NASHVILLE, Tenn. –Entertainment titan and Country Music Hall of Famer, Bill Anderson, enlists four fellow Hall of Famers – Bobby Bare, Jimmy Fortune, Vince Gill and Willie Nelson – on their new collaboration, “The Country I Grew Up With,” available everywhere today via MCA Nashville/UMe.
To stream and download, “The Country I Grew Up With,” click HERE.
“The Country I Grew Up With” is co-written by Anderson, Bobby Tomberlin and Lance Miller. The track is produced by Anderson and Thomas Jutz, features a stellar lineup of musicians, including John Gardner (drums), Thomm Jutz (guitars), James Gordon Freeze (bass), Dirk Johnson (piano) Tammy Rogers (fiddle) and Scotty Sanders (pedal steel guitar).
“So far as I can determine, this is the first country record in history featuring five members of the Country Music Hall of Fame performing on one song. I am so proud that Willie and Vince and Jimmy and Bobby wanted to join me in taking this nostalgic look over our collective shoulders. I just hope it stirs up fond memories for everyone who hears it,” Anderson shared.
Nelson added, “Being a part of ‘The Country I Grew Up With’ is like taking a trip down memory lane. I’m proud to be a part of this musical tribute to the country we all grew up with.”
“I’m so proud to be a part of the song ‘The Country I Grew Up With.’ I got to team up with Bill Anderson, Vince Gill, Bobby Bare and Willie Nelson to sing this song. Just to be a part of this and have someone mention my name in the same sentence as those guys is quite an honor, much less to sing this song with them. I was so happy when Bill Anderson called me up and asked me to be a part of it – I really couldn’t believe it. It’s one of the highlights of my life. ‘The Country I Grew Up With’ holds a great message: just like everybody else that’s lived the things that we’ve lived and seen the things that we’ve seen, I miss the country I grew up with, and I know you’re going to love the song as much as we all did doing it,” Fortune noted.
Gill reflected, “When I moved to Nashville, I had the good fortune to meet Bill, and we wrote a hit song together. What I’m most grateful for is his friendship. I’m honored that he asked me to be on this song with him and our fellow Country Music Hall of Famers.”
“Singing on ‘The Country I Grew Up With’ brought back so many memories. Bill has always had a way with words. I’m thankful for our longtime friendship and to have been included on this song,” mentioned Bare.
Recently, Anderson presented the award for Song of the Yearwith ACM award-winning hitmaker, Sara Evans, during the 57th Annual CMA Awards. Anderson was also celebrated earlier this year for his indelible 62 years as the longest-serving member in Grand Ole Opry history.
Andersonwill also be honored with the 2024 Dr. David Godbold Lifetime Achievement Award by the South Carolina Entertainment and Music Hall of Fame. Anderson was inducted by the organization in 1994, and will be the firstLifetime Achievement Award honoree when the event is held April 25, 2024.
ABOUT BILL ANDERSON:
Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry titan Bill Anderson is the rare songwriter whose first major label cut went to No. 1 on the charts, was named Song of The Year and sparked a writing career that is currently in its seventh decade. The song, “City Lights,” was written when Andersonwas a 19-year old Georgia disc jockey and became a career-defining hit for Ray Price in 1958. The song opened doors for him in Nashville, leading him to signing with BMI and Tree Publishing. Anderson was far from a one-hit wonder. He followed “City Lights” with country standards like “Tips Of My Fingers,” the GRAMMY-nominated “Once A Day,” “Saginaw, Michigan,” “That’s What It’s Like To Be Lonesome,” “I Missed Me,” “Cold Hard Facts Of Life,” which earned him another GRAMMY nomination, “Mama Sang A Song,” the crossover smash, “Still,” and countless others. He was voted country Songwriter of the Year six times during his first decade in Music City. His success continued into the 1970’s with award-winning hits like “Slippin’ Away,” “The Lord Knows I’m Drinking,” “I May Never Get To Heaven,” and the disco-flavored, “I Can’t Wait Any Longer.” The 1980’s saw Anderson’s chart-topping career take a hiatus as he became a TV network game show host, spokesman for a national restaurant chain and a nonstop touring Grand Ole Opry performer. In the 1990’s he came roaring back with a vengeance, however, as he seriously turned to co-writing for the first time. Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001, his collaborations with the newer generation of Nashville tunesmiths resulted in hits like “Wish You Were Here,” the GRAMMY-nominated “Two Teardrops,” “A Lot Of Things Different,” for Kenny Chesney, “Which Bridge To Cross (Which Bridge To Burn),” for Vince Gill and two CMA Song Of The Year trophies for “Whiskey Lullaby,” with Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss and George Strait’s “Give It Away,” in 2005 and 2007 respectfully. He continues to write today with songs like Brad Paisley’s “Dying To See Her.” For more information, visit BillAnderson.com.