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16. “Scarlet Ribbons” and “The Old Lamplighter”
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“Scarlet Ribbons” and “The Old Lamplighter” Every artist who has ever had a number one record knows the anxiety and frustration of finding just the right song for a follow-up.We spent the two days before our next recording session with ChetAtkins, our producer, listening to tapes of new and old songs, trying to find a hit to follow “TheThree Bells.”At the end of the second day, we still hadn’t decided on anything. So we all went to Printer’s Alley, the Nashville entertainment mecca, for dinner and a show by Archie Campbell.We planned to go back to Chet’s office afterward and take up where we’d left off. Archie was known for his humor and always kept the crowds laughing.We never knew he had a serious side. So that night when he sang the heartbreaking ballad “Scarlet Ribbons,” you could have heard a pin drop. He had the crowd mesmerized.We knew by the look on Chet’s face that he was thinking the same thing we were. “That’s it!”we all blurted out.“That’s our follow-up!”The next day— September 24,1959—Archie came to the RCA studio and taught us the melody and all the words. “Scarlet Ribbons” was released in November 1959, and all the trade magazines picked it to be a hit.And it was.The great singing duo of Doyle andTeddy, theWilburn Brothers, came up to us in the lobby of the Andrew Jackson Hotel in Nashville during Country Music Convention that year and asked us what our latest recording was.When we told them“Scarlet Ribbons,”they asked,“Why in the world would you record a song that’s been done a hundred times and never has been a hit?” “That’s why we did it,” I said.“It’s a beautiful song, and we’re going to be the first to ever sell a million on it.” 161 16 “I’ll bet you fifty bucks it doesn’t,” Doyle said. “You’re on,” said J. E. Sure enough, “Scarlet Ribbons” turned out to be one of the biggest hits of 1959 and 1960.It sold well over a million records and stayed on Billboard’s pop chart for fourteen weeks.When we saw Doyle and Teddy a few months later, they were fit to be tied.They said they wished they’d recorded the dadgum song themselves, but I don’t think J. E. ever collected on that bet. In 1958, the Disc Jockey Convention began to transform itself into the Country MusicAssociation.The next year,the Browns were chosen to entertain the new organization at its convention.We were booked with Leon McAuliffe, Homer and Jethro, and many others. For our part of the program, we previewed “Scarlet Ribbons,” and everyone in the room was completely silent.There we were in front of not just any old audience but the greats of the whole country music industry.When we finished the song, the applause rolled out, and it didn’t seem like it was ever going to stop.We got a standing ovation.There are very few moments like that one, when you know you’ve gone beyond just your own voice and your own talent.The feeling is indescribable. It comes only once or twice in an artist’s whole career and is so magical that your mind and body and soul all seem to be on perfect pitch. We first heard our recording of “Scarlet Ribbons” on the radio while we were driving to a show on old Highway 101 in California. J. E. was asleep in the back seat, Bonnie was driving and I was talking a mile a minute to keep Bonnie awake.We were listening to some pop music station and our song came on. All at once Bonnie said, “Hey, that’s us!” and pulled the car over to the side of the road.We sat there in silence listening to the song.When it was over, we got out of the car without saying a word and walked over to a cliff overlooking the big, wide Pacific.And we both started crying.The song was truly beautiful and I was so homesick to see my babies that hearing that song released all the emotions inside me.It was the first time that one of our songs got to me in a personal, hurting way. But I couldn’t go home that night. I was on...