The only way you can do great work is to love what you do.”

TODAY We’re back on a plane to Nashville after this great couple of days in Chicago writing with veterans.

TOMORROW My wife Kathy and I will be at a big Book Fair in Nashville from 9 AM to 3 pm selling her book “Subtle Frequency.” Looking forward to meeting those who love good books.

Have a great weekend!

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Hello Chicago

BILL BLOG Thursday, May 28, 2026

And a good Thursday morning to you from Elmhurst, Illinois.

YESTERDAY I had an 11 AM flight to Chicago on Southwest.

Myself and 4 other songwriters loaded, with no fanfare, and made it to O’Hare. Early. At TSA, an agent took my guitar and made me take everything out of it. But, before she did, she said, “Sir, I’m going to take good care of your guitar. I don’t think that’s ever happened. Thank you!

And then all five of us got to our gate with guitars on our backs, and the gate attendant came up to us and told us he would make sure we were on early, to make sure all 5 guitars got in the overhead bins. Another first!

Thank you, Southwest, for such a great flight!

LAST NIGHT We gathered for a little VIP sponsor to meet the sponsors of the event, as well as the veterans we’re writing with tomorrow. Mine is an Army female veteran who was an MP for a few years, so her story should be interesting to write this morning.

Cathy Richardson, who is a Chicago native and is a member of the current rock band Jefferson Starship was there in the crowd. That group had gigantic hits like “We Built This City.”

She also toured with Janis Joplin’s old band for several years, singing all those Janis songs like “Take Another Piece of My Heart” and “Bobby McGee.” Wow. And she was so nice. A bonus for this trip. It was a pleasure getting to know her.

After shaking hands, we did a little songwriter round, each writer performing 2 songs each.

It was a very fun evening, capped with that intimate songwriter show.

HELLO DOLLY The Dolly Parton Travel Center is set to open in a few days at a location that’s about 60 miles south of Nashville.

Big enough to rival Buc-ee’s, they say, complete with barbecue, a dog park, you can get a cup of “Dolly’s Ambition” coffee, and yes, there’s a stage for entertainment. Dolly’s empire just keeps growing.

NEW TREND? Young people’s plastic surgery parties for real, or uh, fake. Friends gather to celebrate someone’s recent plastic surgery, and they are the first to see the new lips, boobs, face, or their new plastic nose.

Proving that one can party for almost any reason.

GRAB A BURGER Because today is National Hamburger Day. Yep. And you can get some deals on a burger at some places, like Burger King. I like my plain. Restaurants don’t always get that, so when I order, I always say, “I’d like a plain double-cheeseburger, just burger, cheese, and bun, nothing else. And STILL, now and then, a pickle, or lettuce, or a danged tomato will show up on my order. Geez.

Now, the late Jimmy Buffett liked his with pretty much everything on it. Listen to his classic Cheeseburger In Paradise to find out what he likes.

QUOTE OF THE DAY From Erich Segal:

“True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked.

TODAY This morning, our group of 5 songwriters will gather with 5 veterans and turn their amazing stories into songs that we will sing later tonight. This never gets old.

Have a great Thursday!

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Chicago Bound

BILL BLOG Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Wednesday morning, bags packed, ready to fly to Chicago. More on that at the end of today’s Blog.

84 in Nashville for the high today, and 10 degrees cooler in Chicago.

YESTERDAY My songwriting appointment was cancelled yesterday, so it gave me plenty of time to make sure I got packed for the trip and got my airline ticket in order. I don’t fly a lot these days, but I’ve got back-to-back weeks of flying ahead of me with this trip to the Windy City, then next weekend into Durham, North Carolina, for another Freedom Sings USA retreat with veterans.

This year, there has been an increase in these kinds of retreats, which may be because it’s America’s 250th birthday, and more folks want to do something to honor our veterans.

NATELAND It’s going to happen. Comedian Nate Bargatze, who lives here in Nashville, is indeed going to build a theme park. They just released the first renderings of it.

Designed to be wholesome and family-friendly, it’s just a few years away from reality. Nate was a huge fan of Opryland, like a lot of other folks, so he wants to bring that kind of park back again. Pretty sure that’s going to be a huge hit.

THE POPE RIDE The Pope climbed into that Ferrari, an eclectic car they call the Luce that I mentioned yesterday.

He did not take it for a spin, but he did get behind the wheel and check it out.

It looks and feels a little different than his normal Pope Mobile ride.

GOOD GRADES Some parents pay their kids for good grades. One therapist doesn’t think that’s a good idea. She says it puts too much pressure on a kid, increasing their anxiety and perfectionism.

And it sure adds pressure for the parents as well, trying to figure out how to pay by Venmo or Bitcoin.

QUOTE OF THE DAY From Isaac Asimov”

“Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.”

TODAY Time to catch my flight to Chicago for our Freedom Sings USA event in Elmhurst, Illinois, which is about 15 miles south of O'Hare Airport, where we will land before noon. Two very eventful days writing with veterans from that region.

Have a great Wednesday!

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