For country music fans longing for the good old days, Tillman Franks I Was There When It Happened, is a wonderful trip down memory lane. One of the key players in the famous Lousiana Hayride,Tillman Franks is a musician, song writer, talent manager and promoter. As a musician he played the upright bass in many bands. As a writer his biggest successes were Honky Tonk Man, Sink the Bismark and North To Alaska, the big Johnny Horton hit. He also managed many singers including Johnny Horton, Jimmy C. Newman, Mitchell Torok (who wrote Jim Reeves' first number one, Mexican Joe) and Terry Bradshaw. The story on Terry Bradshaw, in particular is a sad one. The book is 245 pages long with 54 short chapters. It is a breath taking survey of a man's life in country music. Laid out almost like a scrapbook, the book is loaded with pictures, pictures that many fans may never have seen before. Tillman knew personally and includes stories about the following people: Jim Reeves, Webb Pierce, Hank Williams, Elvis, Billy Walker, Johnny Horton, David Houston, Tammy Wynette, Barbara Mandrell and Slim Whitman, among others. The book is fascinating in some of its stories and really not to be overly dramatic, but you can't be a country music fan and not have this book. It's just interesting as all heck! And it's great to hear a writer who didn't have to spend a lot of time researching because he was there and the people he talks of-he knew. If you want to order this book it is available at:
www. tillmanfranks.com
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Other reviews of this book are welcome.
