I had the most fun I’ve ever had during a pledge drive on Wednesday, Dec. 11 as Arkansas PBS featured an evening airing Willie Nelson’s 90 Birthday Celebration, followed by a 1990 concert with country supergroup the Highwaymen, which was made up of Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson.
I’ve long been a huge fan of Willie and have seen him in concert more than any other performer — maybe a dozen times since 1990. I spoke about being introduced to Willie’s music at a young age in the 1970s when my mom would play his 8-tracks Red Headed Stranger and Stardust on every family trip to see my grandparents. I didn’t enjoy Willie then, but over the years watching him perform during the first Farm Aid concert in 1985 and many times on Austin City Limits helped me begin building an appreciation. Eventually seeing him in concert, I realized what an amazing performer he was.
So it was a joy to talk about Willie as we were showing a couple of his concerts. Joining me on the air was singer-songwriter Ryan Harmon, who, despite his young age, has an encyclopedic knowledge of country music. Years ago he had worked in the marketing department at Arkansas PBS, but after being selected for an audition with ABC’s American Idol, took the encouragement he received and is now focused on building his career as a musician.
If you watch the video below, you’ll see we had a great time on the air. The video only features highlights from our local breaks with none of the concerts we were showing to avoid any copyright infringements by posting this to YouTube.
Among the things I spoke about during the pledge drive was my one experience interviewing Willie for a half-hour in South Florida in 2005. I was working for the Miami Herald, which had a partnership providing local news to PBS/NPR station WLRN. You can hear the interview and read a transcript here.
During breaks in the Highwaymen show at Nassau Coliseum, we also talked about the unveiling of the Johnny Cash statue earlier that year in the U.S. Capitol, which I was excited to attend. He and a statue of civil rights pioneer Daisy Bates, unveiled earlier in the year, now represent Arkansas. Each state is allowed two statues, and Bates and Cash were selected by the Arkansas General Assembly in 2019.
Interviewing Willie Nelson in Plantation, Florida on May 26, 2005. Photo: Candace West/Miami Herald
I also discussed covering the restoration years earlier of Cash’s boyhood home in Dyess, which began when Arkansas State University bought the dilapidated farmhouse as part of its Arkansas Heritage Sites program. Fundraising for the project began with a 2011 with a concert in Jonesboro, which included Kris Kristofferson. Willie would perform the second year, with a dedication ceremony of the home eventually held in 2014.
The preserving of the Cash home and placing a statue of he and Bates in Washington are by far my favorite stories to have covered during my long career.
Director of Public Affairs at Arkansas PBS, 36-year broadcasting veteran, photographer, interested in radio, TV and railroad history, author and host of the book and podcast series Rock Island Railroad in Arkansas.
