Class of 89 - Vince Gill

In honor of the 20th anniversary of debut of Country Music Class of 89, I am writing a series of posts on each of the artists. I am including those artists who debuted in 1989 – Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Travis Tritt, and Mary Chapin Carpenter. I am also including artists – Vince Gill and Lorrie Morgan – who had their first true commercial impact in 1989.

Here is the second of today’s posts. It will be on Vince Gill.

1989 Vince Gill seemed to be a new artist like Garth, Alan, Clint, Travis, and Mary Chapin. In fact 1989 was not the year of Vince Gill’s first single on the country charts. Vince debuted in 1984, and occasionally charted songs and sold very few albums until he was dropped by RCA Nashville. Vince signed with MCA Nashville, and MCA Nashville head Tony Brown became Vince’s new producer. Together Tony Brown and Vince Gill created Vince’s break through album “When I Call Your Name”. It was the title track of that album that became Vince’s signature hit. From there Gill achieve the following:

• In 1990 he won CMA Single and Song of Year for “When I Call Your Name”. Ironically his co-writer on the song was Tim DuBuios who was then President of the fledgling Arista Nashville which was in the process of launching the careers of Vince’s soon to be fellow superstars Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn.
• In 1991 Vince won the first of his five straight (1991-1995) CMA Male Vocalist of the Year awards.
• His 1989 “When I Call Your Name” sold 2 million copies as did its 1991 follow up “Pocket Full of Gold”.
• In 1993 Vince won a record tying five CMA awards in one night. He also won the first of first CMA Entertainer of the Year award. He won Entertainer of the Year again in 1994.
• Spurred on by his CMA wins and numerous top ten single, Vince’s “I Still Believe in You” sold 5 million copies and won CMA and ACM awards for Album of Year.

With his 1994 album “When Love Finds You” in the midst of selling 4 million copies Vince Gill finally made an appearance in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was 1995 and Vince had been a successful commercial artist since 1989; yet it took six years for him to come to market which had embraced Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, and Brooks & Dunn with major crowds over 18,000 plus for each of their concerts.

Vince arrived in concert with Patty Loveless opening for him. Vince was amazing. He played all this hits. He sang brilliantly. He did several excellent guitar solos. His band was first rate, and he played for longer than other artist (country or non country) I had ever seen in concert. It was a great show and the 12,000 fans there loved every minute of it.

I left convinced Vince Gill was going to be a superstar for years to come. I was wrong.
In 1996 Vince’s “High Lonesome Sound” barely sold over a million copies. His 1998 album “The Key” debut at #1 then sank, barely getting over one million in sales. In 2000 he charted his last top ten hit. Artistically Vince was still alive as his 2006 box set of all new material “These Days” proved, but commercially 2000 was the final nail in his coffin.

Why did Vince Gill fall? Gill was legendary for his kindness to fans and fellow artists. He was loved by the country music industry. In reality his kindness and industry popularity might have destroyed him. He could never say no when another artist asked for him to sing with them. Vince’s voice showed up on all kinds of songs thereby creating an overexposure of him on country radio.

His continue hosting of the CMA Awards (he hosted 10 straight years) also made him seem more like a host and comedian than a singer.

Then there were all the CMA awards he won. Vince won 18 CMA Awards, but only 4 ACM Awards. That is the biggest gap of CMA Awards to ACM Awards won of any country artist in country music history. Vince won those 18 awards in just a few years time, so it seemed like he was always winning.

Fans may have become tired of Vince being all over the radio and tired of him always winning. They made have decided Vince had his run, and it was someone else’s turn to have success.

Then there was Vince’s divorce from his wife Janis and his subsequent marriage to Christian music singer Amy Grant. Country music fans are mostly women; women who hold the male artist favorite to high standards perhaps too high of standards. They don’t like to see male artists divorce, and they especially don’t like rumors of affairs. Rightly or wrongly Vince was accused of wanting to marry Amy Grant before he had divorced his wife Janis. Fans may have turned on Vince thinking he was not the man he thought he was.

I lean to towards a combination of all the above. He was over exposed. He did seem to win awards a little too much for my liking. Women I had talked with about Vince did not like the way his marriage came undone. Plus I think Vince’s music was not good after “High Lonesome Sound”. Critics may not agree, but for me “The Key”, “Feels Like Love” and “Let’s Be Sure We Kiss Goodbye” just were not has good as “When I Call Your Name”, “Pocket Full of Gold” and such.

Whatever the reason for his downfall, from 1990 to 1995 Vince Gill only trailed Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, George Strait, and Brooks & Dunn in commercial popularity, and he joined Alan Jackson, Dwight Yoakam, and Patty Loveless in producing the most artistically respected albums.

Vince Gill is also a very nice man. I have read and heard countless stories of his kindness toward others. He is also a major supporter of country music’s past and its traditions.

I think Vince Gill is great artist. I especially love his albums “Pocket Full of Gold” and “When I Call Your Name”. He may not get as much play on the radio as he used too, but he got to become the first member of the Class of 89 to be elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

I don’t know where this video is from, but it is definitely Vince Gill around the year 1990 or 1991. Patty Loveless sang background vocals on the recorded version of the song, and she makes an appearance her to accompany Vince on the live version.

Class of 89 - Clint Black

In honor of the 20th anniversary of debut of Country Music Class of 89, I am writing a series of posts on each of the artists. I am including those artists who debuted in 1989 – Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Travis Tritt, and Mary Chapin Carpenter. I am also including artists – Vince Gill and Lorrie Morgan – who had their first true commercial impact in 1989.

I am doing two posts today. This one will be on Clint Black.

In 1992 I went to a music store called Musicland to buy Mary Chapin Carpenter’s brand new album “Come On Come”. The checkout clerk told me I should take a copy of music magazine Musicland was publishing for its customers. The magazine was free, and it had a country superstar Clint Black on the cover so I took a copy.

I found the lengthy article on Clint Black fascinating. The article spent time discussing Clint’s music, but it spent most its time discussing Clint suing his record label and his messy split with his manager Bill Ham.

The article was interesting, but in retrospect the article was detailing the turning point for the worse in Clint’s career.

Bill Ham was a manager of music artists. He had discovered and shaped the career of rock superstars ZZ Top. Bill Ham discovered Clint Black, and molded him into a star.

Clint’s debut album “Killin’ Time” was a masterpiece, and is one of the greatest country music albums of all-time. Clint wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the album. The first four singles from the album went to #1. The album sold 3 million copies. Clint Black had become the Class of 89’s first star.

In 1990 Clint was name CMA and ACM Male Vocalist of the Year. Clint debut single “Better Man” was the ACM for Single of the Year. “Killin Time” would win the ACM for Album of the Year.

Clint’s second album “Put Yourself in My Shoes” was released at the end of 1990 and would spawn more hits and sell 3 million copies. As 1991 unfolded Clint Black seemed destined to fight it out with Garth Brooks for title of biggest star in country music.

Then came Clint’s lawsuit with his record label (RCA Nashville), and his split and subsequent lawsuit with manager Bill Ham. The legal wrangling delayed Clint’s third album “The Hard Way”, and cost Clint the guidance of the man, Bill Ham, who had help make him a superstar.

As 1991 came and went Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, and Travis Tritt began to build momentum, while Clint’s seemed to be slowing. Garth Brooks meanwhile was having unheard of success. Clint suddenly looked like the odd man out.

“The Hard Way” would go on to sell over 1 million copies, but by then Garth, Alan, Vince, Travis, Reba McEntire, and a new act Brooks & Dunn were selling 2, 3 million or even more copies of their albums. Clint was expected to match them. He never did. The only other multi-million selling album Clint had was his 1996 Great Hits album which sold 2 million.

Clint’s time as superstar had past. Radio kept playing his songs, but his album did not sell very well and he stopped winning major awards. His last top 10 hit was in early 2000. By then he was about to leave his record label.

Clint Black started his own record label, but it failed. Clint Black had failed too, failed to become a superstar like Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, or even Vince Gill. Was Clint’s separation from Bill Ham the reason? Not entirely. Clint’s seeming obsession with recording only songs he had written or co-written probably help too. Even the greatest singer – songwriters in country music history have recorded songs written by others. Clint could not or did not want to understand that.

I never saw Clint Black in concert. He came to the Minnesota State Fair in 1993 with Wynonna Judd on his Black and Wy Tour. He came again in roughly 1998, but by then I was uninterested in seeing him.

Don’t get me wrong I still love his “Killin Time” album and listen to it a good deal. I don’t mind “Put Yourself in My Shoes”, but the rest of his music is average at best. Radio still plays stuff from his first album and a few songs here and there from his other albums.

Clint Black will never be remembered as a legend. He is not Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, or even Vince Gill. He will be remember as an artist who for a brief time had a great run, but for most of his career was good not great.

Here is a video of a television appearance by Clint early in this career. He is performing his debut hit “Better Man”.

Class of 89 - Travis Tritt

In honor of the 20th anniversary of debut of Country Music Class of 89, I am writing a series of posts on each of the artists. I am including those artists who debuted in 1989 – Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Travis Tritt, and Mary Chapin Carpenter. I am also including artists – Vince Gill and Lorrie Morgan – who had their first true commercial impact in 1989.

Decided to do two posting today, so here a post about Travis Tritt.

In 1994 I was a member of the K102 (the local country music radio station) Country Club. Country Club members got special perks like free concert tickets. One of the free shows I got to go to was Travis Tritt’s.

Travis was originally signed to a “singles deal” which meant he was allowed to record a single, but not a whole album. The single was then release to country radio to see if there was any interest. Travis debut single “Country Club” made it to #9, and Travis had to quickly record his debut album “Country Club” which was released in early 1990.

Like fellow Class of 89 members Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Travis found almost instant commercial success. Travis’ first three albums - “Country Club” (1990), “It’s All About to Change” (1991), and “T-R-O-U-B-L-E (1992) - sold 2, 3, and 2 million copies respectively. He had just come off a successful co-headlining tour with hot new artist Trisha Yearwood. An in November of 1994 I was about to see his first big headlining show with Joe Diffie and LeRoy Parnell opening for him.

The show itself was electrifying. Travis had a huge lighted Harley Davidson Eagle hanging over his stage. He entered the stage riding a Harley (I read the fire marshal would not actually let him ride the Harley onto the stage, so he had the Harley rigged on a track so it could be pulled in making it look like he was riding it). Travis rocked most the night, showing seemingly unlimited energy. He also did a great acoustic set of country classics and his #1 hit “Anymore” that showcase his great voice. The crowd loved every minute of it. I left the arena that night with two thoughts:

• Travis Tritt was a gifted live performer with a great voice.
  
• He as not as popular as I thought he was. There were only 9,000 people there of which I figured 3 – 4,000 thousand got in free via the K102 Country Club. That was not the kind of crowd I expected to see at a superstar artists concert. In August of 1994 I had seen Alan Jackson perform in front of over 20,000 fully paying fans. Travis thought, as did others, he was on par with Alan Jackson. He was not.
  

That was Travis Tritt in a nutshell. He was a gifted artist who had major success, but he never could quite get over the hump to be the superstar that his fellow early 90’s country peers Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, and Brooks & Dunn became.

Travis had risen from being an artist not deemed worthy enough to get a record deal to record a full album to an artist who had an album sell 3 million copies. Travis also was an artist who had his first four studio albums combined for 9 million in sales and his next seven albums combined for 3 million albums.
Travis Tritt won the 1991 CMA Horizon Award, but never won another major award again winning only a few minor awards like Vocal Event and such.

The edgier Travis Tritt seemed a perfect fit for his record album - Warner Brothers - that was noted for having edgier artists like Emmylou Harris, Hank Williams Jr., and Dwight Yoakam, but Travis was one of the first major stars of the early 90s’ to leave his record label.

Travis Tritt viewed himself as a rebel who spoke his mind, but it was his harsh comments about Billy Ray Cyrus and Cyrus’ mega hit “Achy Breaky Heart” that made Travis look like a bad guy. In 1990’s country music fans expected their stars, especially superstars to be upstanding, kind, and humble. Travis Tritt may have been upstanding and kind most the time, but humble was not his gig. That may have cost him.

Like Clint Black, Travis Tirtt started strong then faded into background. Travis charted top 10 singles from 1989 to early 1997. He had a brief “comeback” charting four top tens from 2000 to 2002. After 2002 Tritt never reached the top 10 again and now has been gone through three record labels. He is currently suing his last record label.

I still hear Travis Tritt’s music on the radio. Mostly it is his up-tempo stuff, but an occasional ballad can be heard. I still listen to some his early albums. They have weathered time pretty well, and though they are not great albums, they are still good.

I always thought Travis Tritt would do more than he did. He seemed so talented, but perhaps he was not made to be a superstar. He was a star who had his moment, but his rebel ways never allowed him to be an artist that appealed to the greater masses for an extended time period. In fact that may never have been his true goal. Likely we will never know.

Here’s a video of Travis Tritt performing his major hit “Here’s a Quarter (Called Someone Who Cares)” at the 1991 CMA Awards. Enjoy it now before it disappears from YouTube.

Class of 89 - Mary Chapin Carpenter

In honor of the 20th anniversary of debut of Country Music Class of 89, I am writing a series of posts on each of the artists. I am including those artists who debuted in 1989 – Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Travis Tritt, and Mary Chapin Carpenter. I am also including artists – Vince Gill and Lorrie Morgan – who had their first true commercial impact in 1989.

Today's post will about Mary Chapin Carpenter

I have seen Mary Chapin Carpenter live in concert twice. The first time was 1992 at the old Guthrie Theater where a seat in the 3rd row. Two things immediately struck me. One was she was wearing cowboy boots (she had her jeans pulled over the boots), and two she sounded different live than she did on the radio. Her voice on the radio had more power than it seemed she had live. I had never and still have never encountered an artist who sounded so much weaker in concert.

That said the evening was enjoyable. Mary Chapin (she dislikes being called Mary) seemed to be having fun, and so was the crowd. “I Feel Lucky” had just peaked on the charts and Mary Chapin closed the main part of concert with it. The crowd ate it up and after an enjoyable evening I was heading to the parking lot when I overheard a group of young people excitedly talking about how Mary Chapin’s country was just as cool as rock music. I thought to myself her is woman on the move.

Without going into a long dissertation about Mary Chapin Carpenter’s career, here are some highlights of her career:

• Her 1989 album “State of Heart” produced 2 Top 10 hits (“Never Had It So Good”, and “Quittin’ Time”)
  
• Her 1990 CMA Awards performance of “Opening Act” won her national attention.
  
• “Down at the Twist and Shout” from her second album “Shooting Straight in the Dark” became a major radio hit , and her energetic performance of the song on the 1991 CMA raised her profile even more.
  
• Her 1992 album “Come On Come On” produced four top ten hits and sold over 4 million copies.
  
• Mary Chapin won CMA Female Vocalist of Year in both 1992 and 1993, and her profile kept rising as the “New Country Music Movement” swept forward to ever greater success.
  

In 1994 she scored her first #1 single with “Shut Up and Kiss Me” and her new album “Stones in the Road’ debuted at #1. Her performance of “Shut Up and Kiss Me” at the 1994 CMA awards became legendary especially after the song ended with her kissing rock music icon Little Richard on the lips. Her star never seemed to shine brighter.

I saw Mary Chapin in concert again in June of 1995. By then the bottom was falling out on her. After scoring her first #1 in 1994, she would go on to score one more top 10 hit. Her album sales dried up, and the awards stop coming. With no radio play, Mary Chapin Carpenter faded from the mainstream.

I remember seeing Mary Chapin that June night in 1995, she seemed small. Not in the physical sense, but in the sense that she could not command the arena. The Mavericks a highly respected country music group that had a brief, but great run as a band opened for Carpenter. They commanded the stage and held people’s attention. The Mavericks had no top ten hits, but the audience was drawn to this charismatic, talent group of young men who were there to entertain them. Mary Chapin could not match them and it showed.

I read later that the pressure of being Sony Nashville biggest selling act weighed Mary Chapin. She also later admitted she had battled depression.

I wonder two things about Mary Chapin Carpenter. First did she ever really what to be a superstar? I think the answer is no. In reality she was a folk singer who found an outlet for her music in the country music genre. Mary Chapin wanted to bring her guitar into a small theatre and play her slow, mellow, folk songs while occasionally mixing in a rocker or two. Big arenas, big stage shows, huge crowds, they were not for her.

The other thing I wonder about Mary Chapin Carpenter was did the fans she brought into country music stay fans of country music. The Washington DC born, Ivey League educated, Carpenter was not like other country artists. Her music was different too. She did attract people to country music. Did they stay, or did they come in, buy “Come On Come On”, hang around a while and leave? Likely many left.

By 1997 Mary Chapin Carpenter’s place in country music was gone. She made more albums, but they sold little. The only Mary Chapin songs I hear played on the radio are an occasional “Down at the Twist and Shout” or “I Feel Lucky”.

My own feelings about Mary Chapin are simple. I thought leaving that 1992 concert that she would be a superstar and I listened to her music often. However, by the time I left the 1995 concert her appeal for me was fading. It is ironic that though I own her first four albums, I have not listen to any of them for any length of time in over a decade. Why? I simply am no longer attracted to her music. Its appeal to me is lost.

Whether Mary Chapin appeals to me or not, I think you find this video of her singing “Opening Act” at the 1990 CMA’s enjoyable. Watch it now before it disappears from YouTube.

John Randle and Lawrence Taylor

I was not planning to do anything much this weekend as I was just getting over a bad cold. However, I saw in the newspaper that former Viking great and future Pro Football Hall of Famer John Randle would be appearing at the grand opening of the new Northern Tool and Equipment in Minnetonka.

I have kept my autographed football card collecting mostly to Vikings from their Super Bowl teams, but I do have a few of my favorite Pro Football HOFers. Since John Randle was favorite of mine when he played, and he will eventually getting in the HOF, plus he was signing for free, I decide to take the long trek down to Minnetonka.

I arrived to find a smaller than expected crowd. That was fine as it meant I did not have to stand in line long. John Randle is a friendly man who had no problems using my pen to sign my card. He signed the card very nice. He added “Vikes” underneath his name. Some players add inscriptions like that under their names. The inscriptions span the gamut of things from Bible passages to HOF inductions years, to inspirational sayings. I don’t mind players adding the inscriptions as long as they are good and clearly legible.

Thank you John Randle for taking the time to sign my card so nicely, and treating all the fans including myself well!

Former Viking linebacker Ed MacDaniel was there too. He was an unannounced guest, so I did not have one of his cards along to sign. He was gracious about it, noting “they pulled me in at the last second”. He was enjoyable to talk with.

I had paid Chuck Foreman $10 at Twinsfest 2009 to sign a card of his. He was very friendly and engaging. He took the time to sign my card very nicely and he included his jersey number (44) and a 73 ROY inscription to note he was the 1973 NFL Rookie of the Year.

I mention the above because Chuck Foreman was signing with John Randle on Saturday. I brought along a couple of Chuck Foreman cards for him to sign since he was going to be there. I would have been better off leaving the cards at home. Chuck was unfriendly, refused to talk to most people; in fact he refused to look at most people. He also signed people’s stuff very badly. He did not write out his name like he did for me at Twinsfest, and I could barely make out the number #44. It looked more like a couple of lines than two fours.

I am not sure what motivated such behavior from Chuck. I assumed Northern Tool and Equipment was paying him to appear, so I assume he was getting some cash just like when I paid him at Twinsfest. Perhaps he was not feeling well, or simply would rather have been at home asleep. Not everyone can be nice all the time.

I hate to make any judgments, but the fact was as I watched other people’s reactions to their interactions with Chuck, he was not coming off looking very good. John Randle meanwhile was leaving a good impression with people.
One thing I have learned in collecting autographed cards in the mail and in person is that a lot success is based on timing. Catch a player at the right time; you can get a good autograph. Catch a player at the wrong time; you can get a bad autograph or no autograph at all.

Well on Saturday my timing with John Randle was great. Thanks again Mr. Randle!

Lawrence Taylor

Lawrence Taylor is perhaps the greatest defensive football player ever. This HOFer, 8 time 1st Team All-Pro, and one of only two defensive players to win MVP (former Viking Alan Page is the other), redefined the linebacker positions. He also led the New York Giants to their first two ever Super Bowl victories.

I had sent a football card to Mr. Taylor via the Pro Football HOF last year. I had seen other folks had sent to Mr. Taylor that way and received their card back signed nicely by this living legend. Well, I sent and nothing came back for a long time. Then I found out Mr. Taylor was competing on Dancing with the Stars. I did not know Mr. Taylor was a dancer, and I guess he wasn’t as he was recently eliminated from the competition. With new found time on his hands Mr. Taylor must figured he had better get to his mail.

It is always exciting to begin to see returns coming in from a player you sent to. I began to see many returns from Mr. Taylor, but had not yet received my card back. There is always that thought that goes through your mind “what if he decides not sign mine; or what if mine get lost or damaged in the mail.” Well after seemingly everyone else got him back, my signed card from Mr. Taylor arrived.

It is always a great feeling to receive a signed card from an iconic figure like Mr. Taylor. Thank you Lawrence Taylor!

Lawrence Taylor now joins Fran Tarkenton, Alan Page, Paul Krause, Ron Yary, Randall McDaniel, Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, Bob Griese, Earl Campbell, Ozzie Newsome, and Bruce Matthews as HOF football players who have signed for me. For the record Page, Krause, and Yary require $ donations for autographs. Mr. Page and Mr. Krause use their donations to fund foundations that help others.
I am not thrill to spend too much money on Football HOFers, so we will see how many more I try to get. However, it is great to have the ones I have gotten so far.

Random Thoughts - Twins, Ex -Vikings, TTM

The Minnesota Twins opened their 27th and last season in the Metrodome Monday night. I have attended hundreds of Twins games at the dome and have many great memories. I hope to make at least one more trip down to the dome to see a Twins game. It will be bitter sweat to say goodbye to an old friend like the dome. Still I prefer to watch baseball outdoors. Yes, it will be near impossible to get a ticket to see the Twins at Target Field next year, but I figure once those trendy fair weather fans get a taste of the weather for April games, I will have my choice of seats come April 2011.

Last Saturday I attended the TCSCC sports card show. There was a good crowd and lots of dealers. The main attraction was an autograph signing by former Vikings Clint Jones, Sammy White, and John Gilliam. I was not into Clint Jones, and it appeared very few other people were as well. Sammy White and John Gilliam drew a bigger crowd. I paid for both White and Gilliam autographs. Both of them looked in good shape. Gilliam told me he was 64. Wow, it seems only like a few years ago I was watching play for the Vikings. In reality it has been over 30 years since he last played for the Vikings.

White made the mistake of wearing a Grambling shirt. Sammy went to Grambling, so that is why he wore the shirt. What he did not realize was everyone would see that big gold “G” on his shirt and assume it was for the Green Bay Packers. Well, he caught a lot of grief. Luckily it was all in jest. They both seemed like nice guys. Of course they were being paid to be there, but I have meet guys in the same situation act like jerks. Both seemed please not only to make some bucks, but chat with fans who remembered their glory days.

Bad news regarding my collecting autographs through the mail hobby (TTM). I saw several returns from A. J. Pierzinski coming from the White Sox spring training home of Phoenix/Glendale, AZ. This pleased me because I had sent to A.J. too. Well, I got one of those mail recovery envelops Tuesday. These are the envelops the Postal Service put damaged mail in. Well in it was one of my SASEs - one with a Phoenix, AZ post mark on it. I knew it was my A.J. card. Only there was no card. The SASE had been ripped in half. No card, only a key in the envelop. A key for what I have no idea. Evidently the Postal Service thought the key was in my SASE. So no card and a key I don’t need. I was not happy, but there is not much I can do except send to A.J. again and hope he signs again for me.

Thursday provide better news. I received a return from Will Clark. When Clark broke in with the Giants in 1986 it looked like he was a sure bet Hall of Famer. In fact his career with the Giants was very good. Unfortunately he went to Texas as free agent in 1994. Injuries followed and Clark never put up the big career numbers needed for the HOF. Still he was a 6 time All-Star and was MVP of the 1989 NLCS. I had sent to Will two other times and gotten no response, but the third time was the charm.

Will Clark’s nickname was “The Thrill”. Well it was a thrill got get Will to sign my baseball card. Thank you Will Clark!

My 1987 Minnesota Twins Project is Complete

On March 5, 2009 Dan Schatzeder ended my two year one month old quest to get a signed baseball card from every living player of the 1987 Minnesota Twins World Series Championship team.

I had sent to Mr. Schatzeder three times over the last two years with no response till 3/5 when he finally signed all the cards I had sent him. The first two cards I sent took 668 days to get back to me. That was my longest wait ever beating out the 311 days Steve Garvey took to sign a card for me.

Thanks to Mr. Schatzeder and all the players of the 87 Twins for signing for me.

Mr. Schatzeder arrived in the midst of a hot streak for me. Between 3/3 and 3/8 I received NFL Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw and Bob Griese; NHL Hall of Famers Jean Beliveau, Peter Stastny, Joe Mullen, and Steve Shutt; former North Stars Al MacAdam and J.P. Praise; and former Twins Jeff Reed, Les Straker (again), and Eric Milton.

Of course since 3/8 I have received only one return. Such is the nature of this hobby.

I wanted to detail the 87 Twins and how I got them all. I used the playoff roster as a guide for who was officially on the championship team. Players not on the playoff roster were not considered officially part of the team though I did pick up a couple of them as well. I also picked up some management and front office folks who were with the Twins in 1987 as well.

The Players

Frank Viola: Starting pitcher and World Series MVP – Frank signed for me in person at the 87 Twins reunion weekend, and also signed a card TTM via his foundation for $5. He inscribed that TTM card Frank Viola 87 WS MVP.

Bert Blyleven: Starting pitcher – Bert signed for me in person at the Twins Autograph Party and Twins Fest.

Les Straker: Starting pitcher - Les signed for me in person at the 87 Twins reunion weekend. He also signed TTM via Spring Training c/o Philadelphia Phillies for whom he now works for.

Joe Niekro: Starting pitcher – Sadly Mr. Niekro has passed away a few years ago. He is the only player on the playoff roster living or dead that I do not have an autographed card of.

Mike Smithson: Starting pitcher – Mike signed TTM via his home address. Mike was not part of the playoff roster, but I got him anyway

Jeff Reardon: Closer – Jeff signed TTM via his home address two different times.

Juan Berenguer: Relief pitcher – Juan signed TTM via his home address including a signed card of his own to go along with the one a sent him.

Keith Atherton: Relief pitcher - Keith signed TTM via his home.

George Frazier: Relief pitcher – George signed TTM c/o Colorado Rockies where he is a broadcaster.

Dan Schatzeder: Relief pitcher - Dan signed TTM via his home address and via his work.

Tim Launder: Catcher – Tim signed for me in person during appearance at a local restaurant.

Kent Hrbek: 1st Base – Kent has signed for me in person numerous times including at Twins Fest and other appearances.

Steve Lombardozzi 2nd Base– Steve signed TTM via his home address second time I sent to him. Not sure why he did not sign the first time I sent him.

Greg Gagne: Shortstop – Greg signed TTM via his home address two different times. He included the inscription 3:16 for John 3:16.

Gary Gaetti 3rd Base and ALCS MVP – Gary signed TTM for me via the Durham Bulls where he is the batting coach.

Dan Gladden: Left Fielder – Dan signed for me in person at Twins Fest.

Kirby Puckett: Center Fielder – Kirby passed away in 2006. Still I recently came across a gentleman at a card show willing to sell me a nice autograph Puckett card for $30. I have seen several autographed Puckett cards in the $40-$60 range. Many of those cards were not as nice as this one. I now own an autographed Kirby Puckett which I had wanted for a long time.

Tom Brunansky: Right Fielder – Tom signed TTM via his home address two different times.

Don Baylor: DH – Don signed for me in person at the 87 Twins reunion weekend.

Roy Smalley: Reserve DH and IF – Roy signed for me in person at Twins Fest

Mark Davidson: Reserve OF – Mark signed TTM via his home address, and also in person at the 87 Twins reunion weekend.

Randy Bush: Reserve OF and DH – Randy signed TTM two different times c/o Chicago Cubs where he is the Assistant GM.

Sal Butera: Reserve Catcher– Sal signed TTM via his home address.

Al Newman Reserve IF – Al signed for me in person at Twins Fest.

Manger and Front Office

Tom Kelly: Manager – Tom has signed for me TTM via his home address and in person at Twins Fest

Andy MacPhail: GM – Andy signed TTM c/o Baltimore Orioles where he is the team president.

Carl Pohlad: Owner – Mr. Pohlad signed TTM for me in 2007 c/o Twins. Mr. Pohlad has since passed away.

Terry Ryan: Farm System Director – Terry signed TTM c/o Twins.

Ralph Houk: Special Advisor to the Manager – Ralph signed TTM via his home address. Mr. Houk also managed the legendary 61 New York Yankee team.

Tony Olivia: Batting Coach – Tony signed in person at Twins Fest. Tony was also a former star Twins player.

Others

Steve Carlton was a starting pitcher for only part of the season and he was not on the post season roster. However, I did send him $25 and this Hall of Fame pitcher autographed a card for me.

Rick Rennick was third base coach. I have a signed card of him that I purchase with some other signed cards. Rennick is also a former Twins player.

I thought about getting the other coaches too, but they don’t have any cards like the players do.

Final Thought

I am really please to have completed this project. I loved the 87 Twins. They are probably my favorite Twins team of all-time. To finally win the World Series for Minnesota was their greatest accomplishment, but I also think they are a classy group of men.

I have tried collecting every living player of the 91 World Champion Twins and the 1979 Twins. Neither team has been as responsive the 87 Twins were. The 87 Twins will always have a special place in the hearts of all Twins fans. They were not the best Twins team (that was the 91 team) but they were the most special.

Alan Jackson Performing "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow"

Alan Jackson is my favorite music artist. “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow” is my favorite Alan Jackson song. Here is a video I found of a young Alan Jackson performing “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow”.

Jim McBride – the gentleman in the suit playing the guitar to the left of Alan – is Alan’s co-writer on the song. The two of them also wrote Alan’s massive hit “Chattahoochee” together.

In case anyone is wondering, the two people who introduce Alan at the beginning of the video are Rickey Van Shelton and Marie Osmond. Van Shelton had some good commercial success in the late 80’s and very early 90s. Osmond is a member of the famous Osmond family and has done a lot of things in music and TV with her brother Donnie Osmond.

I suspect this Alan Jackson performance occurred in 1991 or 1992, but that is just a guess. Thanks to madbullxxx1953xxx for posting this video on YouTube. I have enjoyed watching it.

TTM Update

The arrival of February brings the first signs of baseball season. Pitchers and catchers are reporting for Spring Training. That means it is time to send out some more baseball cards to team’s spring training locations hoping that some of the players will sign them for me.

I have around 20 requests out to mostly current and former Twins. Last spring training did not go so well for me, so I hopeful for a better year this year.

On other fronts with the arrival of Steve Lombardozzi and Al Newman, I have signed baseball cards of every living member of 1987 Twins World Series team save one – Dan Schatzeder. I have sent to Dan three times over the years and he has never sent anything back. I see he signs for other people once and a while, but never me. Maybe I will get lucky soon and he will come through.

I am eight players short on my attempt to collect every living member of the 1979 Twins team which was the first Twins team I saw live. I have requests out to Geoff Zahn, Hosken Powell and Rob Wilfong. Bombo Rivera is no where to be found. Jerry Koosman wants $10 to sign. Mike Marshall does not sign autographs for anyone, so I will never get everyone, but it would be nice to get most of them.

I have signed cards from 19 Baseball Hall of Famers and 19 Hockey Hall of Famers. I find it interesting that I have the same number of both. I have requests out to 12 Hockey Hall of Famers with the reasonable expectation of getting 7 or 8 of them back. I have 8 requests out to Baseball Hall of Famers with the reasonable expectation that I will get only 1 or 2 back. Disappointing as that seems I hold out hope that patience will be rewarded and somehow I will get back more.

Pete Rose and Steve Garvey give me hope. Had he not be banned from baseball for gambling, Pete Rose would be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Pete signs at the Las Vegas Field of Dreams for money almost every weekend. Business must have been slow as at the end of last year he suddenly started signing for people who sent him stuff. Some was stuff sent to his home, some was stuff sent to Field of Dreams. I quickly sent a card to his home but got no response, so I sent to Field of Dream in Vegas. Low and behold on 12/18/08 I received a sign card from Pete Rose. He also sent a price list of other stuff he was willing to sign for $.

The point here is just when you think somebody will never sign for you, and opportunity opens up and you have to take advantage of it. Lucky I acted when I did, because now Pete is no longer signing for free.

I think Steve Garvey belongs in the Hall of Fame; the baseball writers who vote on who gets to be in the Hall of Fame disagreed. Nonetheless Steve is still very popular. I sent a card to Steve on 3/12/08. I saw some people get signed cards back from him, I did not. I assumed I had missed out, but on 1/17/09 I received a surprise. Steve had signed my card. 311 days later I found success. This was the longest wait I have had for a signed card. My. previous longest wait was 280 for former Twin Brad Radke. Patience paid off.

My shortest wait for a card was 3 days. Ironic they were cards sent out on the same day signed by players who played together on the same team. Former Minnesota Vikings Mick Tinglehoff and Stu Voigt were the speedy responders. I appreciated how quickly they got back to me. Mick and Stu were members of the great Viking Super Bowl teams of the 70’s. I have signed cards from 10 members of those teams including Takenton, Page, Foreman, Yary Tinglehoff, Voigt, Siemon, Bryant, Krause, and Cox. I had assumed that was all I would be getting for a while as I had no more player addresses to send to, but the TCSCC may have come to my rescue.

TCSCC is the Twin Cities Sports Collectors Club. The hold card shows and occasionally they have autograph guests. Their events are always held on the other end of the Twins Cities from where I live, so I don’t usually make the long drive to attend them. That said their April show promises autograph appearances by John Gilliam, Sammy White, Clint Jones, and Tommy Kramer. Gilliam and White are two people I would be interested in. I will have to see how much they will be charging. Information about the show can be found here.

Finally thanks to the tanking economy Michaels was forced to have a 40-50% off sale on everything in store. I was able to pick up two display cases that normally would have cost $100 for only $50. I now have some of my favorite signed cards on display. Of course I hope to get more.

20th Anniversary of the Class of 89

In February of 1989 Garth Brooks and Clint Black released their debut singles. Later in 1989 Alan Jackson and Travis Tritt did the same. These four men along with Mary Chapin would come to be known as the Class of 89 the greatest set of country music artists to debut in one single year. They helped re-shape country music in terms of music, marketing, and popularity.

Many years ago I built this Web page and wrote an article on the Class of 89. I still believe this group will be remembered as an amazing group of artists who made great music. 2009 marks the 20 year anniversary of the Class of 1989. Some folks like to add Vince Gill and Lorrie Morgan to this group because though they had released singles and albums before 1989 neither artist ever had any real commercial breakthroughs till 1989.

I was listening to country music back in 1989, so I got to experience the Class of 89 from the start. I have also seen some of them in concert. Here are some of my thoughts:

I was really into Garth Brooks when he first came out. “No Fences” was THE album to have if you were a country music fan. However by 1993 I felt his music was not as good. “The Chase” and all his albums since have never really grabbed me. I don’t mind his music, but I have no real passion for it. I think he will be remembered for his commercial success and for his two mega hits “Friends in Low Places” and “The Dance”.

I am a massive Alan Jackson fan. I have seen him concert 7 times including 94, 95, 96, 98, 99, 00, 04. I have all his albums and consider many of them brilliant. It’s ironic that in 89 he got off to a much slower start to stardom than Garth and Clint, but now he is only member of the Class of 89 still charting #1 hits and selling records. I believe Alan Jackson is the modern day Hank Wiliams Sr. and will be remember as one of the greatest country artists of all-time.

When I first heard Travis Tritt I thought he is an artist who could be something. He had a great voice. He could sing uptempo songs and sing ballad equally well. When I saw him in concert he was electric. It was rocking show with an amazing acoustic set where he did some of his ballads and a couple of classic country songs. I thought once he records that career album, gets that career song, he will be a massive star.

Of course that career album, that career song never really came. By 96 he was on the way down. He had a brief comeback in 2000, but that did not last. He is presently suing his most recent record label. Sad, I thought he would be more than he turned out to be.

I think Clint Black’s debut album “Killin’ Time” is one of the greatest country albums of all-time. His next two albums were not that bad either. After that most everything he released was garbage. Lots of people, including me, thought Clint was going be a big, big star for a long time. By 1997 Clint was done as a star. He is also suing his most recent label which is a shame as he was a part owner of that label.

I was into Mary Chapin Carpenter before most. I was really into her uptempo songs. When I saw her in concert in 1992, she was great. When her 1992 album “Come On Come On” sold 4 million copies and she won back to back CMA Female Vocalist of the Year in 92 and 93, I thought here is an artist who will charting hits and selling records for another ten years, but 95 marked the last year she had a top ten hit.

In the end Mary Chapin just wanted to make folk style ballads. Her uptempo songs disappeared and she just seemed adverse to fame. I have read where she said she battled depression for years before getting it under control. I wonder if that hindered her career.

Lori Morgan battled her ex-husbands. She has been married five times. I never really got into her music, but I knew people who did. She had the least success of the group, and was the first to really start fading. However she had a strong country roots, and she not bad looking. She even dated former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman and former U.S. Fred Thompson.

After Alan Jackson, Vince Gill was my favorite artist of early 90’s. I loved his voice, songwriting and guitar playing. He seemed to love country music and have a great personality. When I saw him in concert in 95 he exceed my expectations. I did get a little irritated with him when he kept winning all those CMA Awards. I felt others were others deserving and that people in the industry were voting for Vince because they personally liked him. However that never stopped me from loving his music.

By the late 90’s Vince Gill’s moment in the sun was gone. He has not done much commercially since 98. In 06 he release a four cd set of all new music that was good, but has not released any new music since. I have a feeling he will soon be leaving his long time label – MCA Nashville – and start recording for an independent label. Or he just might be kicking back and taking it easy.

The Class of 89 was amazing group, but the arrival of Shania Twain and her pushing country music more towards pop music really kinda sank most of the Class of 89. Still I believe the era of the Class of 89 (roughly 89-96) will be remembered as a great country music era. They really pushed the country music genre into the mainstream making it possible for other country artists to have even greater commercial success.