Page 129 - Been There… Done That!

Been There... Done That!
sponsoring radio stations to make an appearance that would be suitable and acceptable for an audience,
The first thing I had to do was make a list of equipment to be used on site, PA, drums, guitars, amps and more. It’s hard to believe that the first contest season went without a set of rules, but I planned to change that soon. Local radio stations sent their local winners to a State Final and the winner would proceed to Nashville for the final showdown, competing for prizes such as $50,000 and a new Dodge van. Most of the state contests were held at State Fairs and I traveled to each state fair, sometimes with a country star like Moe Bandy. I learned one thing for sure: I was glad I had never entered a talent contest because it was devastating for everyone but the winner. The look of heartbreak and disappointment on the faces of the contestants that were not winners was sad to see. And in my opinion, sometimes the judges just plain got it wrong.
Anytime a contestant tried to get me to rig the contest they would immediately get disqualified. The reason I mention this is, it was rumored that one of the finalist winners in Nashville was fixed. My answer to that was I had nothing to do with the Nashville show at the Grand Ole Opry – I was just the Stage Manager. Other stories at the Opry were pretty amusing as well. One of my assistants was pretty much star-struck and quite amusing to watch as stars came to the backstage area. “Gary, holy shit, what do I do, here comes Porter Wagoner?” I responded, “don’t look now, but here comes Jim Stafford and Brenda Lee.”
127