My Walk Among the Stars: Rubbing Shoulders With Country Giants

By Dick Flood

Told in 250 pages this book is the story of one man’s 19 year journey of exhilarating successes, frustrating almosts and heartbreaking failures while writing, singing and performing his own original music, and knowing personally and working with dozens of America’s greatest county music celebrities of the 1960s. In thirty-seven fascinating chapters the author carries us on his exciting tours and adventures to cites and towns all over the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia, Puerto Rico, Africa, The Caribbean Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador. This book is also an excellent and professional inside look at the pros and cons and the dos and donts of a would be country music singer/song writer/entertainer. “His recollections of the country music greats of the 60’s as friends and work colleagues show the fans a side they do not usually get to see.” ~~ Highly Recommended ~~ Susan Keefe Columbia Book Review “My admiration for Dick Flood grew with every page I turned.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Okefenokee Joe Enterprises
• Release date: Dec 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9780997337198

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FLOOD

Copyright © 2019 Okefenokee Joe Enterprises.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-0-9973371-8-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-0-9973371-9-8 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 11/15/2019

The Author gratefully, and humbly thanks the Following for their contributions to this work

Cover photo by Kim Mehaffey Kilgore

~~ Eagle Eye Images Photography

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF:

The Flood Family collection, Mrs. Sherry Helton, Mr. Les Leverett, Mr. Bill Forshee, Mr. Johnny Western,The Nashville Banner, Leavenworth Prison

PERSONAL SUPPORT & ENCOURAGEMENT

Mrs. Linda Macky, Mr. Ron Eagle Feather The Lakota Poet Colombe, Mr. Ted Clamp Owner of The Edisto Island Serpentarium, Mr. Steve Hoddy of Earthquest

Out of deep respect and admiration for all the country music artists, record producers, A & R people, song writers, music publishers, booking agents and any person of note mentioned in this book the author has taken the liberty of placing the words Miss or Mr. in front of each and every one of their names.

This book is written with punctuation for pause, and emphasis in Author’s manner of speech.

Mind you I did all the things I did with no big hit record of my own and little claim to fame. Just my guts, a little talent, a willingness to do it, and my instinct to survive in that ever changing sometimes maddening world of Country Music.

~~ Dick Flood

ABOUT THIS BOOK AND IT’S AUTHOR

Told in 250 pages this book is the story of one man’s nineteen year journey of successes, ‘almosts’ and failures while writing, singing and performing his own original music, and actually knowing personally and working with dozens of America’s greatest country music celebrities of the times.

During the mid to late fifties Dick Flood was one of the two Country Lads singing duets as regulars on the famous Jimmy Dean CBS TV morning show. In 1959 his recording of The Three Bells on Monument Records reached # 20 in both Billboard and Cashbox Magazines and sold over 600,000 copies. In the early sixties he was a frequent guest on the world renowned Grand Ole’ Opry. And his name is in the Country Music Hall of Fame as the writer of the 1962 Wilburn Brothers hit recording of Trouble’s Back in Town, which was voted the number one Country song of the year 1962.

In 1989 he hosted and narrated Georgia Public Television’s Southeastern Emmy award winning wildlife documentary Swampwise. And he has been inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame, The Georgia Family Entertainers Hall of Fame, and the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association Hunting and Fishing Hall of Fame.

Many of his original songs are currently being played in the background of dozens of popular modern day TV series and movies. One of the latest being his song Everything Happens for the Best which he sings in the 2019 Clint Eastwood Movie The Mule.

In thirty-seven fascinating chapters Mr. Dick Flood carries us on his exciting tours and adventures to cities and towns all over the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia, Puerto Rico, Africa, the Caribbean Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Dick Flood truly did ‘walk among the stars’ and his book is an excellent and professional inside look at the pros and cons and the do’s and donts of a would be country music singer/song writer/entertainer.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

I have been gone from the Nashville scene of country music and my ‘walk among the stars’ for more than half a century. But I can still remember the many incidents related in these pages almost as if they had happened only yesterday. My walk lasted from the spring of 1954 until January of 1973 at which time after 19 years of fascinating career ups, downs and electrifying almosts I finally left it all behind. I took up new residence in the wilderness of the great Okefenokee Swamp in deep southeastern Georgia, and reinvented myself as Okefenokee Joe, a singing, story telling, song writing self-proclaimed wildlife evangelist. And for the next four decades I delivered my Earth Day Every Day message in hundreds of schools, libraries, museums, outdoor sportsman shows, Indian pow wows and county fairs. I considered myself an environmental wake up call for the entire civilized world. That story is told in greater detail in my book Swampwise.

Years later when I visited Nashville in 2011 my life long friend Mr. George Hamilton IV helped me get tickets to the Grand Ole’ Opry. And for the first time in my life I sat in the audience instead of standing on the stage in front of a microphone at the Ryman Auditorium. WSM’s famous DJ and announcer Mr. Eddie Stubbs informed the audience that I was out there and had me stand up and take a bow. Mr. Bill Anderson remembered me and brought me backstage where for the first time in more than fifty years I once again happily hugged the neck of Miss Jean Shepard, and shook hands with my old friends Mr. Little Jimmy Dickens, and Mr. Jim Ed brown. They were about the only stars I had known so long ago that were still alive and in the Ryman that night.

But I was sadly disappointed with one thing about the newly renovated Ryman Auditorium. The wall backstage that I had carved my name into so many years ago in the early sixties was no longer there. To top that off my colored autographed picture was no longer on the wall at my old ‘hangout’ Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge either.

I did however find my name in the Nashville Country Music Hall of Fame as the writer of the Wilburn Brother’s 1962 famous hit recording and subsequently their signature song Trouble’s Back in Town.

Looking back I can honestly say that I am deeply proud of my complete dedication and all the heartfelt entertaining I did for our U.S. Military men and women all over the world. For me it was the highest honor of my life to do so. I was by no means a great success but I always did my best.

I have left nothing good or bad out of each short chapter in this book. And to the best of my recollection every one of my stories is absolutely true.

~~ Dick Flood

ENDORSEMENTS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Do you love country music, are you fans of the legends in the industry? Well, if so, then now is the opportunity you’ve been looking for, a chance to take a trip down memory lane with Dick Flood, one of its stars, as he shares with you in words and pictures his experiences in the 1960s Nashville music scene. His story brings the superstar singers, musicians and performers of that time back to life, and his personal recollections of these people as friends and work colleagues, show the fans a side they don’t usually get to see. ~~ Highly Recommended ~~Susan Keefe ~~ TheColumbiaReview.com

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I first got to know Dick back in the sixties…the years often referred to today as the golden age of country music, and introduced him on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry many times. But I knew little of his struggles, his years in the military, his time as half of the Country Lads duet on the Jimmy Dean television shows, the recordings that almost hit but never did….and I’m so glad that here, in his later years, he has recalled and documented his story for posterity. Not only that, but thanks, Dick, for saving all these priceless photos as well. Sometimes the tales told from the foot of the mountain can be, in Dick’s words, even more adventurous, exhilarating, bewildering, and heart breaking than those told from the top. It takes a strong man to admit his shortcomings and an even stronger one to share them with the world. My admiration for Dick Flood grew with every page I turned in his book. I think yours will too! ~~ Bill Anderson ~~ Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame.

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Dick Flood’s new book; My Walk Among The Stars is an interesting and insightful book on the early years of Country Music. Dick Flood was very much a part of the mix, and knew all the players. ~~ Stan Hitchcock ~~ Creator of Country Music Television, (CMT TV).

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A true country music adventure - From Casablanca, to Vietnam, to Nashville. Exhilarating triumphs and devastating heartbreaks. But through it all, Dick Flood, the singer, songwriter, and storyteller, somehow managed to keep a song in his heart.~~ Archie Jordan ~~ Two time Grammy award nominated hit song writer.

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Do you want to walk among the stars and read a real insider’s look at the glory days of country music in the 1960s when Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline were ruling the airwaves and Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Dottie West were just getting started? Then you surely want to read My Walk Among The Stars (Rubbing Shoulders with Country Giants) by Dick Flood, also known to millions of nature lovers as Okefenokee Joe. He tells scores of wonderful and insightful stories of what it was like to tour with some of the biggest names of that era; whether having gospel music legend Martha Carson riding shotgun while Flood drove in dangerously heavy fog late at night or holding a very drunk Ozark Jubilee star Red Foley up by his belt while trying to get him through a show. This is a book about having amazing success with songwriting and recording hits and then losing it all through personal and professional strife. This walk among the stars will make you wish you had been walking and riding along with Flood on his legendary musical journey. ~~ Don Ramblin’ Rhodes ~~ The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle/Morris Communications Co. Longest running country music columnist in America.

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Dick Flood has been a friend of mine for over 50 years. In his long career in country music, he has truly walked among the stars. In 1963 we recorded a live album together for Starday Records as a tribute to the great country music promoter, Mr. Hap Peebles. Hap booked Dick & I on many county fairs & show dates. Dick has recorded hit songs & written hit songs for other artists including my personal favorite, Troubles Back in Town by the Wilburn Brothers. In his two decades in country music Dick worked with everybody who was anybody. This book truly tells the tale of a great singer/songwriter. I am so proud to call him friend! ~~ Johnny Western ~~ Writer and singer of Paladin Theme of Have Gun will Travel CBS Television.

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One of the main attributes of country music is its strong lyrical content. Not surprisingly, a number of its greatest champions often lived out that which they sang. To be certain, theirs is a story unlike few others in the world of music. As one of its most treasured survivors, Dick Flood offers a unique behind the scenes look at not only his own extraordinary career (including his many triumphs under his Okefenokee Joe alter ego), but a number of unique first hand observations in the lives of some of his most vaunted colleagues. It is both an engaging read and an essential reference work. ~~ Michael McDowell ~~ Editor/Publisher Blitz Magazine

Since 1975 - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People

"The detailed richness of the memories in this book will make you feel like you’re right here in the room when each moment happens. Behind-the-scenes is an understatement in the scene is more like it!" ~~ Michael Laskow ~ Founder TAXI Music

CHAPTER 1

MY LUZON VALLEY BOYS

‘My walk among the stars’ had it’s beginning as I stepped down off that C-47 military aircraft at Clark Air Force Base located in the beautiful Philippine Islands. It was the early winter of 1954, and after an eight month stint in South Korea, although I was in the U.S. army I was now stationed on an Air Force Base. And oh was I happy to be there.

Unlike Korea virtually everyone in the Philippines spoke almost perfect English. And quite unlike the ‘Frozen Chosen’ the weather was warm all year around even at Christmas time. The women out there in the nearby town of Angeles Pampanga were all beautiful and so easy to get along with I felt like I had come home to paradise. Even a rum and coke only cost fifteen cents or less, and I was a happy young warrior in hog heaven.

Like all army personnel I pulled duty eight hours a day, although it was sometimes eight hours at night. Never the less it was always just eight hours duty time in every twenty-four hours with most weekends off.

The year I arrived in the Philippines was the last year of the communist led rebellion against President Magsaysay’s liberal government. It was known as the Hukbalahap Rebellion and it had started way back in 1946 just after the second world war had ended.

The people of the Philippines referred to the rebels simply as Huks. So did we on the base. The destruction of the main gate at Clark field in 1954 shortly after I had arrived was one of the last acts of violence committed by the at that time all but defunked communist terrorist organization.

The night that the main gate was demolished my whole company was put on alert. We bivouaced in the jungle just outside the base and patrols were sent out all over Mount Arayat in an attempt to locate and capture the culprits. But to no avail. And after three days we were all ordered back to the base.

That first night in the Philippine jungle I learned very quickly that I must be extremely careful not to pitch my tent anywhere near one of those big red ant hills. Those things were more than an inch long and the bite of one of them was very painful. The hurt could last for hours. I know that because I was bitten by one while I was digging a ditch around my pup tent with my trenching tool and my bayonet. It got me right between my thumb and my forefinger and it hurt like blazes. For about twenty minutes I could not use my right hand. Needless to say I then had to move my tent elsewhere.

I made another foolish mistake that night. Before retiring I hung my fatigue jacket on a branch of a bush just arms length from my tent. When the whistle blew the next morning I jumped up, grabbed my jacket from that bush and quickly put it on.

Immediately I felt two very sharp and painful stabs in the back of my neck! I jerked my jacket off and as I did I saw something drop out of it and fall to the ground. I knelt down to get a better look and found that it was a very large and very much upset yellow scorpion. I quickly smashed it with my boot. And then I began to get the weirdest feeling.

Right away a fever was setting in and my mind was getting fuzzy. It was also hurting like the dickens. It felt as if I had been burned by a match in those two places on the back of my neck.

We had a medic on our team and as he was examining me he told me that the sting from that type of scorpion was seldom fatal, but it could be very painful and could cause hallucinations. He did not need to tell me about the painful part.

I was also told that the army would consider that what had happened to me was my fault. Jungle training teaches to always examine your clothes before putting them on. Especially if your clothes had been hanging in a nearby bush overnight.

We live and learn and I most certainly had learned my lesson. I might add though that I had only been at Clark for a few days and had not yet gone though any kind of Jungle orientation. The only reason we had been rushed out there into the jungle was the fact that those durn Huks had blown up the front gate again.

Other than an occasional duty like that things at Clark were really great. I had three excellent meals a day, wonderful sleeping quarters, a lot of good friends and at the Silver Wing Service Club on the base I could get my hands on a guitar to play.

I met one of General MacAthur’s famous and now retired Filipino scouts who was working at the flight line on base. His name was Maximo and he played beautiful classical guitar. As a matter of fact that’s the reason I met him to begin with. One evening he happened to be at the Silver Wing Service Club while I was there practicing on a guitar. I noticed him listening quietly and watching my fingers move over the guitar, and I asked him if he played guitar too. He nodded his head yes so I handed him the guitar I had been practicing on.

What happened next just about blew me away. That little guy’s fingers went up and down the scales on that guitar like lightning. And he was hitting each and every note perfectly. Then he proceeded to play his version of that ever popular Spanish classic tune Maleguania. And as I watched and listened I thought to myself, Man this guy is better than Mr. Chet Atkins! And we became friends.

Every now and then when the army gave me a three day pass I’d go find Max and we would venture into the jungle. Although we were not actually hunting for snakes we’d often find fairly large Reticulated Pythons. If it was at least ten feet long or longer Max would talk me into helping him capture it alive so he could take it and sell it to a local butcher. The snake always had to be alive and unharmed or the butcher would not buy it.

Max had lived in the Philippine jungle all of his life and he really knew his way around out there. When exploring with him there was no telling what surprises we’d come across behind the next bush, tree or bend in the river.

And speaking of a bend in the river; as a kid I loved the water. I prided myself in being able to swim more than one hundred yards under water without coming up for air. That conditioning in my youth is the reason why in later life I was able to sometimes hold the very last note in any of my yodel songs for sometimes ninety seconds or more.

And one day in that steaming Philippine jungle when Max and I had begun to feel the heat we both decided to cool off by taking a swim in the river we had been walking along. The water was a dark murky almost slimy green color and its current was a little strong, but it sure felt good to jump in and enjoy its coolness. That is until we started noticing small brown blobs bobbing up and down, and drifting on by us with the current.

Wondering what they were I grabbed one. Surprisingly it immediately all but disintegrated in my hand and it smelled terrible. Needless to say I did not purposely touch any more of them as they floated on by me. I didn’t care what they were. I just didn’t want anything to do with them.

Then even though there was almost zero visibility I decided to swim a little underwater. I took