Well readers I always try to publish a great big article to help independent artists and songwriters with some holiday sales.
You know the holiday season is coming and what better gift
than the gift of music? There’s so many wonderfull CD’s out
there to buy this year and I would like to take some time to
help you find some great music. If you’d like to purchase a
Garyhayescountry.com bumper sticker you can by emailing
me at garyhayes2@yahoo.com.

This is my good friend Kimber Sparks.She’s got new music
coming real soon.Until then you can purchase what she
has by clicking HERE.The album she has out now includes a wonderfull
remade duet of “Chistled In Stone” a classic Vern Gosdin
song.Take it from me the WHOLE ALBUM is good.

You will soon see that the best music isnt always what
the FM radio and major stores TELL YOU is good.STOP
being a puppet and see for yourself there’s so much
to be heard. Take this man for instance Jimmy Parker.

This song was co-wrote by my friend Donna Graham. Jimmy has some great albums for sale and you
can get them HERE.

There’s a bunch of people I would like to share with you and
sadly I cannot post videos for all of them,however I will
provide you with links to click on in order to purchase their
music. One of the most talented individuals I have ever met
is Kurt Fortmeyer He’s always been one of my favorite songwriters
and one of the first I have and would call to arrange a round.
I just cannot say enough good about him.

My friend Donnie Winters son of country legend Don Winters
plays guitar for George Harper.

George has really great bluegrass band with some really
talented folks and I really enjoyed talking with his upright
bass player.He reminded me of Jay McDowell from BR5-49.

 And you GOTTA LOVE the one and only Georgette Jones.

Her new album “Strong Enough To Cry” is now available and
I’m sure you’ll soon see Jamie Lennon is one of the finest
steel guitarists in the younger age group.You DON’T hear
many as traditonal as him!

Then you got the sensational Teea Goans,who contributes
quite a bit to the Opry and the Midnight Jamboree.
In fact,tonight on the Jamboree she’s performing with country
legend Mel Tillis.This young lady radiates country music and
hold dear to her heart that wooden circle.She’s always been
really good to me as a fan.

I MUST post this video of Shelton Hank Williams III.He’s the
son of Hank Williams Jr. and the grandson of Hank Williams Sr.
He has released THREE albums under his own label after being
SCREWED that’s right SCREWED by Curb records.Hey if you dont
believe him ask Tim McGraw! Hate to say it but what they did
to Tim was equally wrong! Hank III has five albums on Curb and
they are wonderfull however he had to take the label to court
to release his third album.His “sixth” album “Hillbilly Joker” was
released AFTER his contract ended and he gains NO profit from
this release that was turned in YEARS AGO and refused.

Then of course you have my rockabilly freind Tracey K Houston.

She’s one of the most nicest people Iv’e ever met.I enjoyed
talking with her and meeting her.If you like rockabilly her new
album “Rockin Little Angel” is for you! Check her out and tell her
we sent you!

If you dont listen to people like R C Oleary,and people like Bob Wayne And The Outlaw Carnies,or Dallas Wayne you are missing out on some wonderfull music. Don’t take my word for it
SEE FOR YOURSELF and you’ll find out that I’m right.

This is a photo of me and Mr. Bandana at a Hank III show in Nashville with my MUDDY ROOTS MUSIC T shirt on.As alot of you know my freinds at Muddy Roots music do SO MANY good things for so many independent artists. One of those would be Wayne The Train Hancock,and right now I’d like to show you the NEW t shirt for sale on their website.You can order yours by clicking HERE.

When you purchase items like these from fine orginizations like this,your’e supporting REAL country music.Wayne Hancock is one
of the greatest examples of jukejoint swing we have right now.
WELL what are you waiting for? GO GET YOU ONE and tell Mr. Jason
we sent you.

One of my good freinds at work turned me onto this great Americana show on 650 AM.They broadcast it LIVE from ROBERT’S WESTERN WORLD,which is highly regarded in Nashville for it’s REAL country and honkey tonk music.I mean let’s face it folks…ALOT
of downtown broadway bars are playing CRAP that “tourists” like.

Robert’s is known first hand for BR5-49 one of the greatest Hillbilly
bands in history,and NOW theyr’e known for BRAZILLBILLY.NOW theyr’e known for helping 650 AM broadcast some wonderfull Americana music,and in today’s world of CRAP on the radio this was very good to hear about and further research.I will be reporting more about this great show in the future.

This whole weekend country legend Charlie Daniels is celebrating his 75th birthday in the greatest of all places…the Grand Ole Opry.
He’s performing both friday and saturday nights and also is having
an appearnace during a southern rock panel at the Country Music Hall Of Fame on saturday,(friday he will perform in Louisville Ky).

And also on monday November 21st he will be doing a show called CHRISTMAS FOR KIDS at the Ryman Auditorium.This is the tenth anniversary of the show and all proceed go toward children for christmas.

Charlie Daniels has always been very vocal and “stand up” when it comes to politics,our military and other areas of decency that country music usually stands up for.He’s always been very kind and generous to me as a fan,and I’ll always step forward and pay to see his show anytime.

On Wendsday November 16th The Commodore Grill will host their annual birthday party for country music songwriting legend Jerry Foster.This will be a FREE SHOW to the public and will begin at 6PM.And there will be over 20 songwriters and country legends performing Jerry’s 3000 songs
that have been recorded by everyone from Johnny Paycheck to Charley Pride.

Personally this man means more to me than just about any country music legend there is.Without these writers and the steel guitarists the stars would not exsist.People like him and Dallas Frazier are truely precious people for what they have given us to enjoy.Every time I pull out my vinyl records there isnt one I can find without his contributions.

Along with him will be performing,Jeannie C Riley,Guy Gilchrest,Tommy Cash,June Stearns,Jimmy Payne,The Georgia Quacker Gerald Smith and many many more.So head on out to
West End Ave and celebrate a GREAT birthday party for a true legend of country music!

Hello readers I wanted to take a moment to first off THANK YOU for spending the time to come visit my website and to dwell on some things.I apologize my life is so busy with work and personal hobbies that I cannot always update this website as often as I’d like to.Country Music is a passion of mine and a hobby,and in these
hard economic times when youv’e got a job that flourishes you must devote your life to it.So to all of you whom invite me to country music related events and gatherings and I cannot be there it’s usually my job that prohibits me.I LOVE my work and those I work with and I am richly blessed to be a part of my company.

I also spend alot of time outdoors.Hunting and Fishing to me is my form of church,it’s my time to thank God for his gifts to me.Life,nature and freedom to own guns and live.I cannot thank our military men and women enough for their sacrifices so I can enjoy this way of life.I live away from most of the media and I strongly disagree with most of it all.I live away from what’s “new’ and “updated” and I have a huge problem with change of any kind.
I’m also single,and have been for a long time now.Others have told me “It’s not you it’s them” and that’s wrong…it’s all me.I been called “complicated” which REALLY cut me because I’m quite the opposite,and been told “I live in a little box”. Look I’m just a simple country boy,everything I own is paid for and I enjoy being me.

Iv’e studied and have been heavily involved in country music for over 20 years and have always believed that the steel guitar is the backbone of country music. People like Ron Elliott,Hal Rugg,Kayton Roberts and Little Roy Wiggins built the sound that the songwriters and country legends brought together. I enjoy all those that play traditonal and REAL country music in today’s day and age and have met some really wonderfull people in my tenure in Nashville,especially those that frequently attend Hank Williams III shows.

I started this website with the help of a good dear freind Allen Sircy (or Mushbrain if you will) to promote the legends of country music that most major media sources completely ignore.And to help promote venues and artists and festivals that still offer traditonal country music.

I apologize if I cannot update my website as often as I’d like to….but I’m busy working sometimes and like I aforementioned I’m so very lucky to be a part of my company.

This august Shelton Hank Williams III will do it in Franklin Tennessee again for homeless dogs and cats.What does he do? Well BY GOD unless youv’e been under a rock he diligently promotes the Happy Tales Humane society.You can adopt a homeless dog or cat and Hank III has stepped up every year and played a show to raise money for this worthy cause.This year It’ll be at the factory in Franklin Tn.

Let me tell you readers something about how special this man’s shows are.Your’e NOT spending 100 bucks on somebody who is controlled by a city slicker conglomerate.And you will not hear
some two-bit hack singing about dirt roads and bonfires he’s
never attended.He will not sing about how “country” he is or
attempt to be anything he isnt. He will perform one half country
and one half heavy metal.Whatever type of music you love I’m
quite sure he will satisfy you.Come early for country music or
come late for the heavy metal,either way the fans that attend
his shows will be more freindly to everyone than anywhere you
will ever be.I have met some of the most wonderfull people
at his shows,and I have so much fun there.It doesnt matter
what “type” of person you are or how you dress or where you live
if you love country music and the Williams family you’ll make
freinds with some really great folks like…like Mr. Bandana!

I’ll be editing this article when I get more information from
them about tickets.

Just as precious as songwirters and steel guitarists are fiddle players. And on friday night july 8th we lost one of fiddle’s forefathers Mr. Kenny Baker.It is almost safe to say he’s one of the last original Bluegrass Boys left from Bill Monroe’s band.He shaped and molded the bluegrass sounds that came out of the hills of Ky,Va,Wv and more.
He suffered a storke and was 85 years old.

Bill often introduced Kenny Baker as “The Greatest bluegrass fiddle player alive”. And he remained a Bluegrass Boy from 1968-1984 when he then went to play dobro for Ky artist Josh Graves.

“He brought a smoothness to the music that hadn’t been prevalent before,” said Eddie Stubbs, a WSM and Grand Ole Opry announcer who logged many years as a fiddle player in bluegrass band The Johnson Mountain Boys. “His playing impacted not just up-and-coming talent but also people who were already playing professionally. He was Monroe’s instrumental voice during a very important time in the music.”

Born in the far eastern Kentucky town of Jenkins, Mr. Baker began playing fiddle at age 8 before switching to guitar. He worked for Bethlehem Steel in Kentucky coal mines as a teenager, and he joined the Navy during World War II. He was transferred into a military entertainment outfit because of his guitar skills, but while in the service he began playing fiddle again, and he worked to master the fiddle after he left the Navy.

Ultimately, he arrived at a style that was rooted in old-time fiddling forms but that also nodded to jazz, swing and even classical violin. He first joined the Blue Grass Boys in 1957, though his stints with Monroe were sporadic until he embarked on a 16-year stretch beginning in 1968. He was the key band member for that time, serving as an onstage foil to Monroe, and the International Bluegrass Music Museum credits him as playing longer than anyone else with the Blue Grass Boys.

Aside from his work with Monroe, which included a starring role on Monroe’s much-lauded Uncle Pen album, Mr. Baker contributed to classic albums including Tom T. Hall’s Magnificent Music Machine and the Osborne Brothers’ Bluegrass Collection. He also released numerous solo instrumental albums, most on County Records, that were the basis of many fiddlers’ education on their instrument.

Mr. Baker left Monroe’s band acrimoniously in 1984, and the two men did not reconcile until 1994, when they reunited at Monroe’s Bean Blossom bluegrass festival. In the meantime, Mr. Baker played numerous shows with Dobro great Josh Graves.

“Ornery and irascible, cheerful and charming, demanding musically yet frequently found jamming all night with sleepy, mediocre musicians, stubborn and bullheaded, witty and warm, Kenny Baker, like bluegrass music itself, is complex, contradictory and deep,” wrote music scholar (and western band Riders in the Sky leader) Douglas Green in the liner notes to Mr. Baker’s 1976 album, Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe.

In 1993, Mr. Baker received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts

I have no information on funeral arrangments as of this post.