Marty Throws Party And The Fans Love It

The concert began at 5:30 p.m. with Malinda Croxton of Greenville singing the National Anthem. She was followed by Kentucky Thunder who sang some of their original tunes. They also performed "I Don't Even Know Your Name," a current hit by Alan Jackson; "Take It Easy" by the Eagles; and finished with the Lynyrd Skynyrd tune, "I Know A Little About Love."

O'Neal came on stage at 7:15 following nearly 45 minutes of dead time between acts--which has to be a Homecoming record. His first two songs were "Boogie Back To Texas," an original song and "The South's Gonna Do It Again," made famous by Charlie Daniels. Other songs included "Bye, Bye Baby," an original tune; "Powder Red," "Milk Cow Blues," "Much Too Young," "I don't Even Know Your Name," and "Your Cheatin' Heart." He ended with "Big Balls In Cowtown." O'Neal performed for 40 minutes and was well received by the crowd.

Don Everly, who acted as host of the event but did not perform, then presented Bob Saxton of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, winner of the Home of the Legends Thumbpicking Contest on August 26, and Tim Bowers of Beechmont, fan favorite at the contest, with Gibson guitars.

The moment most fans were waiting for came at 8:20 p.m. when Stuart, one of the top singing acts in all of country music today, came on stage. He was wearing his trademark baby-blue bluejeans, black shirt and white jacket with black stitching.

Stuart took the stage and the hearts of his fans by storm from the beginning. He opened with "Shake That Thing" and followed with "Western Girls," "Half a Heart," "Wild One" and "Kiss Me, I'm Gone."

Stuart told the crowd that "You must be proud to be from a town that produced Don and Phil Everly and Ike Everly." He then said, "Let's rock" and broke into "Little Things." With the crowd screaming their approval, he said "Daddy, won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County."

Stuart then sang the ballad "This One's Gonna Hurt You (For A Long, Long Time)" with perspiration pouring off his face. The crowd loved it when he told them, "You all are a bunch of hillbillies just like me." After singing "If I Ain't Got You" and the popular love ballad "That's What Love's About," Stuart credited Johnny Cash for getting him into country music and did a Cash song, "Everybody's Baby But Mine Is Coming Home."

He really had the crowd involved when he sang a hard-driving song, which was more rock than country called "Burn Me Down." By this time, the Grand Ole Opry member had his fans reaching the boiling point despite perfect weather with temperatures in the low 60s.

Another crowd pleaser was his hit song "Tempted" with the refrain of "There's a girl trying to steal my heart and I'm tempted. Every time she calls my name, I'm tempted." "The Whiskey Ain't Workin' " was also popular. It was a hit song for Stuart who teamed with another country music star Travis Tritt on the tune a couple of years ago.

When he asked the crowd what song they wanted to hear, "Hillbilly Rock" was the answer. But what they got was the ballad, "Long Black Veil." He closed the concert with "Clyde." a rockin tune and his signature song "Hillbilly Rock." Stuart left the stage for only a minute to cheers of "Marty, Marty, Marty" from his fans. As an encore, he sang "Now That's Country," another big hit.

"God bless you and God bless the Everly Brothers," he told the crowd, which was going wild by this time. The concert ended at 9:30 p.m., by far the earliest finish in Homecoming concert history, most of which ended long after midnight. "Everybody had to be pleased. Marty was a class act. He was a very fan-friendly performer," said Denny Kirtley, treasurer of the Everly Brothers Foundation.

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