I am the mother of Debbie and I was drafted into this job because I loved English grammar in school (which was a long time ago). Besides, I love being a part of something so important to my daughter and grand-daughters. Their love of music, surely, must have come from my side of the family. As a little girl, I remember seeing my grand-daddy sitting beside the radio listening to the Chuck Wagon Gang. I remember Daddy, Mama and me sitting by the radio listening to the Grand Ole Opry. My mother would do outside jobs to make money to give me piano lessons, like over-seeing houses my uncle built. (Daddy was a fireman and there was not much money for extras.)

Mama and I went to the All-Night Gospel Singings in Atlanta all through my teen-age years. She loved to sing (she had a beautiful soprano or tenor voice) and encouraged me, constantly, to sing. People have asked how I learned to sing while I played the piano, I said, “If you had had my mother, you would have learned, too.) I treasure the memories of when she would stop whatever work she would be doing and say, “Let’s sing.” We would sing the songs I had learned to play, so far, out of our Church Hymnal.

I never went to many concerts, but I did get to see Elvis when I was about 15. He was just getting started and I heard he was coming to the little auditorium around the corner from our motel where we were staying in Daytona Beach . I begged Daddy & Mama to stay a couple more days so I could see Elvis. Selfishly, I might add, not even thinking that their money had been budgeted for the amount of days they had planned to stay, not two extra. In school, I got to hear Billy Joe Royal sing, sometimes, because he was a year behind me when we attended Marietta High School.

We have been to a few country concerts with the family and I enjoyed them thoroughly. I hope this magazine will be a help to the artists that are featured. Everybody needs a helping hand, at one time or another, so I hope this magazine will be their helping hand to help them obtain their dreams.