 Have any of you wondered what it might be like to actually get up and sing one of Marty's songs with Marty and the Rock & Roll Cowboys as your band? Three names were drawn and invited to come on stage and perform their favorite Marty Stuart song. Karen Wright was the first name called. She bravely came up on stage and sang "Burn Me Down." Randy Childers (Marty's guitar tech) came over and got the song started. Karen really had a ball singing the song (can't you tell?).
Mitch (not sure of the last name) was called to the stage. Mike Copelin had to go get him and Mitch decided there was safety in numbers, so he brought his wife and son up on stage with him. Their song was "Hillbilly Rock." Actually, it was little Jordan that sang most of the song. Isn't he the cutest little thing with his Winnie The Pooh shirt? Sandy Osborne was the third name called and she refused to come up on stage, so Marty laid down on the stage to reach her. He finally was able to get her to talk the words to "This One's Gonna Hurt You." Other members mentioned that had their name been called, they would have not even been able to think of a title of a song much less get up and sing the words. The concert by Marty and the Rock & Roll Cowboys continued. Songs old and new were sung: "Sound of the Train" and "Red, Red Wine & Cheatin' Songs" are brand new. Marty's mandolin instrumental of "Can't Help Falling In Love" is unbelievable and the audience enjoys singing the words. Another new song is "I Can't Help It." This song sounds like something the Rolling Stones would do--it has that same type of beat. Someone requested the song "Shelter of the Storm" saying they'd had it played at their wedding. Another new song is "Hobo's Prayer." A real treat was getting to see and hear Connie Smith sing. Warner Bros. Records is set to release her album in August. We were treated to four incredibly sung songs by Connie. Not only is Connie absolutely beautiful, her voice has never sounded better. She opened with her big hit "Once A Day." She and Marty co-wrote some songs for her new album. She said one of her favorites is a song called "Hearts Like Ours." It's a heart-wrenching, tender ballad. The song "How Long" was co-written with Marty and the great Harlan Howard. Gospel music is close to Connie's heart. A song she performs in concert often is "How Great Thou Art." Her rendition is a show-stopper. The Rock & Roll Cowboys backed her and it's apparent that she loves these guys a whole lot. And you can tell that Marty enjoys watching her perform. This is a super shot of Connie introducing Steve Arnold. This mini-concert served as a preview of her appearance on the Warner Bros. show at Fan Fair the next day. No, she and Marty did not sing a duet! We'll put that on our wish list for next year. Marty's concert continued with a real rockin' new song called "That'll Be All Right With Me." This song will really get a crowd jumping. After he was finished, he called his long-time fan and friend Pat Johnson to the stage. Pat was a fan long before there was a fan club. Over the years, she has traveled to hundreds of Marty concerts all over this country. She has been one of his staunchest supporters. In saving the best presentation for last, Marty gave one of his pink paisley guitars to Pat along with some posters. Pat was so overcome by Marty's generosity that she was unable to speak. Pat takes care of the pen pal list for the fan club and does a really great job of keeping up with those members who wish to write to fellow Marty fans. As the concert portion wound down, Marty and the band performed "Clyde" (which is really "Steve Played Electric Bass."). Gregg has a great drum solo in this song. Brad and Marty performed an acoustic number and Gary was featured on "Last Date." Marty closed the concert by thanking God for watching over him and the band while they are out there on the road and for watching over their families while they're gone. And he thanked God for "you." He then performed "As Long As I Have Jesus, I Can Face Tomorrow." Mike Copelin made a few announcements. The Meet & Greets this year will take place after the show and not before. They are still not allowing photos. He also apologized to the fans for those times he wasn't in a good mood and hoped to be nice and smile this year. He said he was giving everyone a chance to get back at him. He volunteered to get into the dunking tank. Here is the "meanest" tour road manager in country music. That looks like Jodee's son Travis trying to do Mike in. If the "Soy Bean" shirt looks familiar, Mike paraded around the stage on the "Prime Time Country" show on June 2 wearing that shirt. Everyone had fun trying to dunk Mike. (Marty was signing autographs and posing for pictures while this went on.) Even Gregg had to get in on the fun. I'm not sure how many times Mike was dunked, but a few of the kids got wet too. I believe you got four balls for $1 which benefited the fan club. Jodee was busy back up where Marty was handing out the gift grab bags. Got some really neat stuff and they all were different! When Marty was finished signing autographs, he joined the fun at the dunking tank, trying to get Mike wetter than he already was. From this picture, we wonder if the whole thing was rigged! What on earth is Mike trying to do? The important thing is that everyone had a good time, Mike got sopping wet and was a wonderful sport about it all, and the fan club raised some money. The party was an absolute hit! Willie Wilson from Marty's office planned the event (as well as organized the booth). He did a superb job. Everything went off without a hitch. The food was good, the entertainment from Marty was wonderful. Jodee and I got to meet a lot of fan club members.
Judy Brodmerkle took this wonderful picture of Marty dunking Mike. That looks like Rachel Stocki sitting with Mike. We wondered how she got soaking wet! I appreciate those of you who have sent me photos to put on the website and share with the world wide web. Review by Sherry Mattioli. Click here to view additional photos taken at the Fan Club Party |
If you want to attend next year's party and you're not a member of Marty's fan club, you need to join! It's open to Fan Club Members only.