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Gleason's Favorite Sons
Gordon Stoker of the famed Jordanaires was the first musical celebrity
from Gleason. The Jordanaires have been long-time members of the
Grand Ole Opry; the group also traveled and sang background for
Elvis Presley for fifteen years appearing on television, in movies,
and on recordings.
They have also provided vocal background on many hit albums and
singles for such stars as Marty Robbins, Neil Young, Tom Jones,
Kenny Rogers, Don McLean, George Jones, Ringo Starr, Johnny Cash,
Charley Pride, Tammy Wynette, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Dolly Parton,
Ronnie Milsap, B. J. Thomas, Willie Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Conway
Twitty, Connie Francis, Julie Andrews, Jim Reeves, Marie Osmond,
Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline (the group sang background on all her
records) Ronnie McDowell, Jerry Reed, and Rick Nelson. This is
pretty impressive for a small-town boy from Gleason!
 The
Jordanaires have appeared in six movies with stars such as Elvis
Presley, Ferlin Husky, and Zsa Zsa Gabor. They have arranged and
sung all vocal parts in over thirty movies, including all of Elvis's
movies, and Sissy Spacek's Coal Miner's Daughter. They
sang the background vocals for the recent movie soundtrack Sweet
Dreams (Patsy Cline's life story) as well as numerous other
soundtracks.
The Jordanaires are still actively recording, mostly in Nashville; but
they do travel some. Recently they did a tour in Canada and appeared
at the Church Street Station in Orlando, Florida. The Orlando
appearance was taped and has been shown on the Nashville Network
Station.
Gordon Stoker was instrumental in getting Gleason's next celebrity on
the move. One weekend when Gordon was in Gleason, prompted by his
brother Wayne Stoker (also a Gleason resident), he agreed to listen
to Mike
Snider play his banjo at a Christmas party Wayne was having at
his house. Gordon returned to Nashville bragging about him
to the Grand Ole Opry Manager, Hal Durham. An invitation to appear
on the Grand Ole Opry was eventually extended to Mike Snider after
Mr. Durham received a large number of letters from Mike Snider's
hometown "fans". In an unprecedented move, Mr. Durham sent 1500 free
tickets to Gleason, and Gleason responded "Glea-fully". "We know
that the people of Gleason are proud of Mike Snider and what he's
accomplished, so we thought this would be a n ice Christmas present
for them to have free tickets for Mike's appearance on the Opry"
were Mr. Hal Durham's words.
With this, history was made once again in Gleason when on a cold
snowy, January Saturday in 1984, nine chartered buses, numerous
cars, trucks, and vans all left town carrying approximately 2,000
area residents to Nashville to see Mike Snider fulfill his lifelong
dream to appear on the famed Grand Ole Opry.
Roy Acuff, who introduced Mike for his debut performance on the Opry,
said he had brought something different to the Opry on this night.
He also said that in his forty-five years on the Opry, he had never
seen a young man so celebrated and loved that an entire hometown
would come so far to see and hear him. Before, during, and after
Mike's performance, the Tatertown folks led the crowd in giving him
four standing ovations. His appearance was seen, not only by those
present, but was also on five national and local television
networks, with coverage in the newspapers and some magazines.
Since that time, Mike has appeared on the Nashville Network Television
station numerous times, has performed concerts in South Dakota and
Mississippi, as well as an overseas tour with Jim Glazer and Stella
Parton. His most recent claim-to-fame is his appearance as a regular
on the 1987-88 season of Hee-Haw.
The history of the Gleason community provided in
Oakwood-Gleason: A Look Back provides an account of Gleason's history up
through the time the book was originally published. As some 20 years have now passed since its publication, Gleason Online is providing a "History Update"
feature, for each section of the book, for those wishing to add
important historical information relevant to the Gleason community. Contributions can be submitted via E-mail attachment by
clicking on the "Website Visitor Comments" graphic, provided above.
Gleason Musical Talent: The Post 1986 Era
Since, the late 1980's the careers of the Gordon Stoker and the Jordanaires and
Mike Snider have continued to flourish with both continuing to have a major
impact on the music industry. Their continued achievements and current
activities can be seen by visiting their websites (Click Here:
The Jordanaires;
Mike Snider).
In addition, the another home grown musical talent has recently burst onto the
local music scene. His name is Micah Arnold. Micah's story is provided below.
Gleason Home to Another Singing
Sensation
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By Sara Reid, Staff
Writer,
NWTNTODAY.COM
Posted: Tuesday, July 8,
2008 9:05 am
Micah
Arnold
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The City of Gleason
has long been known as
the home of Grand Old
Opry star Mike Snider,
but in the near future
it may be able to add
another name to that
list. Last month,
Gleason native Micah
Arnold, 26, took to the
stage in the West
Tennessee Idol
competition in Jackson
and outshined over 200
contestants to take home
the grand prize and the
chance to move on to
state competition.
Initially, Arnold, who
has been singing since
the age of three, was
hesitant to enter the
competition, but with
the encouragement of his
parents, Jim and Donna
Arnold, he decided to
take the plunge. “Over
200 people were at the
audition,” Arnold
admitted. “First, you
had to sing a capella
and if you advanced past
that, you’d perform to a
live round onstage in
front of the judges and
then a radio round where
people called in and
voted.” Despite the fact
that the competition was
very much like the
“American Idol”
television show, Arnold
admitted that the entire
process did nothing to
wrack his nerves. “I’m
used to the stage,” he
said. “I’m in a band
called Leaving Sunday
and we’ve played in
Dresden, Paris, Jackson
and McKenzie. I’ve sung
in Nashville in most
every place. I play
guitar in the band, but
lately, of course, I’ve
been focusing on
vocals.” Arnold hopes to
take his passion much
further than the
competition stage. He’s
hoping to make a career
in the music industry.
“I’d really like to go
further with it,” he
said. “I’ve been wanting
to work on a career in
the music industry for a
while now.” Arnold cites
his musical influences
as being everything from
Keith Urban to Merle
Haggard to Hank Williams
Jr. to Garth Brooks to,
of course, his father
who played music when
Arnold was growing up,
but he relates his own
style of singing to no
one. It’s uniquely his
own. “I try not to sound
like anyone. I try to be
unique. I’ve been told
that I sound like George
Strait or I sound like
Conway Twitty, but I
don’t want to be a
second-rate version of
them,” he admitted.
Arnold wasn’t the only
Weakley Countian to sing
on the West Tennessee
Idol stage, however. Two
other singers from
Palmersville also made
the finals and Arnold
saw their presence as a
comfort. “Emily Rook was
there and Paul Jolley
was there and it was
very comforting,” he
remarked. “I knew them
even before the
competition and it was
great that we all had
each other to talk to
and cope with. It really
made the competition
easier. We banded
together and it really
felt good to see people
I knew there rooting all
of us on.” When Arnold
won the competition and
received his trophy, he
knew all the years of
hard work and practice
had paid off and he had
just taken one step
closer to his dream. “It
really felt good. It’s
something I’ve been
doing for a long time
and it paid off,” he
said. “I still have a
long way to go as far as
making a career in
music, but this was a
huge accomplishment. The
judges were from the
music industry and
hearing the positive
feedback from them made
me feel good about
myself.” “Every
contestant there
deserved to win,” he
added. “It was not an
easy win because
everyone was so
talented, but I’m
pleased they chose me.”
Source Adapted
from:
NWTNTODAY.COM. |
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