Mel Tillis
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Lonnie Melvin Tillis (born August 8, 1932 in Tampa Florida, and raised up in Pahokee, Florida) is a country music singer and songwriter.
Tillis has scored nearly six dozen country hits from the years 1958 to 1988. His biggest country hit, 1972's "I Ain't Never" had been a major hit for Webb Pierce in 1959. He was honored as the Country Music Association "Entertainer of the Year" in 1976. As a songwriter, Tillis' song, "Detroit City," was a number one hit on the U.S. country charts in 1963 for Bobby Bare, and has since been covered by a number of other artists. He also wrote "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town", which became a hit for Kenny Rogers.
In 1976, Tillis won the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year award. Entertainer of the Year is the CMA's most prestigious and coveted award.
Tillis is known for a trademark stutter, which disappears when he sings. A story about Tillis is that he would order grits in a restaurant because it was the only dish that he could pronounce clearly.
In 1972, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. During the 1980s, he was a spokesman and also sang in Whataburger television advertisements. In 1998, he formed the musical group, Old Dogs, together with his friends Jerry Reed, Bobby Bare and Waylon Jennings.
His daughter is the successful country music artist, Pam Tillis.
He has also been a frequent guest on the fishing television series Bill Dance Outdoors, partaking in humorous skits wherein he antagonizes the host until he relents and takes him fishing for Carp, despite the fact that Bill preferred to fish for Black Bass.
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