JImmie Crawford: Strings, both of them up here. Jerry's got one on his fiddle, and Dean's got one on his. Strings. You know, I'm doing all right for 81 years old. I'm not going to be as fast as I once was.

Russ Hicks: You're not?

Crawford: I'm not making excuses. I'm just trying to tell you all I am getting older. I know when I bent down this morning to tie my shoes, I looked around to see if there was anything else I could do while I was down there.

Oh.

Emcee: How do you put up with him, Russ? This is a great tandem, though. Just sit back and enjoy the good music. Jimmie Crawford and Russ Hicks. Chicken Pickin'.

[music]

Emcee: How about that guys?

Crawford: That was a little song there that Russell wrote called "Snuff Queen." I don't know where he got that title, but nonetheless, that's it.

Hicks: Well, I've lost it now. Here's a real pretty country song. Four, one.

[music]

Crawford: That's a pretty old song, Russ. You know any more like that?

Hicks: I think.

[inaudible]

Crawford: Tommy Dodd did this version of "Rocky Top," which was very nice. I'll tell you what that boy needs is to get a little speed to it. Great, Tommy. But we had this on a Chicken Pickin' Good album, so by dang it, we're going to do it. "Rocky Top." Let me get my volume. Huh? Okay, volume. Okay. One, two, three, four. One, two, three.

[music]

Crawford: Two, three, four. And there's four. Two, three, and a six.

Hicks: Thank you. "Rocky Top" makes a better ballad than a fast song, doesn't it?

Crawford: Yeah. What's next? No one will ever know.

Hicks: Jimmie

Crawford: What?

Emcee: I don't know if the people really realize what we just heard. That's difficult enough to do for one person to do it, but for to do it and do it in such intonation. Let's give another big hand for what we just heard. And the guy sitting on the far left over there, I've known maybe for 30, 35 years. And I often said he's probably the most underrated steel guitar player in the world. And Jimmie Crawford, if we had time to tell you all the things that he has contributed, it would take the rest of the night. The man has did everything that would qualify him for the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame, without any doubt. He has written songs. Chet Atkins has recorded them. Many, many major artists has recorded this man's songs. He has dozens of productions that he's done for people from all over the world. And "The Chicken Pickin'" that we just heard, and the "Ton of Steel" album, the "Steel Guitars of Europe," many other steel guitar players from across the world have taken what this man, Jimmie Crawford, has dreamt up and imitated it. So let's let Jimmie know we appreciate all the things he's contributed, and we don't think he's the most underrated steel guitar player in the world. He's one of the best.

Crawford: Thank you very much.

Emcee: Absolutely.

Crawford: Thank you so much, Scottie. I appreciate that very much, sir.

Emcee: I don't know a whole lot about Russ Hicks. I guess he plays all right.

Crawford: I don't know. Well, I-

Emcee: No, we've heard him with Charlie McCoy and so many things, and his expertise is second to none. No doubt about it.

Crawford: He did all those Barefoot Jerry things, those albums on the Barefoot Jerry album.

Hicks: I'm just a legend in my own mind.

Crawford: Yeah. He's five minutes ahead of his time.

Emcee: Okay, you guys got it.

Crawford: What is it?

[music]

Crawford: An old Hank Williams-- Hank Williams, an old Hank Snow song.

Hicks: Hank, Hank, Hank.

Crawford: We've had a request to have BJ to sing, too. Yeah. All right. So BJ, we'll do- All right. We'll do a couple more numbers, hon, and you just get ready. I don't know your material at all, but I'll learn just real quick. What do you want to do? "Highway 40 Blues?" "Rhode Island Red?"

Hicks: Intro, two times through the verse?

[music]

Crawford: Well, all right. That enough? Hey, I do want to make a note about something here. Russell E. Hicks, Lloyd Green, and myself did a day of shooting of a video course type of a thing. Anyone that is interested in finding out about that course, you can come back to our table and write your name and address down, and we'll see that you get all of the information on it. Because I'm telling you, for what Lloyd just did on it, it's going to be worth the price. But in answer to your request, I talked out that whole "Rhode Island Red," and there's a lot of valuable stuff on this tape. So, that's a thing. We've got albums back here. Albums, and Russ has got a rock and roll record. What is that, Russ?

Hicks: I thought I had 'til Joe got up here a while ago. Lord God almighty.

Crawford: Well, the Cadillac on the front of your album jacket, though, makes it for you, Russ.

Hicks: Right. As I can-

Crawford: You don't have long hair down in your face, but you know.

Hicks: If it made me play like that, I'm going to grow some.

Crawford: They're all 10, and then we're making a special offer on our books, "The Manual of Style." They're going to go for 15 bucks. 15 dollar. So just the CDs and the books, 15, and the rest of it's 10. And what else? Is BJ going to sing? You going to kick this one off?

Hicks: Okay. C. Three, a-four, a-one.

[music]

Billie Jo Spears: Take me as I am or let me go. White lilies never grow in fields of clover. Take me as I am or let me go. You're trying to remake me in a mold, love, in the image of someone you used to know. But I won't be standing on your order. So take me as I am or let me go. And here's the band, and they're playing.

[music]

Spears: You're trying to remake me in a mold, love. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. And in the image of someone you used to know. Oh, but I won't be a-standing on your love. So take me as I am or let me go. So just take me as I am or let me go.

Spears: Thank you. Thank you.

Crawford: Oh, yeah. I've not heard that in a while.

Spears: Thank you, guys.

Crawford: Beautiful, girl.

Spears: I appreciate it, thank you.

Crawford: Man, that girl can sing. I got goosebumps on my goosebumps. We're gonna do a Ricky Skaggs number here. Ouch, excuse me, mic. Called "Highway 40 Blues." One, two, three, four, one.

[music]

Emcee: Big hand. Jimmie Crawford, Russ Hicks. Jimmie, got time for a short one?

Crawford: A short one?

Hicks: I got one.

Crawford: No, really?

Hicks: Yes, a short one.

Crawford: Is there such a thing on this show as a short one?

Hicks: The other day, no, actually it's been a couple years ago.

Emcee: Roy and I understand that. We're both vertically disadvantaged.

Crawford: What would you like me to do, Russ? "Stealing?"

Hicks: We relate well to that.

Crawford: "Stealing?"

Hicks: Oh, okay. I was going to tell them I was over at his house, giving him his weekly steel lesson. I used to go over and do that. And he showed me a lick that he's using without any pedals, and we made a song out of it, but we'll do it for you tomorrow. Right now, we're going to do a song that features Jimmie vocally. Joe inspired him to do this.

Crawford: Look out, Joe Wright.

Hicks: Yeah. Yeah. D, E-flat, and F. A one, two, three, four, one.

[music]

Hicks: Spent the best years of my life stealing.

Crawford: I went through a half a dozen wives, stealing.

Hicks: I never found an understanding spouse.

Crawford: They all said I was a louse.

Hicks/Crawford: But I bought each of them a house, stealing.

Hicks: Mom and Dad say I'm a slob for stealing.

Crawford: They say that's no real job, stealing.

Hicks: I've had to take a lot of jive.

Crawford: Barely kept myself alive.

Hicks/Crawford: But it still beats a nine to five, stealing.

Hicks: I ain't spent no time in jail for stealing.

Crawford: Lord, the stories I could tell, stealing.

Hicks: I never made a lot of money.

Crawford: Guess I should have used a gun.

Hicks/Crawford: But I sure have a lot of fun, stealing. I steal the steel guitar way. It's always good to get them in the mood.

Hicks: Never made a lot of mon.

Crawford: Guess I should've used a gun.

Hicks/Crawford: But I sure have a lot of fun stealing.

Hicks/Crawford: I steal the steel guitar way. It's always good to get them in the mood

Hicks: After all is said and done-

Crawford: I know I ain't number one.

Hicks/Crawford: But I sure have a lot of fun stealing.

Hicks: See y'all. We'll see y'all tomorrow. Thank you all.

Emcee: Whoa, man, what a mixture of styles. Thanks for staying up this late. Sure was a mixture of styles there. Sure was a mixture of styles there. I never noticed that before, boys. That's quite a taking tunes from other instrumentals and working them right in. It's great. Thank you, Scottie. Wow, my nerves. Oh, my nerves.

Hicks: Your nerves?

Emcee: Wow. I think they played more in that one song than I've played in my concerts in the past year. How we doing on time? Does anybody know? Come on up, Stoney. Let's give Stoney a big hand for putting this together, right?