This photo of Carl Butler and Pearl is from about 1971 or 1972 when they were recording for Chart records. They only recorded one LP with Chart, "Temptation Keeps Twisting Her Arm". Three singles were released from this LP. In October of 1971, they released "Temptation Keeps Twisting Her Arm" b/w "I'm So Close To Loving You". In April of 1972 they released "She Didn't Come Home" b/w "Two Of A Kind" and sometime in 1973 they released "Heartaches For Lunch" b/w Fifteen Years Ago". Yup, Fifteen Years Ago, the same song that Conway made famous.

Aren't those suits just too cool? Carl and Pearl were definately the flashiest couple in Country Music.

If you get the chance, go to one of the on line auction sites like Ebay or even go to Amazon.com or Alibris.com and search for some of Carl & Pearl's music. If you like your Country REAL, it doesn't come any more real than them.

Until next time, Keep On Honkytonkin!

Mo

From 1980, we have the somewhat rare, ( it took me a little while to find one) "Country We Love" on the Pedaca label. This is the only LP that Carl & Pearl made for Pedaca.

The song list is:

Side A:

I Hope We Walk The Last Mile Together

Precious Memories

Blue Eyes and Waltzes

Garden Of Shame

Dog Eat Dog

Side B:

If Teardrops Were Pennies

Holding On With Open Arms

Take Me Back To Jackson

My Joy

Don't Let Me Cross Over

"In 1963, Carl and Pearl Butler were voted country music's number one new singing team. Having found the magic combination which clicks on both personal appearances and on records, and recording for the first time together, this friendly two-some pushed their recording of "Don't Let Me Cross Over" to the top in charts all over the world, and on to being named the number one song of the year. It's no wonder that at the same time they were given the title of "Mr. & Mrs. Country Music". The rest is history, Carl and Pearl have come a long way since then, and are still today one of the most popular singing teams going. They certainly set a trend and paved the way for "Country Duets" of today. Carl and Pearl are "Pure Country" and have stuck to it. Everyone who has ever had the pleasure to know them know they are "real" people in every sense of the word. They are genuine and sincere and their music expresses it. This new album is Carl and Pearl Butler at their very best and I'm sure you'll enjoy every song. I'm glad to call them my friends. They give country music fans their very best whether its on the Grand Ole Opry, the Midnight Jamboree or in your hometown. I know you will enjoy this new album as much as I. "

Sincerely,

Ernest Tubb

That is the liner notes on the back cover of the "Country We Love" LP.

The musicians on this LP were:

Ray Edenton, Joe Edwards, Jerry Rivers, Willie Ackerman, Jim Baker, D. J. Fontana, Willie Rainsford, and Joe Zenkin.

Thanks for looking.

Until next time, Keep On Honkytonkin .

Mo

"Watch And Pray" is pretty much a re-issue of "Avenue of Prayer". Two songs were left off of this LP that were on "Avenue of Prayer". I've always wondered if this barn on the LP cover was on Crossover Acres.

Until next time, Keep on Honky Tonkin',

Mo

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. CARL !

Today would have been Mr. Carl's 85th birthday. We sure do miss the "Singin' to the whole world" style that you had.

Here is a link to a video from Pop Goes the Country of Carl and Pearl singing "Punish Me Tomorrow". What a great song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlrNSVy70CU&feature=PlayList&p=BA03B2965F9543E7&index=6

Vern Gosdin, "The Voice" has died.

8/5/1934 - 4/29/2009

So long Vern, see ya in Heaven!

Mo

Here is a Golden Country LP, released in 1979, of some of Carl's earlier work when he was on the Capitol label. These songs are from 1950 and 1951 and were recorded with The Lonesome Pine Boys.

Besides Carl, the musicians were: Tater Tate on fiddle, Hoke Jenkins on banjo, Speedy Krise on dobro and Jake Tullock on bass fiddle.

All of these songs were released on 78's and I have even found a couple of them on 45's.

This LP shows Carl with more of a Mountain Music influence to his voice and music instead of the later Honky Tonk sound he and Pearl were so well known for.

Until next time, Keep on Honkytonkin" !

Mo

Carl Butler & Pearl Ad Slick

Taken in the driveway of their "Crossover Acres Ranch", this ad slick shows Pearl on one of Carl's prized horses. There is no date on this ad slick so I am just guessing that it has to be in 1963 when "Don't Let Me Cross Over" was still in the number one spot.

Just as the ad says: Still #1, especially for this fan. It's kind of ironic that the ad reads the way it does because "Don't Let Me Cross Over" and "Still" battled for the top position on the charts all year long in 1963. "Don't Let Me Cross Over" was in the top slot for 29 weeks, "Still" was there for 26 weeks yet won the song of the year award that year. I just wonder how that set with Carl.

Until next time, Keep on Honkytonkin'!

Mo

Here is an old trade magazine ad slick that I recently came across. This slick dates back to about 1965 and shows Carl and Pearl looking like the stars they were in their Nudie Suits. Sure beats a ratty old T-shirt and torn blue jeans that the "stars" of today wear!

Until next time, Keep on Honkytonkin' !

Mo

Randy Hughes, Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas, Gone 46 Years

Gone 46 years now and still missed by the fans as much as they were the day they left us.

Top left is Randy Hughes, next to him is Patsy of course, one of the better pictures of her. Then on the second row is Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas.

Goodspeed.

Until next time, Keep On Honkytonkin'!

Mo

Carl Butler, pictured with one of his many rifles.

Carl had an absolutely hugh collection of firearms. As I understand it, (and I have been told this by more than one person), Carl sold off alot of his antiques and his collections because of, and I quote: "A rather unscrupulous woman". This was, of course, after his wife Pearl had passed away.

Picked up this great piece of sheet music from EvilBay the other day. This song was recorded by, of course, the great Carl Butler, on Okey Records back in 1954. The tune was written by Pearl Butler and George Sherry.

I learned a lesson on this purchase.

I had been "Watching" this listing on MyEvilbay and forgot about it until the auction had ended. Thankfully, it didn't sell. I emailed the seller about the item and they emailed me back saying that the item had been relisted. They even included the new auction number to make it easy for me to find.

I looked for the item, found it with no problem and to my delight, it had been relisted with a "Buy It Now" option. I clicked on the "Buy It Now" tab and made my purchase.

While going through my Evilbay purchases a day or so later to leave feedback and check to make sure I had recieved all of my items, I opened this auction and it was then that I noticed that, after showing an interest in their item and making an inquiry, they relisted it and RAISED the price of the item. Being excited about the item still being for sale, I hadn't bothered to check the price. I never ever gave it a thought that someone would RAISE the price of their item because someone had shown an interest in it and had asked a question about it. Sheesh, crooks abound on that dang site, I tell ya. Ya just can't trust anyone at all anymore it seems.

Make sure you double check every thing when you make a purchase from Evilbay folks, it will save you a few buck in the long run and maybe keep you from having to deal with crooks. Even then, sometimes, you can't be sure.

I also bought a 78 of Carl Butler's about the same time. The condition of this 78 was listed as "VG+". Heyllfar, when I got the 78 in the mail, it arrived with the packaging intact, not dents, no dings, no damage at all. I opened up the box and the 78 is cracked and has a hugh scratch and big gouge out of it one side. Either these people are just out and out crooks or they have no clue about records or they just don't pay attention to things, they don't bother to check items out before they list them for sale.

Be careful when you buy things off of Evilbay, and don't be afraid to ask questions.

Lesson learned.

Until next time, Keep On Honkytonkin' !

Mo

Sundown In Nashville

It has been my distinct pleasure of late, to talk on the phone many times with a man by the name of Don Unterfer. Don was the lead guitar player for Carl Butler & Pearl for nine and a half years and has been more than gracious about talking with me about his many experiences. Thank you Don, I truly appreciate your time spent talking with me.

One of my favorite Carl Butler & Pearl tunes is "Sundown In Nashville". In talking to Don, I have discovered that this tune was NOT a "hit" amongst the "Suits" of the music business. I guess they just couldn't face the bitter truth smacking them in the face even back in late 1969!

Carl only had two more singles released on the Columbia label after this song came out. Hmmm, I wonder why that is? Can you say money talks? Below you will find the words to this song, as Carl Butler & Pearl sang them, NOT the softened up version of the song that Marty Stuart does.

SUNDOWN IN NASHVILLE

Written by: Dwayne Warwick

The sign says Welcome to Nashville,

From whatever road you've been down.

It seems like the first of the milestones.

For here is the city, the town.

It's a quaint, old mystical city,

Where Idols and Legends have stood.

Its a city where dreams come to harbor,

A country boys Hollywood.

Chorus:

But it's lonely at sundown in Nashville,

That's when beaten souls start to weep.

Each evening at sundown in Nashville,

They sweep broken dreams off the street.

You walk down 16th to Broadway,

You walk past the new hall of fame.

And the record man with the big cigar,

He never once asked me my name.

You'll find some discarded love songs

And visions of fame on the ground.

And pieces of dreams thats been shattered,

They drift to the outskirts of town.

Chorus:

"For The First Time" Carl Butler

In 1971, Harmony released this Carl Butler LP titled "For The First Time" in Canada. It is basically a re-issue of "Don't Let Me Cross Over" with the exception of the exclusion of two songs, "Wonder Drug" and "River Of Tears".

I really don't know much more about this LP or if Columbia released other LP's of Carl's in Canada. Anyone knowing anything, please feel free to leave me a comment.

Until next time, Keep on Honkytonkin' !

Mo

Carl Butler Star of WSM Grand Ole Opry

Early publicity shot of Carl Butler from the Acuff-Rose publishing company.

Temptation Keeps Twistin' Her Arm

The year is 1972 and the Butlers have been dropped from the Columbia label and are now on Chart Records. Here we have the only Chart LP that Carl and Pearl had released, "Temptation Keeps Twisting Her Arm".

Check out the Glitterbillys on the cover of this LP! Don't they look great?! This is real Country music here folks. Not the perfect crap that comes out of Cashville these days. You will hear a crying steel guitar and a honkytonk piano and a driving bass guitar at times too.

This LP contains not only hits you will recognize from Carl & Pearl but hits that others made famous as well, like Freddie Hart's "Easy Lovin'" and Conway Twitty's "Fifteen Years Ago".

This LP has the fan favorite, "Don't Let Me Cross Over" included and it is a little bit different version than the hit release. It has a very prominant Steel Guitar on it as well as an organ! Subtle differences but very noticable to the true Carl & Pearl Butler fan like me. I really love this version of the song.

Here is the playlist for "Temptation Keeps Twisting Her Arm":

Side 1

1 Temptation Keeps Twisting Her Arm
2 Easy Lovin'
3 Let's Watch The Bluebirds
4 Two Of A Kind
5 Heartaches For Lunch

Side 2

1 Don't Let Me Cross Over
2 Fifteen Years Ago
3 She Didn't Come Home
4 I'm So Close To Loving You
5 Watch That First Step

If you love the old hurtin' and cheatin' songs of yesteryears REAL Country music, add this great old classic LP to your collection.

Until next time, Keep On Honkytonkin!

Mo

Carl Butler & Pearl's Greatest Hits

I've never figured out why this LP is called "Greatest Hits" because it only has two charted hits on it! "Don't Let Me Cross Over" which of course was Carl and Pearl's only number one and the number 14 hit, "Loving Arms".

My favorites of the other nine tunes are "We'd Destroy Each Other" and "Sundown In Nashville". "Sundown In Nashville" tells the story of how hard a singer/songwriters life is when they first come to Nashville to make their path in the music world. A great tune.

If you click on the LP cover to the left here, you will see a larger picture. Don Unterfer, former lead guitar player for Carl and Pearl, told me a little story about this cover. Seems Pearl wasn't at the photo shoot the day they took Carl's picture. Carl was leading one of his horses when this picture was taken and if you look really closely you can see part of the harness in Carl's hand. Pearl's picture was put into the photo at a later date and obviously, the horse was removed but they didn't take the harness out of Carl's hand! On the LP cover itself, you can actually see a metal clip on the leather harness in Carl's hand.

Here is the song list for this LP:

Side One:

1. It's Called Cheating

2. Can I Draw The Line

3. We'll Sweep Out The Ashes In The Morning

4. If I'd Only Met You First

5. Punish Me Tomorrow

6. Don't Let Me Cross Over

Side Two:

1. Loving Arms

2. Sundown In Nashville

3. We'd Destroy Each Other

4. For A Minute There

5. Goodbye Tennessee

Another great LP from Carl & Pearl.

Until next time, keep on Honky Tonkin', its the only cure for Honky Tonkitis !

Mo

Carl Butler and Pearl Honky Tonkin'

What a great LP this is! It starts out with Carl's number 25 hit "Honky Tonkitis". Next up is a tune that Conway Twitty had a hugh hit with, "Next In Line" and Carl sings it beautifully and with just as much feeling as Conway did. Another hit song on this LP is a song that a guy named Merle Haggard wrote with his then wife, Bonnie Owens, "Today, I Started Loving You Again". Carl just sings this song with so much heart and soul, it has to be heard to truly be apprciated. You will not be disappointed in his version. I am also a Hag fan but Carl truly does this song justice.

Song list for this LP is as follows:

Side 1

Honky Tonkitis

Next In Line

Punish Me tomorrow

I Started Loving You Again

I Just Came To Get My Baby Out Of Here

Throw A Little Dirt

Side 2

I Never Got Over You

Let's Turn Our Backs

Our Rendezvous

If You Should Ever Stop Loving Me

The Grapevine

Until next time, Keep on Honky Tonkin', it's the only cure for Honky Tonkitis!

Mo