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Legends of Country Music In 1985,Bonnie and I got another chance to make a comeback as the Browns.On a visit to Nashville to see J.E.and Becky,we went to watch the taping of his show, You Can Be A Star.Then we went with J. E. to the Grand Ole Opry. He called us on stage to sing with him, and we were called back for several encores. Opry announcer Charlie Douglas,who was also a disc jockey on WSM, came up to us after the show all aglow. He told us we ought to get the Browns back together because we sounded better than ever—good enough to make a big come back.We thought he was just being nice, but he went on with it. “I’m putting together a big show in June,” Charlie told us.“It’s called‘Legends of Country Music.’I’d like all the Browns to be a part of it.” We loved the idea. Since the show wasn’t happening until June, Bonnie and I would have time to rehearse and get our voices (and bodies) back up to performance level.And when June came around, we were more than ready. I guess it showed too, because if we ever created magic on stage, it was that night. Of all the great artists who performed that night,only the Browns got a standing ovation and an encore.That old-time adrenaline was pumping harder than ever.Just knowing we could still sing well and still had a world of fans just about overwhelmed us. I looked over at Bonnie as we were performing and saw tears streaming down her face. It was rough coming back home after that,a terrible let down.We knew we could still do it if only we could find the right label to start recording us again. In the next few weeks, I made several trips to Nashville looking for material we could use on a comeback album. I went through hundreds of tapes in J. E.’s office. I checked with all the 265 27 writers and publishers I knew. But I discovered that no songwriter or music publisher will ever give you their best songs to record unless you’re hot and already selling lots of albums.We were neither.And about all we ever heard from the recording companies was,“We’re looking for young, fresh talent and we’re reducing our roster.” I found out that about half the artists on the Grand Ole Opry had been dropped by their record labels.So it didn’t matter much to anyone but us that we had lots of fans and could still be a hit in front of audiences.This was also the dawning of the age of music videos.Now you were expected to look good (that is, young) as well as sound good.A kind of depression had hit country music. It was especially hard on those who had been in the business for a long time.And it was next to impossible for those trying to replant some old roots. Bonnie and I tried staying in shape while J.E.tried to find us some new connections.In January of 1986,he called to tell us he was about to sign with a new record label.He said it was picking up a lot of good artists who were no longer under contract.That sounded like a description of us. J. E. signed on and asked us to come to Nashville to do an album with him. So we did.We quickly realized that the people who worked for the new label were not of the caliber of those we’d worked with before.Their producer couldn’t hold a candle to ChetAtkins.Still, Bonnie and I were happy just to be back in a recording studio. Since only J.E.was under contract,Bonnie and I would receive no artist royalties .But we didn’t care.We saw this as an opportunity that could lead to better things. After we’d finished recording, one of the engineers, a nice guy, made us a tape of our songs. He’d mixed it perfectly, and we left the studio convinced that something good was again going to happen to us.However,just before we walked out,the producer told us he might do some over-dubbing and maybe add some other stuff,such as harmonica and bongo drums...

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