Narvel Felts October Letter.indd

Narvel Felts Appreciation
Society (Europe)
Howard Cockburn, President
43 Kenilworth Road
Monkseaton
Whitley Bay
Tyne and Wear
NE 25 8 BB
England
Narvel Felts
2005 Narvel Felts Avenue
Malden, MO 63863-1210 USA
Narvel Felts Fan Club
(U.S.A.)
Roy E. Combs, President
286 Primrose Lane
Clarksville, Indiana 47129
U.S.A.
Virginia Carpenter
Vice President
October 2004 Newsletter
Malden, Missouri
October, 2004
Photo: Linda Ford
Well Hello There,
I hope all is well with you and yours. We’re doing well. At the
start of this year, I told my Manager Harold Boner that ideally I’d
like to back off to doing a show every other weekend. Since then I’ve
wound up doing more than that, closer to 3 per month. Since trying
to back off, my shows have been more successful, bigger crowds,
longer autograph lines, more CD sales.
At the end of May something happened to my voice on a show
in Michigan. I got through the show fine but when I walked to the
autograph line immediately afterward, I could barely talk! I could
barley talk the following day and the day after that. It then got
better but remained very hoarse. I thought, it’ll be well by my next
weekend’s show, but it wasn’t. With hoarseness persisting I finally
went to a throat specialist in mid July when I returned from England.
He said I’d had a mild hemorrhage on a vocal chord but it was almost
healed. Thankfully I didn’t have to miss any shows and I hit every
note on the ones I did. My voice is now pretty much back to normal.
In the process I found I have significant hearing loss in both ears. I
got my 2 hearing aids, now I’m hearing sounds I’d forgotten existed.
One of the greatest singers who ever lived had to wear hearing aids,
Johnnie Ray.
September 14th was 9 years since Loretta and I lost our only son
Albert Narvel “Bub” Felts, Jr. at age 31. Son, we miss you –even now.
I’ll now take you through the months since my last letter and on a trip
back in time with me to: 1999, 1989, 1979, 1969 and 1959.
Hi Lites February 2004
February 6, I was booked as one of the headliners at the Annual
50’s In February event, at the Surf Ballroom in CLEAR LAKE,
IOWA. Early that week with an approaching snow storm predicted to
hit the entire 750 miles I had to drive, on the days I normally would
travel, I called on metrologist Neal Wagley of KWKZ Radio. He
said, maybe you should postpone your trip, this is a bad one and I
don’t think you can make it on those days! I said, not going is not an
option! He said, then you’d better get on the road tonight and be there
by tomorrow night when the storm hits. That’s what I did, leaving the
night of the 3rd (our daughter Stacia’s birthday). I stopped in Kansas
City 425 miles up the road to pick up my buddy since high school
Huey P. Long, who helped me drive the rest of the way. We watched
it snow for the next two days from our Clear Lake motel. This event
is in memory of the last show Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the
Big Bopper did just before their plane crash in 1959. This was my
3rd time to play this event. In 1994 I’d performed there with my son
“Bub” on drums. The following year he would die in a car crash.
I performed there again in 2003 and now in 2004. Our '04 Friday
night show featured Joey Dee and the Starliters, myself, backed by
the Vibro Champs, who did a fine job backing me, plus the Vandells.
That night it was 2 below with 30 mph winds and snow. Despite
this weather fans from across the USA, Canada and Britain filled
the ballroom. I feel I got a better reception from this audience than
I had from the previous two, though each one had been wonderful
to me. They kept applauding after “Since I Don’t Have You,” again
after “Crying”, until I repeated the endings again. This same long
applause also came after “Even Now”, which I did in memory of
“Bub”. Another encore came at the end of my show; a two hour
autograph line awaited. The British Buddy Holly Society had invited
Huey and me to their luncheon that day. A few of them were asking
me to do only my rockabilly records. I told them my script was
written and that I have fans who like me for my ballads and country
hits as well and that there would be a mixture (a Narvel show) to try
and please all my fans. If I’d done only what they wanted, I wouldn’t
Beverly Hills To Jackson
Peter Ford and Narvel (Peter is the son of silver screen
legends Glenn Ford and Eleanor Powell) Carl Perkins Civic
Center, Jackson, Tennessee – August 6, 2004
have gone over nearly as well. After a late night, we were up early the
next morning. Joining us for breakfast was John Thomas and Sharon
(of the Waitte Radio Network) who had driven from Omaha to catch
my show, plus Wink and Diane Luitjens of Waterloo, Iowa. We then
started our slick drive home. By the time we’d reach Kansas City
we’d seen 145 vehicles off the road. I made it home safely in the wee
hours of the next morning, a 1,506 mile round trip.
February 14th, I was booked to play a private Valentine party/
political event, for the employees of some 15 banks in southeast
Missouri. The owner of the banks rented the Elks Club in Dexter
for this event. President Pro Tem of the Missouri Senate, Senator
Peter Kinder made a speech before I came on. When Larry Swift of
the Bill Barnett Band introduced me and started my intro music, I
walked to the stage to very little response . This was not my crowd!
It seemed as though I was interfering with their conversations. Some
of them were fans and got into what I was doing, some danced
in front of the band stand. The band did a fine job backing me. A
short autograph line formed at Harold’s record rack after my show.
Afterwards I made the short 20 mile drive home.
February 21st, I was headlined for a concert at the Gas Light
Theatre, which was built in 1907 as an opera house in the boyhood
hometown of General/President Ulysses S. Grant, GEORGETOWN,
OHIO. The day before Harold and I made the some 11 hour drive
there on an extremely windy day. Along the way we met fan club
president Roy Combs and his wife Donna for supper at a restaurant
in their hometown of Clarksville, Indiana. A full theatre welcomed
me to the stage with a complete standing ovation. This very
enthusiastic crowd gave me several (6 or 7) standing ovations during
my show. Glen Street with Marvin Street and Cincinnati Express
did the opening set. Cincinnati Express did a fine job backing me.
The gang from radio stations WAOL and WAXZ were there. Both
stations did a great job promoting my show. Fans were there from
Ohio, Kentucky and all the way from Washington, D.C. A niece of
Cowboy Copas was there. A long successful autograph line awaited.
The following day we made our Sunday drive home, a 1,003 mile
round trip.
By)”, until I repeated the ending. They blessed me with a standing
ovation at the end of my show. An hour and a half autograph line
awaited me at Harold’s record rack. In it were fans from Missouri,
Illinois and Kentucky, some I hadn’t seen since Cairo, Illinois in the
late 1950’s. Others since my Army National Guard days in the 60’s.
They blessed us with one of our top grossing concession nights ever.
The last time I performed on that stage had been on a snowy night
in 1979. My daddy, Albert Felts had played a couple of harmonica
songs with us that night, his only time on stage with me. He would
die the following year. Afterward I drove home. A short 157 mile
round trip.
The afternoon of April 17th Harold and I made the 5 hour drive
to FLORENCE, ALABAMA. I was there to do a Sunday afternoon
concert the 18th at the Underwood–Petersville Community Center.
This was a re-election campaign show for Judge Smith. A near full
house welcomed me to the stage. They were very receptive and
blessed me with a standing ovation and encore at the end. Blue Water
did a magnificent job backing me. After the autograph line Harold
and I made the drive back home arriving around 1:30 a.m. A 510
mile round trip.
April 22nd I was scheduled to do an outside concert on the lawn
of the Old State House in LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS. The line up
for this show was myself, Sonny Burgess and The Pacers plus Charlie
Rich, Jr. This was for, and promoted by the state of Arkansas. A huge
crowd was expected. With a pouring rain starting the day before
and forecast to last for 3 days, I received a call the morning of the
22nd re-scheduling the show to the following Thursday the 29th.
My apologies to those of you who drove long distances from Texas
and Louisiana to be there. Though rain was forecast again the 29th
I got a call that morning to come on to Little Rock and we’d work
the show in between showers. The Pacers sat up on the porch of this
colonial mansion. It stopped raining just before show time. What
would have been a huge crowd a week earlier in good weather, turned
into a small crowd who came back and weathered the storm a week
later. Charlie Rich, Jr. plus Sonny Burgess and The Pacers did a
great job. The Pacers did a great job backing me. The weather didn’t
dampen the enthusiasm of the audience. I called Sonny and Charlie
back on stage to join me for our jam finale. Charlie’s sister Lori and
her husband did background vocals. An autograph line awaited. The
following morning Harold and I made our 5 hour drive back home, a
427 mile round trip. I was home for supper with Loretta on our 42nd
wedding anniversary April 30th.
March
March 6, PINCKNEY, MICHIGAN apologies again!! This was
a re-scheduled date for a concert originally booked Oct. 18th 2003.
That time the promoter couldn’t be found until it was too late to
go. He had failed to fulfill his contract by not sending his deposit.
This time he also failed to honor our new contract by not sending
payment. He phoned the week of the show and cancelled it. This was
out of the control of the police department who sponsored the show,
as it was out of my control and that of the Bob Wurst Band, plus the
school performing arts center. Our apologies to those of you who
bought tickets and came. My thanks to all of the above for supporting
my shows there since 1990.
After dates in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Ohio in January
and February, I was booked at the Florida Sunshine Opry in EUSTIS,
FLORIDA on the first day of Spring, Saturday March 20th. When I
checked with my travel agent about 3 weeks earlier to book a flight
there, to my surprise they were full! It was Spring break time for
college students. Huey came down from Kansas City and made the
drive to Florida with me, 2 days there, 2 days back. An 1,839 mile
round trip from my home in Malden, Missouri. A good receptive
crowd welcomed me to the stage. In the audience were fans from
Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Canada. Two
couples were there from my teenage home, Powe, Missouri and my
high school in Bernie, Missouri. The 70’s Virginia representative
of my fan club Bobbie Ellis was there. In the audience were the
Calhoun Twins who were making records around 1970. They’ve
done GREAT as business men. They now own some 300 tour buses
which they lease to almost everyone in the music business plus some
jet planes. I called them on stage to join me for my “Shake Rattle
& Roll” finale. Also in the audience was Dude Mullins who owned
the Paradise Club in Cairo, Illinois, 1956–1959. I played one night a
week there in '58.
The Florida Sunshine Opry Band did a fine job backing me.
The bassists and drummer were from their original band. The steel
and lead guitar players were from the staff band of the former TNN
TV Show Church Street Station. The piano player had been a 5 year
member of Molly Hatchet. A standing ovation came at the end of my
show, another after my encore/finale. A long autograph line awaited
in the lobby.
Friday night March 26th I made the some 6 hour drive alone
to WEST POINT, KENTUCKY. I was there to play a concert
Saturday the 27th at Music Ranch USA. This show has become an
annual event and this was billed as my 48th anniversary in the music
business show. We can document Saturday, March 24th, 1956, as the
first time I sang with Jerry Mercer’s Band at the Four Way Inn near
Dudley, Missouri. We don’t know the date of the high school talent
contest which led to my weekly radio show earlier that year, at the
high school auditorium/gym in Bernie, Missouri. Back to '04 and
a big crowd welcomed me to the stage. They came from Kentucky,
Indiana, Ohio and from as far away as West Virginia. They blessed
me with several standing ovations and a long autograph line at the
end. Country Classics did a great job of backing me. A great review
of this show by Adrian Sturm will be included with this letter. The
following day I made my Sunday drive home a some 600 mile round
trip.
May
On Friday, May 14th I made the some 9 hour drive to
STREATOR, ILLINOIS alone. I was there to do a concert Saturday
the 15th at the high school auditorium with Grand Ole Opry star
Jeannie Seely, Steve Hall/Shotgun Red and The Shotgun Red Band.
A big receptive crowd welcomed us to the stage. I called Jeannie
back on stage for two duets with me on my part of the show. They
were “Today I Started Loving You Again” and “Shake Rattle and
Roll”. The audience loved it! A standing ovation came at the end of
each of our shows. The band did a great job. A lobby full awaited
our autograph lines. Fans from as far away as Michigan were there.
The following day I made my drive back home, an 828 mile round
trip. I had played Streator once before, at a club in 1960. I told this
'04 audience, “I hope it won’t be 44 years before you have me back,
I’ll be a hundred and nine!”.
Saturday, May 29th I did a concert at the fairgrounds in
BERRIAN SPRINGS, MICHIGAN. Huey and I made the some
11 hour drive up arriving the night before. This was a private RV
convention with people from several states and Canada attending.
Jim Fritzler’s J. R. Country did the opening, then a superb job
backing me. The entire audience of 1,900 gave me a standing ovation
at the end of my show. My voice had been as good as ever during my
show but when I reached the autograph line, I could barely talk. The
following day we made our drive back, on as stormy a day as I can
remember. A 1,034 mile round trip.
April
April 1st would have been our son Albert Narvel “Bub” Felts,
Jr’s 40th birthday but, he will forever be 31.
Saturday, April 3rd, I did a concert at the high school auditorium
in EAST PRAIRIE, MISSOURI. Bill Barnett did the opening set,
his band then did a great job backing me. I was introduced on stage
by Larry Kelly from 96 classic country in Wickliffe, Kentucky. This
station had a “Nothing But Narvel”, Saturday that day! The receptive
crowd kept applauding after “Somebody Hold Me (Until She Passes
June
Sunday afternoon June 6th I played a concert 115 miles from my
home. It was at the Plummer Family Theatre near FARMINGTON,
MISSOURI. The show was sponsored by Froggy 96 Radio of
Farmington. The station’s owner Fred Dockins and his staff of D.J.s
did the M.C. work. The 14 member Plummer family band did the
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opening set. Larry Swift then Bill Barnett opened my show. The
Bill Barnett Band did a fine job backing me. With my voice still
very hoarse from whatever happened to it the past week, the full
theatre (who had paid $20 per ticket) gave me a standing ovation at
the end of my show. A some 2 hour autograph line awaited in the
lobby for Harold’s record rack to open. They blessed us with our #4
top concession gross, ever.
Saturday, June 19th Harold and I made the near 4 hour drive
to MELBOURNE, ARKANSAS. I was there for a concert at the
Ozarka College Auditorium. David Grimes and his All Star Band
did the opening set, then a great job backing me. The near 500 who
paid $20 per ticket gave me a standing ovation when I walked on
stage, then more during my show. As the following day was Father’s
Day, I included “That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine”, in memory
of my Daddy during my show. A long autograph line awaited in the
lobby. My voice was still hoarse for this show. The next morning we
were up early to get home and be with our families on Father’s Day
afternoon. This was a 322 mile round trip.
Saturday, June 26th I did a private concert in SUNRISE,
MINNESOTA it was for the 35th wedding anniversary of Manley
and Benetta Olson. The morning before I was up early and made
the some 4 hour drive to the St. Louis Airport. There I caught my
flight to Minneapolis/St. Paul. Wade Olson (son of the couple) met
my flight, took me to supper then drove me the 1 hour drive on
to my motel in North Branch. Huey drove up from Kansas City
and met me there. For my show there was a full shed of some 200
invited guests behind the Olson home. The audience blessed me
with several standing ovations during my show. The Vibro Champs
did a great job backing me. My voice was still hoarse during this
show. My scheduled hour and a half show became about an hour and
45 minutes with encores. A long autograph line awaited at Huey’s
record rack. The Olson story could be a movie script: Manley Olson
met Benetta’s brother, Dwight Mayer, in the army. They were sent to
Vietnam together. They made each other a promise that if one didn’t
make it back, the other would visit the departed one’s family when
the survivor made it home. Tragically Benetta’s brother Dwight was
killed! Manley keeping his promise went to visit Dwight’s family
when he returned, there he met Benetta! They would fall in love and
marry. They now have three sons and are grandparents. What a bitter
sweet twist of fate! The next day I made my return trip home.
Rock-A-Billy Fest 2004
Well Hello There
At The End Of
– My Prayer
July
July 3rd, I was home with Loretta on her birthday, I’ve been
gone on too many of them. Thursday the 8th I drove to Memphis,
caught my flight, changed planes in Newark, New Jersey, then flew
through the night landing in Birmingham, England Friday morning.
I was driven on to NEWARK, ENGLAND. I was there to do a show
Sunday afternoon the 11th, at the Americana International Festival.
This was my 30th anniversary show in England and Europe. My
fi rst show on those shores had been at London’s Wembley Country
Festival in 1974. If my memory is correct, this was my 14th time to
Britain, my 30th time to Europe during these years. This '04 festival
included British rockers: Dave Edmunds, Bill Wyman formerly
of the Rolling Stones, the Manfreds formerly of Manfred Mann,
plus Albert Lee. From the U.S. and Canada members of the Burrito
Brothers, The Band and The Amazing Rhythm Aces formed the
group, Burrito Deluxe. American Folk duo Chip Taylor and Carrie
Rodriguez were there, as were Country Girls Heather Myles and Eve
Selis plus Rockabilly Cats Billy Adams and Rip Masters plus many
others. There were reservations for 72,000 for this outside event.
With rain all over England that weekend, there were not near that
many in attendance, though many thousands braved the weather and
did attend this festival promoted by Chris and Bev Jackson. I was
driven to the show grounds by my British agent Willie Jeffery and
his wife Varick in their new silver Jaguar 4 door sedan (temptation
for this recovering car-a-holic)! The rain stayed away from my show.
The Rimshots did a great job backing me. The audience blessed me
with standing ovations and encores at the end of my show. A long
autograph line awaited at Howard Cockburn’s record rack. Varick
interpreted the names I was to sign to, above the loud music. Fans
from as far away as Spain, Germany, Scotland and all over England
came through the line. Afterwards I went to the dressing room for a
quick interview with the junior editor of Now Dig This, Lucas Lee
Cajiao. There to review the show was Trevor Cajiao for Now Dig
This and Ian Wallis for Country Music People. I was then driven
Sonny and Narvel
– Shake It Up
Top and Middle: Narvel On Stage
Bottom: Sonny Burgess joins Narvel for the fanile – Carl
Perkins Civic Center, Jackson, Tennessee – August 6, 2004
(Photos: Ruth Bryant)
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back to my hotel in a limo. It was good visiting with many friends
that I hadn’t seen in a couple of years. The next morning (Monday)
I was up at 6:30 a.m. England time, (11:30 p.m. Sunday American
Central time) for the trip home. I arrived back home some 24 hours
later.
July 17th I was booked for a matinee and a night concert in
GROVE, OKLAHOMA. I made the some 8 hour drive there alone
the afternoon before, in my white '97 Ford Van. Huey P. Long drove
down from Kansas City and met me there. He would handle my CD
sales. These concerts were at Kontry Kuzins Theatre with one of the
top country artist of the late 80’s and early 90’s, Ricky Van Shelton.
Full houses welcomed each show as Bobby Poe introduced me. The
Rodney Lay Trio did a great job backing me. Each audience blessed
me with standing ovations and long autograph lines at Huey’s record
rack. This tied my 3rd highest grossing CD sales date, ever. The
following day I made my Sunday drive home. A 758 mile round
trip.
Friday the 23rd Harold Boner and I made the short 45 mile
drive to PUXICO, MISSOURI. I was there to do a campaign concert
for mine and Loretta’s nephew Rick Stanfield, who was running
for Sheriff of Stoddard County. My show was in Veteran’s Park
downtown, only a block from where Ferlin Husky’s Dad’s barber
shop had been. Though it was raining at show time, the stage was
covered and there was a covered roof in front that most of the crowd
could get under. Walt Turner of KDEX radio in Dexter was doing
an on air remote. The Bill Barnett Band did a great job backing me.
The audience gave me a standing ovation plus an hour and a half
autograph line at Harold’s record rack. Rick would lose the election
by about 450 votes.
motel had their heat turned off for the summer, so Huey and I nearly
froze! The next afternoon Wink and Diane Luitjens who had driven
up from Waterloo, Iowa drove me to the theatre. Both shows were
sold out! Talk about magical, I walked on stage to a standing ovation.
There were several more during my show. My autograph line lasted
until 30 minutes before it was time for Marvin to start the 2nd
show. The 2nd audience blessed me with several standing ovations
during my 2nd show and another long autograph line afterwards.
Marvin did his usual great show. The Midwest Country Band did a
marvelous job backing both of us. The shows were filmed and will
be edited into the, Midwest Country Show, for the RFD network.
Sunday I drove Huey’s pickup to the airport, he drove on home to
Kansas City, I caught my flight to St. Louis then drove on home.
August 28th I did a concert with Don Williams at the
Performing Arts Center in FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS. This one
was also a sell out! Maybe I should call this a magical month as all
the shows turned out great! With the stage and lights already set for
Don, The Rodney Lay Trio and I had to set up in front of their line.
Our equipment would be moved after my show, before Don’s. The
only lights left to aim at us were the brightest whitest spotlights I’ve
ever seen! I took the stage to tremendous crowd response, though
the spotlights were so bright I couldn’t see the audience, not even the
front row. I could see flashbulbs going off all over the theatre. I could
hear ladies scream during “My Babe”. I could hear great response at
the end of each song. I was told later I got some standing ovations.
Rodney Lay, Vernon Sandusky and Ron Lee did a great job backing
me. I shared my encore with Rodney and Vernon, each joining me
to sing verses of “Shake Rattle and Roll”. The show’s promoter
Bobby Poe also joined us on this one. Huey and I plus the building
manager were the last to leave the building. The long autograph line
had once again blessed me by tying my 3rd top grossing concession
night ever. The next day I made my 7½ hour drive back home.
A 696 mile round trip.
August
Friday, August 6th I made the 2 and a half hour drive to
JACKSON, TENNESSEE. I was there to do my show at Rockabilly
Fest '04. This annual festival is staged by Henry Harrison’s
International Rock-A-Billy Hall of Fame which is located in
Jackson. This was my 5th year in a row to do this show starting
with it’s inception in 2000. Every now and then a magical night
comes along, this was one! From the atmosphere of the banquet
seating, to the audience, to the show. This night’s line up started
with Sonny Burgess and the Pacers, continued with Ace Cannon
and Gene Simmons, then me, followed by the original Comets.
When “Rock Around The Clock”, by Bill Haley and the Comets,
was chosen as the theme to the movie Blackboard Jungle, starring
Glenn Ford in 1955, it became the 1st Rock and Roll record to go to
#1 in the pop charts. It was the record that ushered in the Rock 'n'
Roll age. It changed the dominant forces in the pop charts from the
likes of Frank Sinatra and Patti Page, to, Bill Haley and the Comets,
Elvis Presley and those who followed. Glenn Ford’s son, Peter Ford
and his wife Linda were seated at the front table for our '04 show at
Jackson’s Carl Perkins Civic Center. (When Black Board Jungle’s
Director Richard Brooks visited Glenn Ford’s home to discuss the
filming, he heard Glenn’s 9 yr. old son Peter playing the 78, “Rock
Around The Clock”, the rest is history).
I received several standing ovations during my show to this
full auditorium. Fans were from across the USA, Canada, England,
Scotland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and France. Music
friends Eddie Bond, Matt Lucas, “J. M.” Jimmy Van Eaton, W. S.
Holland, Rayburn Anthony and Kay Bain were in the audience. The
Pacers did a great job backing me. A Pacer wife Barbara Crawford
sold my CD’s during my 2 hour autograph line. Through the line
came fans from all over, including Tennessee and Missouri fan club
members, fans from the Netherlands who in 2002 had caught my
shows both in Las Vegas and in Glasgow, Scotland, another from
France who’d attended my show at a festival on the French Riveria
in 1999. Harold Boner would have been there to handle my CD sales
but he’d taken ill the day before. The morning after my show, I made
the drive home.
August 21st I did a matinee plus a night concert at the Midwest
Country Theatre in SANDSTONE, MINNESOTA with Marvin
Rainwater. I’d been up early the morning before, made the some
4 hour drive to the St. Louis Airport and flew to Minneapolis/St.
Paul. Jerry and Bev Mackey met my flight and drove me the some 2
hour drive on to my motel in Hinckley. Huey P. Long had driven up
from Kansas City (to handle my CD sales) and met me there. The
unseasonable temperature dropped below freezing that night. The
September
September 11th I played a return concert at the Gaslight Theatre
in GEORGETOWN, OHIO. I’d been there 7 months earlier in
February. Huey and I made the some 11 hour drive up the afternoon
and night before. We stopped in Evansville, Indiana on the way
meeting fan club president Roy Combs and his wife Donna for
supper. Marvin Street and Cincinnati Express opened the show.
George Morgan, Brian Elliot and Bill Cornetet from radio stations
WAOL Classic Country and WAXZ Country Today introduced
me on stage. I’d done on air phone interviews with the 3 of them
on these stations earlier that week. I walked on stage to a standing
ovation. Other’s came after “Somebody Hold Me”, “Even Now”,
“Reconsider Me/May The Good Lord Bless and Keep You” and
“Funny How Time Slips Away”. I walked off stage to a standing
ovation. The Danny Burton Band did a great job backing me, except
they must have watched their leader for break queues instead of me.
This caused them to miss the stop at the end of my opening verse.
A some 2 hour autograph line awaited at Huey’s record rack. Huey,
the building manager and me were the last to leave the building. In
February I’d had a full theatre of near 500. This time promoter Glen
Street said he’d spent less than half on advertisement. Three hundred
and fifty attended, tickets were $20 each. The following day we
made our Sunday drive home, a 1,009 mile round trip.
The 18th I did a concert that was billed as an annual
rockabilly festival at the Riverview Ampitheatre at Casino Aztar
in CARUTHERSVILLE, MISSOURI. Last year I did this with
Manatu opening and the Muscle Shoals Band Blue Water doing a
magnificent job backing me. I was the only headliner and we had
more than 2,000 attending. I had a 3½ hour autograph line and my
highest grossing concession night, ever! A truly magical event. This
year with my recommendation and my manager putting it together
I shared billing with Ace Cannon and Sonny Burgess. At the sound
check we were told, Sonny 4:30, Ace 5:15, Narvel 6 PM and off by
sundown. The casino didn’t want the show longer than that, the
ampitheatre is for daylight events only and doesn’t have lights facing
the stage, plus mosquitoes get terrible at dusk on the bank of the
Mississippi. My co-stars did not stick to the script, they each did an
hour or more. This put me on stage 40 minuets late. I walked to the
stage in the setting sun to a standing ovation. The sun went down
after my 2nd song! To say this cast a shadow on my show is putting it
mildly! If I’d done this to Dolly Parton, The Statler Brothers, Tammy
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Wynette or Slim Whitman, I doubt I would have been hired to open
some 20 or more times for each of them. The Pacers did a good job
backing me. Many of the 1,900 attending braved the darkness, the
mosquitoes, the hours of sitting and stayed till the end of my show.
Many were standing in front of the stage when Ace joined me for
the finale. A near 2 hour autograph line awaited my shows end at
Harold’s record rack. Afterward I made the 60 mile drive home.
Classic Country TV
Radio Interviews
LANSING, MICHIGAN, WITL: The Oldies Show with A.
J. Wilson which originates from the studio in his Charlotte,
Michigan home is broadcast on this station and WCMN Escanaba,
Michigan, WISS Berlin, Wisconsin, WADI Iuka, Mississippi and
KSEY Seymour, Texas. A. J. and his co-producer wife Joel phoned
me and taped an interview on the birthday of mine and Loretta’s
daughter, Stacia, February 3rd. He played “Foggy Misty Morning”,
“Reconsider Me”, “Four Seasons Of Life”, “Lonely Teardrops”,
“Somebody Hold Me”, “Drift Away” and “Loretta”. He told me they
especially love this one! I do too, and the lady I wrote it about.
WARRENTON, MISSOURI, KWRE: The morning of February
4th I did an on air phone interview with Steve Roberts on this station
that serves the St. Louis area with Classic Country. He played my
1975 Billboard and Cashbox single of the year. “Reconsider Me”,
and the 2nd biggest record of my career, “Lonely Teardrops”, a top
5 hit in 1976.
RENO, NEVADA, KBDB: Twice in '04 I’ve done on air phone
interviews with Ken “Rockin' Rev” Haskins on his rockabilly
specials. On February 28th he played “Did You Tell Me” and “My
Babe” my Sun Recordings from 1957. On July 23rd he played “I’m
Headin' Home” and on each show he played his wife Kathy’s favorite
record of mine, “Pink And Black Days”. The latter two from my '02
CD “Super Songs Narvelized”.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, WPHT: From 10 PM till
1 AM eastern time the Rollye James Show goes coast to coast on a
network of stations. I was her guest by phone on March 12th. This
is talk radio and she is a sharp lady to do this nightly. She played
“Tower Of Strength” and “My Prayer”. One of the stations that
broadcast this show is 50,000 watt WLAC–AM in Nashville. This
was full circle for me to be on this station again! It was here that
legendary Rock 'N' Roll DJ’s John R. and Hoss Allen played my
records “Rocket Ride Stroll”, “Three Thousand Miles”, “Honey
Love”, “Genavee” and “Darling Sue” to the nation in 1958, 59 and
60. It was here when it was a top 40 pop chart reporter in 1976, that
“Lonely Teardrops” was played in heavy rotation. It was here that
Dave Nemo played my classic country hits such as “Drift Away” on
the road Gang, a late night trucker show in the late 1990’s. My thanks
to Charlie Gracie who in 1957 had a #1 pop hit with “Butterfly”, for
putting Rollye in touch with me. She can be reached at www.rollye.
net
FARMINGTON, MISSOURI, Froggy 96: during the 1st week
of June I did an on air phone interview on this station with Jenny
Lee, promoting my weekend concert sponsored by this station. She
played “Foggy Misty Morning” and my 1978 hit “One Run For The
Roses”. She tells me she gets requests for that every day. I’ve just
talked with her and station owner Fred Dockins again. They tell me
their listeners are going crazy with requests for “Pink And Black
Days” since I was there.
GEORGETOWN, OHIO, WAXZ Country Today, WAOL Classic
Country: During the week prior to my February 21st concert, I did
an early morning interview on both of these stations. On Classic
Country WAOL I talked with George Morgan. On Country today
I talked with Brian Elliott. They tell me the following records by
me are in their rotation: “Lonely Teardrops”, “Drift Away”, “She
Loves Me Like A Rock”, “Reconsider Me”, “Funny How Time Slips
Away”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, “Somebody Hold Me”, “Away”, “To
Love Somebody”, “Everlasting Love”, “The Feeling’s Right”, “Hey
Lady”, and “Just Keep It Up”. They also played tracks from my
Christmas CD “Season’s Greetings” during the holidays.
CAPE GIRARDEAU, MISSOURI, KWKZ: Loretta keeps the
radios in our home tuned to this station. I do phone interviews with
Cousin Carl, Susan Anderson Bell, Rick Jones and Doug Owens
from time to time. Since my last newsletter I’ve personally heard
them and Randall Lee play the following records by me: “Drift
Away”, “Blue Darlin”, “Reconsider Me”, “To Love Somebody”,
“Don’t Do It Darlin'”, “From Memphis To Malden”, “When Your
Hee Haw
Narvel doing a comedy skit on America’s
Top Country TV show at the time. Nashville, 1976
BBC Country Special
Narvel sings to a full Wembley Arena and National TV audience
across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
London, 1985
Music City Tonight – TNN
Narvel with hosts Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase just after
guesting on the US and Canada’s top country TV show at the
time. Nashville, 1995
5
Denmark, England, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and
the Philippines. E-mail: mark@mmgrecords.com
Good Love Was Mine”, “Lonely Teardrops”, “Even Now”, “I’m
Headin' Home”, “Stranger On The Shore”, “Mountain Of Love”,
“Away”, “Go Rest High On that Mountain”, “Somebody Hold
Me”, “Foggy Misty Morning”, “He’s Coming In The Clouds” and
“Fraulein”. This station can now be heard on the world wide web
at www.kwkz.com. To request your favorite Narvel Record, e-mail,
kwkzmusic@socket.net
WAXAHACHIE, TEXAS, KBEC: In recent months Gary Barton
phoned and did an interview with me on this classic country station.
He told me my classic hits “Lonely Teardrops”, “Reconsider Me”,
“Funny How Time Slips Away”, “Drift Away”, “To Love Somebody”
and “Everlasting Love” are in their play rotation.
COFFEYVILLE, KANSAS, KKRK/KVSN/KGTF: August
10th Ron Lee phoned and recorded an interview with me for all
three of these stations which have different formats. He is the music
director of KKAK, a classic rock station which plays hits from 1970
to 1984. He did an in depth interview spanning my career from my
beginning in 1956, to the present. He played “Lonely Teardrops”
and “Reconsider Me”. This also played on KVSN a current country
station that sprinkles in the classics and on KGTF which plays rock
'n' roll from 1954 to 1970.
DEXTER, MISSOURI, KDEX: I recently did an interview on
this station, where my career began when I was 17. Walt Turner who
talked with me now owns this current country station. He played
my country breakthrough hit from 1973, “Drift Away”. Walt helped
make it a hit back then, as he was music director at the Billboard
country reporting station in St. Louis, WIL, at that time. He also
helped break about a dozen more of my 70’s hits while he was there.
PINE CITY, MINNESOTA, WCMP: The morning of August
17th I was up early for an on air phone interview with Mike Hughes.
Mike plugged my concert in nearby Sandstone, Minnesota for
that weekend. He played “One Run For The Roses” and “Lonely
Teardrops”. He asked about the number of times I’d made the
Billboard charts. When you add the country singles, country albums
and pop singles, it’s 53.
FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS, BIG COUNTRY: Tuesday August
4th J. P. Morgan from this station phoned me for an interview
promoting my Saturday concert in Fort Smith with Don Williams.
He played “Drift Away” and “Lonely Teardrops”. Program Director
Michael Dee pointed out that my 1976 hit of “Lonely Teardrops”
went higher in the Billboard country chart (#5), than did Jackie
Wilson’s 1959 hit in the Billboard pop chart (#7). We also talked
about me being born in Arkansas, near Keiser.
STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS, KCUB: Sunday September 5th I
did an on air phone interview with Carroll Parham on this station.
He tells me he plays everything from Glenn Miller to Teresa Brewer,
from Slim Whitman to Gene Vincent to Bluegrass! I’d love to hear
that variety! Our interview spanned my career. He played the 4
biggest hits of my career from the 70’s “Reconsider Me”, “Lonely
Teardrops”, “Drift Away” and “Somebody Hold Me (Until She
Passes By)”.
KENNETT, MISSOURI, KTMO: The morning of September
17th I did an on air phone interview with Monte and Missy on this
station, promoting my show in Caruthersville the following day with
Ace Cannon and Sonny Burgess. They play “Lonely Teardrops”
from time to time.
POPLAR BLUFF, MISSOURI, KKLR: The morning of
September 17th I did an on air phone interview with Rick Sinclair
and Bill “William B.” Stieger on this station. We were promoting
my Caruthersville show for the following day. William B. had been
on radio there when my record “Mountain Of Love” went to #1 pop,
from Poplar Bluff, Missouri to Alexandria, Louisiana in 1963. Rick
played the biggest hit of my career, “Reconsider Me”. He plays my
5th biggest hit “Funny How Time slips Away” from time to time.
TV
It’s been a long time since I’ve been on TV. This year has
changed that in the most unlikely way. Before my first appearance
at the Midwest Country Theatre in Sandstone, Minnesota February
1st of '03, Joe and Kathy Jensen asked if they could film my shows to
use on cable TV to promote my future shows there, I said sure. (Most
artist had not been allowing them to film their shows). Joe would
compile the shows using about 3 songs per show by 3 different artists
that allowed them to film them. The Midwest Country Show has now
been picked up by the R.F.D. Satellite Network and is shown every
Saturday night at 8 P.M. central time. It can be picked up across the
U.S., Canada, Alaska, Mexico and Cuba. It’s available in 37 million
homes and is viewed weekly by 400 thousand. I’m included on this
show 4 times per year. Joe tells me the energy and emotion of my
shows really comes across and they get tremendous response when
I’m on.
Prayers For Those Ailing
Harold Boner, Bill Crutchfield, Hal Rugg, Joe Taylor, Tony
Barrett, Merle Kilgore, John Downing, Jackie Jones, George F.
Jones, Bev Jackson, Judy Cole, Steve Wilkerson, Bobby Poe, Diane
Luitjens, Bill Barnett, Jim Fritzler, Jean Blankenship, Barbara
Allister, Donna Combs, Roy Combs, Rita Bradley, Kathy Doyle,
Amy DeKeyser Buhr, Ray Price, Glen Street, Ken Haskins, Cousin
Carl.
Final Farewell
(To Those I Knew Along The Way)
Pappy Dave Stone, Thomas Irvin, Katz Kobayash, Walt Grealis,
Jake Busick, Peter Warren, Jerry Mack, Don Brooks, Anna Carter
Davis, Nelda Hughes, Jim Fears, Nikki Sullivan, Ken Keene, Ray
Charles, Dottie Rhodes, Gabe Pointer, Nona Hubbard, Johnny Bragg,
Skeeter Davis, Roy Drusky, L. E. White, Melvin Endsley, Kenny
Owens, Jimmy Boyer, Ella Mae Owens and Dick Wiethan.
Back In Time 1999
I played 54 dates that year. In the U.S. they were in 17 states from
Pennsylvania to Oklahoma and from Florida to Wisconsin. I made
trips to Europe twice playing shows in England, Austria and France.
I’d drive the trips within a 750 mile radius of home alone, in my white
'97 Ford Van. I’d make the drives to the St. Louis or Memphis airports
and fly the ones farther than that. In Hemsby, England that May I had
the longest continuous autograph line of my career. After my show
I stood for 4 hours greeting fans from around the world. Among the
other artists I did shows with that year were: Marvin Rainwater,
The Treniers, Norma Jean, George Hamilton IV, Tommy Cash, The
Bellamy Brothers, The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Sarah Jory and Glen
Glenn. I was among the other personalities to join Ronnie McDowell
at Tootsies in Nashville and be a part of his video. Seated by me in
the filming were Crystal Gayle, Ralph Emery, Jett Williams and Sam
Phillips. A single released to country radio that year was “Since I
Don’t Have You”, from my “Ode To Bub” CD. It would go to #18
in Europe on the CMR (Country Music Radio) major chart. In the
U.S. it would go to #26 in the Panel Report major chart, #1 in their
independent chart. Loretta had major back surgery that January at
Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Goofin'
Records of Finland released the CD “Narvel Felts At Rollin' Rock”
which I’d recorded in Las Vegas the year before. I recorded tracks in
Nashville that year. One was a duet with Norwegian artist Stephen
Ackles. Stephen and I had a duet in 1992 that made the top 10 in
Norway, “Remember”. Bub played drums on that one.
NEW RADIO RELEASE
Back In Time 1989
“Away” MMG Records: Mark Collier, president of this Florence,
Alabama label, contacted me recently offering to include a track by
me on a compilation CD, and promote it to radio around the world.
I chose a song I wrote and recorded in 1975 that I feel should have
been a single then. It’s my personal favorite of the more than 300
songs that have been released by me. It’s available on my CD “Drift
Away–The Best Of Narvel Felts, 1973–1979”, Bear Family BCD
15690 AH. Mark tells me he already has air play reports from the
U.S., France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Sweden,
This was a year that I played 51 dates. In the U.S. they were
in 11 states from Kansas to Maryland and from Indiana to Florida.
We traveled the highways of America in our black '87 Lincoln.
Loretta made these trips. Loretta’s record rack was open with my
tapes. There I’d autograph after the shows. Bub made his final trip
to England, which he loved, with me that May. We played rockabilly
shows in Sunderland and Birmingham. We played a country festival
in Grantham. We recorded the “Portrait Of My Life” album that year
at Kennett Sound Studio in Kennett, Missouri. We recorded the basic
6
tracks January 23rd and 24th. “Pink and Black Days” recorded the
24th has become a somewhat rockabilly anthem around the world.
“I Need Somebody Bad” recorded in Nashville went to #57 in the
Cash Box country top 100. Bub played drums on these projects.
That December Ed Salamon taped a phone interview with me for the
Unistar Radio Network based in New York City. I did the interview
from their affiliate in Dexter, Missouri KDEX. At the South Vigo
High School Auditorium in Terre Haute, Indiana with Johnny Carver
opening and his band backing me, we had more than a sell out! They
had to put extra chairs for the overflow crowd on the stage, on each
side of us! Among the other artists I shared the stages of the U.S. and
U.K. with, were: Charlie Walker, Levon Helm, Jean Shepard, Lonnie
Donegan, Joe Stampley, Trevor Cajiao and the Back Alley Boys, Jack
Greene, Charlie Feathers, Holly Dunn, Robert Gordon, Jim Glaser,
Vernon Taylor, Johnny Rodriguez, The Sun Rhythm Section, Freddy
Fender and Sonny Curtis.
in the same house she and I still live in. This was one of many years
that my car-a-holic tendencies were way out of control. This year
started with my road car being a blue '68 Chrysler station wagon. I
soon traded it for a beige '69 Ford station wagon, which I soon traded
for a green one, then back to the beige one. When the '70 models
came out that Autumn I ordered a blue Ford van. This year started
with our (Loretta’s) personal car being a silver '68 Riviera which she
loved. I soon traded it for a white '69 Thunderbird, then a green one,
then an aqua one. I then traded it down for a green '69 Mustang and
it back up to a white '69 Toronado. How many was that? . . . 11. What
a wasteful fool I was!
Back In Time – 1959
This year began with “Everlasting Love” exploding on the
country charts. It made it’s debut in the Billboard Hot 100 at #38 the
1st week of the year. That was my highest debut ever and one of the
highest Billboard had seen at that time. It had entered the Cash Box
top 100 the week before at #70. This week it made the biggest chart
jump in their history, 45 places to #25. As it seemed to be racing
to #1 and possibly becoming the biggest hit of my career, my label
ABC was bought by MCA. This resulted in it peaking at #7 in RPM
Canada, #8 in Cash Box and #14 in Billboard. MCA wound up with
more artists on the combined rosters than they could handle. Major
league hit careers such as mine and those of Freddy Fender, Cal
Smith and Tommy Overstreet were some of the casualties. My top
40 hit streak that had started with “Drift Away” in 1973, 23 singles,
8 albums long would end in 1979. I played about 175 dates that year
from New York to Nevada and from Texas to Michigan in the U.S.
I’d make the drives to the Memphis or St. Louis airports in my black
'78 Lincoln. I’d fly to the nearest airport of my 1st show each week.
My Nashville based band, The Driftaways, would meet my flight. I’d
ride from one nighter to one nighter with them in my white '77 GMC
motor home. I’d then fly back to Memphis or St. Louis and drive
home after the last show each week. Loretta and our children, Stacia
and Bub flew to Europe with me and the band where we spent the
month of June playing 20 one nighters across Germany and Belgium.
Other artists I appeared with were: Jerry Lee Lewis, Loretta Lynn,
Mickey Gilley, J. D. Sumner and the Stamps, Glen Barber, Sammi
Smith, Leon Everett and John Wesley Ryles. I flew into Myrtle
Beach, South Carolina for a one nighter that year. The guitar player
of a band that had backed me on a dozen nights between 1973 and
1975 met my flight. He was Jeff Cook, the group, Alabama. At that
time they played nightly at the Bowery in Myrtle Beach. He drove
me to the radio station where he worked for an interview. Afterwards
he said let me play you our new record. The station won’t let me play
it on the air. It was as though I passed the hit torch onto them. In the
1980’s Alabama would become “Artist of the Decade”!
This year began with my band the Rockets and I playing Pop
Werner’s in Malden, Missouri. We packed our instruments after
playing that 1st Saturday night of the New Year, in my gray '58
Studebaker and Jerry Tuttle’s green and white '57 Ford station wagon.
It had come an ice storm that night and we left Malden after the dance
to drive some 900 miles to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on very slick
roads. Some 32 hours of constant driving later we arrived in very
snowy Hamilton mid morning on Monday. We opened that night at
the Flamingo Club. The marquee read, “Narvel Felts, Conway Twitty
says he’s great!” It was Conway who had pioneered our kind of music
in the Canadian show club circuit. It was he who had recommended
both Ronnie Hawkins and me for this circuit. These were 6 nights a
week, 5 shows a night, no dancing. We were held over for 4 weeks
that January in Hamilton. We then went to London, Ontario where
the Brass Rail also held us over for 4 weeks. It was during the 1st
week of February that we went up to CKSL radio in London and
recorded “Three Thousand Miles”. This became my 6th single
release since 1957, it would become my 1st to make the national pop
chart. We played about 240 dates that year including being held over
for 8 weeks at the Le Coq Dor in Toronto that summer.
With the Edison Hotel on one side and the Brown Derby on the
other all in the same block, competition was keen. They had such
acts as Duane Eddy, Bo Diddley, Link Wray and The Four Seasons
during this same time. One had to do great shows to keep the house
full. My niche came when I sprinkled such ballads as “Six Nights A
Week” and “The Diary”, in between “Roll Over Beethoven”, “The
Battle Of New Orleans” and “Three Thousand Miles”. Bo Diddley
would come over and request “Am I That Easy to Forget”. He’d smile
as I sang it and Jerry Tuttle played the steel guitar repeats. Ronnie
Hawkins said, “Narvel, you’ve got it on the rest of us rockabillies,
you can do “Ooby Dooby”, then turn around and do “Only You”.
The rest of us can only do “Ooby Dooby”! What we did worked, we
kept the club full.
We recorded the follow up record “Honey Love”/”Genavee” in
Memphis. When released late that year radio stations across Canada
started playing “Honey Love”. It would go to #3 in Winnepeg on the
CKY pop chart early the next year. Legendary U.S. D.J’s like John
R., Hoss Allen and Wolfman Jack started playing it. It made the
Billboard pop chart.
Back In Time – 1969
Back To Now
This year I drove the highways of America from Michigan,
to Kansas, to Alabama, with my trio. We played about 140 dates
including some in the Panama Canal Zone that year. At age 30 I was
already a music veteran of 13 years. I’d recorded for near 10 labels
and had more than 20 singles released. I was still in search of that
elusive big hit. The rockabilly era I’d started in was long gone. The
country hit streak that would start 4 years later still seemed almost an
impossible dream. Records released in 1969 were “Welcome Home
Mr. Blues”, “Back Street Affair” and What’s Wrong With Me”, “It
All Depends (Who will Buy the Wine)”. My aim started exclusively
at country radio (which had given me some play through the years)
though my records had been aimed at the pop market prior to this. I
felt if there was a hit future, that’s where it would be. It would take
4 years to find that hit groove that worked for me. This was an odd
period of time that in order to work we had to do quite a variety
from rock 'n' roll to country, from pop to rhythm 'n' blues. I guess
it was a mixture of all these that came together to form my country
hit style. During this era I did occasional shows with Charlie Rich
who we would also back, plus Ace Cannon. That year Loretta and
I would celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. With our two little
children, Stacia and Bub, we made our home in Malden, Missouri,
Thanks once again for reading this too long, too late letter. I
plan to write again in the Spring. I wish you all happy holidays and
the best in the New Year. I hope to see you at one of my shows. My
thanks to those of you who sent pictures, reviews and charts which
contributed to this letter. The April 27 issue of Country Weekly did a
feature on me. This Nashville based magazine with it’s half a million
circulation is the world’s top selling country publication. It’s focus
is on currently hot artists. In the 70’s all the top country magazines
did articles on me from time to time. I am honored that Country
Weekly featured a classic such as I, at this place in time. This article
is included in this letter.
Back In Time – 1979
Till We Meet Again,
7
Photo: Huey P. Long
Photo: Ruth Bryant
Old Friends
Barbara Lucas, Narvel and Matt Lucas, Carl Perkins Civic
Center, Jackson, Tennessee. Aug. 6, 2004 (Narvel played Guitar
on Matt’s 1963 Rock N Roll Hit “I’m Movin' On”)
Photo: Stacia Felts
Photo: Lena Felts, Narvel’s Mama
New Fans
Wade and Holly Olson, Narvel, Benetta and Manley Olson
Perkins Restaurant, Clear Lake, Iowa, February 5, 2004
Weekend Pass
Home from Fort Leonard Wood. Narvel by his red '61 Buick
convertible. Powe, Missouri, 1961 (the same car he would take
Loretta on their 1st date in.)
Photo: Shirley Armstrong
Photo: Sonia Young
Daddy’s Home
Loretta with her '73 Monte Carlo. Picture taken the moment
Narvel returns home in his '72 Chevy station wagon.
Malden, Missouri 1973
On Stage Together
Narvel with his Daddy Albert Felts playing harmonica.
High School Gym, East Prairie, Missouri 1979
Precious Memories
Stacia, Bub, Narvel and Loretta Felts.
Black Angus Resturant, Poteau, Oklahoma, 1976
9
SHOW DATES
Dates Booked As Of Now – Dates will be kept current at http://www.mkoc.com/NarvelFelts/
Please call and double check before you travel.
Saturday, October 2, 2004
Depot Days
Newport, Arkansas
With: Sonny Burgess and The Pacers, Billy Lee Riley,
The Bel Airs, David Grimes and The All Star Band
Narvel’s Show: 5 p.m.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Greenwood Performing Arts Center
Greenwood, Arkansas
With: Alyse Eady, Miss Teen Arkansas & Rodney Lay Trio
Show: 8 p.m.
Phone (479) 462-6833
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Parsons Municipal Auditorium
112 South 17th Street
Parsons, Kansas
With: Don Williams, Rodney Lay Trio
Show: 7:30 p.m.
Phone: (918) 786-9458
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Music Ranch USA
West Point, Kentucky
With: Country Classics Band
Show: 7:30 p.m.
(Narvel’s 49th Anniversary in the Music Business Show)
Phone: (502) 922-9393
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Narvel’s 66th Birthday Concert
(Actual Birthday Nov. 11)
Music Barn – Trails End Ranch
Lovelaceville, Kentucky
Sponsored by 96 Classic Country Radio
With: Bill Barnett Band, Molly Slone
Show: Molly, 7 p.m., Bill 8 p.m. and Narvel 9 p.m.
Phone: 1 (800) 493-9696
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Rockin' 50’s Fest (April 11 through 16)
Oneida Casino
Green Bay Wisconsin
With: Jerry Lee Lewis, Hank Thompson, The Comets,
Ruth Brown, Ike Turner, Charlie Louvin, Wanda
Jackson, The Crickets and many others
Narvel’s Show April 12
www.oneidabingoandcasino.net
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Country View Theatre
Decorah, Iowa
With: Sounds of Nashville
Shows: 7 & 9:30 p.m.
Phone: (563) 382-2315
Saturday, May 21, 2005
VFW Post 6506 (World’s Largest VFW)
8777 Philadedlphia Road
Baltimore, Maryland
With: Wildfire
Show: Band 8 – 12, Narvel 9:20 till 10:40
Phone: (410) 391-6506
Saturday, December 4, 2004
Narvel’s Annual Homecoming Show
American Legion
Malden, Missouri
With: Bill Barnett Band, Larry Swift
Show: Band 8 till 12, Narvel 9:20 till 10:40 p.m.
Phone: (573) 276-5974 (Thur., Fri., & Sat. after 4 p.m.)
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Private Anniversary Concert
Sunrise, Minnesota
With: The Vibro Champs
Invitation Only
Saturday, August 6, 2005
Rockabilly Fest '05
Carl Perkins Civic Center
Jackson, Tennessee
With: TBA
Narvel’s Show: Prime Time
Phone: (731) 423-5440
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Christmas Concert
Plummer Family Theatre
Highway 67 South
Farmington, Missouri
Sponsored by Froggy 96 Radio
With: Plummer Family Show, Bill Barnett Band, Larry Swift
Show: 2 p.m.
Phone: (573) 701-9590
Saturday, October 1, 2005
Hemsby Rock N Roll Weekenders
Hemsby, England
With: The Rimshots, many others TBA
Time: TBA
Phone: 01522 752 453
International +44 1522 752 453
Saturday, January 8, 2005
Florida Sunshine Opry
431 Plaza Drive
Eustis, Florida
With: Florida Sunshine Opry Band
Show: 7 p.m.
Phone: (352) 821-0000
For information regarding shows
Phone: Harold Boner (573) 683-3820
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Midwest Country Theatre
Sandstone, Minnesota
With: Leroy Glazier & Midwest Country Band
Shows: 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Phone (320) 245-2429
8
England
To Book Narvel Contact:
“Manager”
Harold Boner
405 S. Virginia St.
Charleston, MO 63834
Phone: (573) 683-3820
E-mail: hgboner@midwest.net
Nashville Agents
Joe Taylor Artist Agency
Joe or Brent Taylor
2802 Columbine Place
Nashville, TN 37204
Phone: (615) 385-5666
Fax: (615) 385-5669
London Agent
International Ozark Sounds
Willie Jeffery
4 Greenacres
Oxted, Surrey RH8 OPB
England
Phone: +44 (0) 1883 714 289
Fax: +44 (0) 1883 716 277
Europe – Except UK
Paul Barrett Rock 'N' Roll
Enterprises
16 Grove Place
Penarth CF64 2ND
South Wales, U. K.
Tel: 029 20704279
Fax: 029 20709989
Denmark
C B & Ole B. Booking
Calle Nielsen
Jords Monnet 4
8900 Randers
Denmark
Tel: 86 43 56 00
Fax: 86 43 55 80
Ace Productions
Jim Case
P. O. Box 428
Portland, TN 37148
Phone: (615) 325-3340
Fax: (615) 325-5411
Sweden
Teddy Hill Productions
Box 55
524 21 Herrljunge
Sweden
Tel: & Fax: 0513-218 36
Visit us on the internet at:
Official Narvel Felts Web Site
http://www.mkoc.com/NarvelFelts/
Rockabilly Hall of Fame
http://www.rockabillyhall.com/narvelfelts.html
10
Germany
Rock It Concerts
Klaus Kettner
Brunc-Hoffer-Platz 1
80937 München
Germany
Tel: (089) 311 39 18
Fax: (089) 311 29 31
Pop Chart
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
1960
Courtesy
Stafford Swain
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Show Reviews
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Show Reviews
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NARVEL CD’S AND CASSETTES AVAILABLE
NARVEL FELTS – SUPER SONGS NARVELIZED (CD)
19 Songs, 6 Page Booklet, New Millennium Recordings – Lotta Lovin’, You Don’t Know Me,
Till Sundown, Baby Let’s Play House, Stranger On The Shore, Earth Angel, Tally Ho, Don’t Do It
Darlin', Cara Mia, Great Balls Of Fire. Re-Mastered Memories – Somebody Hold Me, Even Now,
Loretta, Pink And Black Days, Convicted, On My Word Of Honor, (past two previously un-issued)
I’m Headin’ Home, Since I Don’t Have You, Four Seasons of Life.
DRIFT AWAY - THE BEST OF NARVEL FELTS, 1973-79 (CD)
28 Songs, 24 Page Booklet, Original Hit Recordings
Reconsider Me, Lonely Teardrops, Drift Away, Somebody Hold Me, Funny How Time Slips Away,
Everlasting Love, When Your Good Love Was Mine, My Prayer, All In The Name Of Love, To Love Somebody, One Run For The Roses,
Fraulein – 16 More
NARVEL FELTS – THROUGH THE YEARS – VOLUME ONE, 1956-1959 (CD & CASSETTE)
This Legacy Series Release Presents Narvel’s 50’s Rockabilly Career In It’s Best Light. 16 Songs, 4 Page Booklet, Original Sun,
Mercury and Pink Recordings.
My Babe, Did You Tell Me, Kiss-A-Me-Baby, Foolish Thoughts, A Teen’s Way, Cry Baby Cry, Three Thousand Miles, Genavee, Honey
Love, Darling Sue – 6 More
ODE TO BUB (CD)
23 Songs, 24 Page Booklet, in Memory of Bub
Narvel Sings: Blue Darlin, From Memphis To Malden, Sonny Man, Spirit In the Sky, The Little Drummer Boy, When We Were Together,
Danny Boy, When The Saints Go Marching In, Go Rest High On That Mountain, Ode To Bub – 9 More
Bub Plays: Wipe Out, Sings: Mony Mony, Light At The End Of The Tunnel, Honky Tonk Woman – 4 More
NARVEL FELTS – THE HI RECORDS ERA, 1959-1973 (CD)
29 Songs, 12 Page Booklet, Original Recordings
Cutie Baby, Cindy Lou, I Swear By Stars Above, Little Miss Blue, I’d Trade All Of My Tomorrows, Don’t Let Me Cross Over, Since I
Met You Baby, A Little Bit Of Soap, Butterfly – 20 More
SINCERELY YOUR FRIEND (DOUBLE CD)
44 Songs, Recorded 1962-1991
I’m Just that Kind Of Fool, Look Homeward Angel, The Twelfth Of Never, Fool – 40 More
NARVEL FELTS & JERRY MERCER - RADIO ROCKABILLIES (CD)
35 Tracks, 12 Page Booklet, 1956 Radio Shows
Narvel Sings: Mystery Train, Blue Suede Shoes, Go Go Go – 4 More “His First”
Jerry Sings: Boogie Woogie Country Girl, Seven Nights to Rock – 26 More
NARVEL FELTS, AT ROLLIN’ ROCK (CD)
19 Songs, 4 Page Booklet
1998 Raw Rockabilly & Rockaballad Recordings for Rollin’ Rock In Las Vegas-1999 Release by Goofin’ Records of Finland.
Honey Bun, Fool in Paradise, Shake It Up, Lonely Hours, Do What I Do, Riverside Drive, Hard Time Gettin’ Home – 12 More
PORTRAIT OF MY LIFE (CD)
10 Songs, 4 Page Booklet, Narrations by Narvel, His Life Story From a 1989 Perspective. Bub Played Drums.
My Innocent Age – 9 More
THE VERY BEST OF NARVEL FELTS (CD AND CASSETTE)
20 Songs, 1981 Re-recordings. Hits Not Available On Other CDs or Cassettes Include: Raindrops, Crying, Just Keep It Up,
Mountain Of Love, The End Of My World Is Near – 15 More
SEASONS GREETINGS (CD AND CASSETTE)
10 Songs, Recorded in 1988, Bub Played Drums.
The Little Drummer Boy, O Holy Night, Winter Wonderland, You Can’t Have A White Christmas (When You’ve Got The Blues)
6 More
CD’s $20, CASSETTE’S $10, plus $4 Shipping Per Item
To: Norma Williams
247 Abelia Drive
Parma, MO 63870 USA
Phone (573) 396-5816
Malden Printing Company
Malden, Missouri
573-276-4508
maldenprinting@brick.net