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February,
2008
Hello Friends,
Health Challenges
Over the past few years,
Martha and I have published our Melody Trail Newsletter around the first of
December, wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. But this
time, the Melody Trail is coming to you a little late. As you may recall from my
last newsletter, I was going to Texas
for some repair work on my left artificial hip on October 31, 2007. That
procedure went well. However, the next morning in the hospital, I suffered a
heart attack. On November 8, I had triple bypass surgery. Then on November 16,
they installed a defibrillator. I then spent two weeks in rehab, returning to
Oklahoma
on November 30. In mid January, the heart doctors said I was doing great and
they released me from the wheel chair. But I will be on crutches for a few more
weeks until the hip heals completely. I want to thank each and every one of you
for your prayers, thoughts, cards and calls. I received over 300 get well cards
and scores of phone calls. We love each of you for your thoughtfulness.
2007
Album #13
In case you missed the
announcement, my 2nd Gospel Album was released in September, 2007.
The title is “Where Could I Go?” and it is my 13th album. Thanks for
the many orders and compliments on the CD and to the disk jockeys who have given
it lots of air play. See the reverse side of this newsletter on how to order
the CD.
Gene Autry’s 100th
Birthday
In my last newsletter, I
told about Gene Autry being born on September 29, 1907. We went to
Kenton,
Ohio in June of 2007 and paid tribute
to Mr. Autry and his career. Gene Autry’s toy cap pistols were all manufactured
in Kenton and they continue to celebrate his life each year in June. Then we
were invited by Mrs. Autry to come to
California
in August to be a part of the Gene Autry Fan Club’s tribute to Gene on his 100th.
This was the first group ever invited and/or allowed to tour the home of Mr. and
Mrs. Autry. My previous newsletter described in some detail the wonderful “once
in a lifetime” experiences provided by and hosted by Mrs. Autry, a very special
lady. And for the 15th year, I returned to my hometown of Gene Autry,
Oklahoma, the last weekend of September to join Riders in
the Sky, Johnny Western, James Drury, Dick Jones and many others to celebrate
Gene’s 100th birthday.
Oklahoma and Kansas
I want to say a special
thanks to the Chamber of Commerce folks in Altus, Oklahoma for being so gracious
and allowing my Silver Lake Band and me to entertain their “Pre-Rodeo” Party” in
August. Also, our thanks go out to the “Main
Street” folks in
Ponca City
for inviting the guys and me to present a concert for the Ponca City Birthday
Bash in September. And I was also privileged to do a concert in
Smith Center, Kansas for
the Arts Council in September. I always love to go to
Smith
Center and feel the ghosts of Dr.
Brewster Higley and Dan Kelly for it was in
Smith
Center they wrote “Home on
the Range”.
Ardmore
High Class of 1957
It was a real pleasure to go
out to Tommy Harris’s Ranch near
Ardmore,
Oklahoma in September to entertain
the Ardmore High School Class of 1957. I guess the Statler Brothers were right,
“The Class of ’57 had their Dreams”.
Cowboy
Church
A group of real cowboys and
cowgirls, and some of their friends, have built a very nice church between
Elgin
and Apache, Oklahoma
on Highway 62. If you are ever in that area on Sunday morning around 10am, you
will experience a very special time of worship and then some tasty cowboy grub
cooked just outside the front door. I was there on September 30, 2007 to present
a gospel music concert and will be returning on September 28, 2008.
Red Rock Guest Ranch
As I have mentioned before,
the Red Rock Guest Ranch near Soldier,
Kansas
is a fun place to go and be fed and entertained. We were there in October, 2007
and will be returning in 2008. Check my schedule on the Internet for the date.
Or call 1-866-FUNGRUB for the date and reservations.
Silver
Dollar City
My Silver Lake Band and I
were in Branson at Silver
Dollar City
in October for our 11th consecutive year to play for the Barn Dance
and had a great time. Almost ever show was standing room only. See below for
more information on the plan for 2008.
2008
We already have several
bookings for 2008 as shown below. But more will be coming in soon, so please
check my website now and then for the latest schedule or give us a call. A few
of the public shows already booked are discussed below.
February 24 -
Lawrence,
Kansas
My band and I will present a
concert/dance at “Abe and Jake’s Landing”, 6th and
New Hampshire, in Lawrence
on Sunday, February 24 for the Humane Society. The dinner will be served at 5pm
and the dance/concert will be from 6pm to 9pm. Call 785-841-7978 for
reservations.
April 19 – Buhler,
Kansas
A new show has been started
at the old coop elevator in Buhler,
Kansas, called “The Old Mill Theater”. Other artists who
have or will perform there include Rex Allen, Jr., Johnny Western and R.W.
Hampton. I’ll be there on April 19, 2008. Doors open at 6pm with Jake’s band
coming on at 6:30pm. I’ll be on from 7pm to 9pm. For reservations and dinner
information, call 620-543-6684.
April 26 – Blue Grass
Festival, Wichita,
Kansas
The Les Gilliam Trio,
(Jeanne, Jerome and myself) will be performing at the “Blue Grass & More”
Festival on April 26, 2008. Our friend, Al Hobson, has decided that this year,
the “More” will be western music. So on that day, there will be a breakfast show
featuring Johnny Western and the Diamond W Wranglers. Then, both the afternoon
and evening shows will feature Barry Ward, Judy Coder and Pride of the Prairie,
Fred Hargrove, the Blue Stem group from Lawrence and The Les Gilliam Trio. The
location will be the 2nd building east of the Kansas Coliseum on
I135, north of Wichita.
Call 316-755-1488 for more information.
June 14 and December
13 – Winfield,
Kansas
Les Gilliam and his Silver
Lake Band will be returning to the Quail Valley Fun Barn in
Winfield,
Kansas on June 14 for the annual June
Concert/Dance. And then we will be there in December for our annual Cowboy
Christmas Ball. Please call 620-221-0052 for more information and reservations.
June 26-27 – Wahoo,
Nebraska
The Country Music Festival
in Wahoo, produced by Sharon and Roger Kenaston, is a major event in country
music. There will be a host of top country music professionals appearing there
from June 26-29. I’ll be there for the Thursday evening concert at 6:30pm, the
Friday afternoon concert and the Friday night dance. Please call 402-687-9594
for more information and reservations.
Sept 13 –
Jewell,
Kansas
Curt Shoemaker was recently
inducted into the Kansas Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. He is also a great producer
of the annual country music festival in
Ionia,
Kansas. But the folks down the road
in Jewell,
Kansas
have invited Curt to move the show this year to Jewell.
Ionia
has no alternate location in case of rain whereas Jewell has such a back up
facility. Jewell also offers other advantages for the fans. Jewell is located
just a few miles north of Beloit,
Kansas on Highway 14. Call
785-786-3361 for more information. There will be country music all day long and
I’ll be on around noon and 3:30pm.
Sept 27 – Gene Autry,
Oklahoma
The annual Gene Autry,
Oklahoma Film and Music Festival will actually start on Wednesday night, Sept 24
with the “open mike” show. Then there will be two stages going all day Thursday,
Friday and Saturday. Several Hollywood Movie Stars will be there during the
event for panel discussions and autograph sessions. My band and I will be the
headliners for the Saturday night show, presenting a 90 minute concert. In case
you have forgotten, my Silver Lake Band includes Don Long on drums, Kenny
Glasgow on bass, Jerald Ritter on fiddle and the unbelievable Smiley Weaver on
steel guitar.
Oct 1-19 –
Branson,
Missouri
The guys and I are really
looking forward to our 12th consecutive year to work Silver Dollar
City in Branson. There will be a larger dance floor and plenty of seats so come
and join us for a good time. We will do 3 shows per day (except closed on Monday
and Tuesday). And we will want you to join us for the “Chicken Dance” every day.
Big
Al
For those of you in South
Central Nebraska, I’d like to remind you of Big Al’s radio show on KRVN, 880 AM
in Lexington,
Nebraska. He is on Saturday nights from 6pm to 11pm. And
then on Sunday morning, for his gospel show from 8am to 10am and 11:30am to
noon. You might just hear one of my songs played. Also, Big Al is working on a
plan for me to do a concert in the
Lexington
area in early April. I’ll post it on my web site when it is set for sure.
And Finally
In closing, I’d like to
advise you of a big disappointment to me. Due to budget cuts, my good friend
Dugg Collins is no longer affiliated with KFTI 1070AM in
Wichita. In fact they have replaced Dugg’s 6am to 10am
country and western swing show with news. But thank goodness, we can hear
country music the remainder of the day with Johnny Western from 10am to 3pm,
followed by Gentle Ben and Harold Widup. Also, you may want to check my website
to see some recent photos, especially from our trip to
California
to honor Gene Autry. And I have added some new bookings recently so please stay
in touch. Thanks to each of you for your support. Hope to see you soon.
Les Gilliam
"The
Oklahoma
Balladeer"
P.O. Box 350
Ponca City, OK
74602
lesgilliam@sbcglobal.net