Charlie Louvin Part 4
PART FOUR: …Mr. Louvin reveals upcoming live performances…Seeds of the Gospel…Touring band members…A humorous Ira story…Final words of wisdom…
Well, you’ve got some live shows coming up, right?
Before we hit the shows…are you aware of the 24th of February?
No sir.
Well, you have a personal invitation. It’s on a Saturday in Nashville at Grimey’s Record Store. We’re going to have a CD party. The record’s released on the 20th—so the CD party’s on the 24th; starts about 5 o’clock. We’d love to have you up.
I’d be honored…
I’ll be disappointed if I didn’t get to meet you. There’s no charge, and believe me, we’d love to have you there.
You said earlier you didn’t think there’d be a reward for making people feel good down here, but I think there will. The messages in your songs are eternal, and surely there’s a reward for the message they send.
You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve been asked, ‘did you and your brother think 50 years ago—now 56 years ago—50 years later that the songs would still be around—still be available to buy?’ I’d say no, we never thought about anything like that. We were trying very hard to make a living. You live in the right now world. The business I’m in is feast or famine. You think you’ve got it made. You think you’ve got the world by the tail, and next week the world’s got you by the tail. Back then we were just trying to stay closer to the feast. We were never thinking 55 years down the road. I don’t believe anybody could tell the truth and say, ‘yeah, I knew when I cut that people will love it after 55 years. It’s nice.
The Louvin Brothers were no act; everything was a message in the musicianship. A serious message…
Yes, it is. I’ve worked a lot solo with a preacher—his name was Freddie Clarke—and he was a charismatic preacher. I found out for sure where the Louvin Brothers gospel music songs live. The people know them as well as the old hymnbooks. The foot-stomping’ songs like “I Can’t Say No”, “There’s A Higher Power”—stuff like that, I’ve seen people run from the back of the church—across the tops of the pews, and never kick nobody in the head, or step on hands—I thought they were coming for me, but they come up make a big circle and go back down the other side. That’s where the music really lives. Ira and I, we didn’t work a lot of churches. He thought that—and I’m sure I felt the same—that that’s begging. We definitely weren’t beggars. Sometimes it might’ve been good to have some sense enough to have done that, but we didn’t. We’d sing in a few churches, knowing, when we went there, the preacher knew not to take an offering for us because that’s where the begging comes in.
We’ll come sing, but that’s all. These days I go to church and within ten or fifteen minutes after church starts, somebody will get the word to the preacher that I’m in the house. Then they’ll want you to get up and sing.
Then if you don’t…
Oh, they’ll embarrass you to death. They’ll say well I know why he’s not getting up…we’ll have to give him a nice round of applause. That will put me out the door. But I’ve had it happen. It’s hard to go to church and be a listener. They want you to be a participant, and I do that once in a while, of course I got the long finger and the ringer finger shortened—half an inch or three quarters of an inch on my left hand and I can’t play the guitar anymore. But I have a lady who sings with us that plays guitar like I used to or probably better—I know better. So, anywhere I go, I have to impose on somebody to come along and play the guitar. I don’t like to do that because that’s the way they make a living. I don’t want to ask them on this only day off to get dressed up and come up and play guitar for me and sing a few songs.
Will she go out on the road with you for those shows? Do you know what band you’ll use? I’m sure you do…
I know everyone except the drummer. We’ll have Dianne Berry as a singer, she does all out boy-girl duets—we do a lot of Louvin Brothers music in trio form—the third part of the harmony will be Mitchell Brown. The acoustic or electric, whatever we use, this great picker named Bill Kelly. We haven’t chosen on the drums yet, if we use drums it’ll probably just be a snare because I like things quiet.
Make sure you get them to record all that stuff.
We’ll be singing some of those things with this group at the CD party.
(Break)
People ask what the funniest thing is, at the time it was funny, and then later on you don’t appreciate it as much. My brother and I were working in Aurora, Colorado, in a club, and we had to work until 2 or 3 in the morning. Aurora has the largest veteran’s hospital in the world. A nice looking little Red Cross girl came over to the show and asked Ira if we would get up like 9 in the morning, come to the hospital, and do some songs. She was exceptionally cute, and there was no telling what Ira thought he’d get out of it—he agreed to do it the next morning. We get up the next morning, come to the hospital, and do some songs. She was exceptionally cute—and there was no telling what Ira thought he’d get out of it—he agreed to do it the next morning. We get up the next morning, and we had a boy who worked with us—Jimmy Capps—great guitarist—he’s in the house band at the Opry now, but he played my guitar because we were strolling and he couldn’t play his electric…Ira played the mandolin…
We went in the rooms in the hospital where you had to wear a mask over your face—just one patient—but you’d go in there and sing them a song. Every place we’d go, the little Red Cross girl would say we have a wonderful surprise for you this morning—from the Grand Ole Opry, the Louvin Brothers. They’re going to sing you some songs. So, we’d sing a song and go room to room. We did maybe eight rooms. Then we went to where they all congregate—like the auditorium, a pretty big room. We went in and there was a lady laying on one of those beds with wheels and she’s laying there and she’s got a wet wash cloth over her face. So we walked in and the little Red Cross girl made her speech and this lady laying inn the bed said ‘O my God’, that’s all I need…’
Ira went up to her head, Jimmy went towards one side and I got on the other side and we sang about ten songs right down on top of her. I don’t know if it killed her or what. After getting up with very little sleep, and you go to do something that you hope will be appreciated and this gal comes off with that statement. We thought it was cruel of her, and we made more noise right by her. She didn’t talk anymore. We sang her some potent tunes.
Well, we appreciate you talking to us. I look forward to seeing you on the 24th.
If you need anything else call me. Just remember James, time changes everything. If you be patient, it’ll happen.
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