December
2008
I'll start by updating you about my wife,
Loretta's back surgery on Dec. 8th. Both the general surgeon and the
neurosurgeon came out and talked with us, telling us the surgery had gone
fine and she'd be in her room in about an hour. We went to the area where
her room would be and waited more than two hours. The Felts family was
paged. When I answered the nurse said, "Mr. Felts, she's not waking up.
She's not breathing on her own and she's very weak! Could you come to the
recovery room?" We went, I took one of her hands, our daughter, Stacia took
the other. She was struggling and realized we were there. She then shut her
eyes almost closed, got very still, her respiratory reading went to zero!
After several seconds she took a deep breath, opened her eyes and really
started struggling to stay with us! It turned out she was allergic to the
anesthesia. We almost lost her in recovery!
When they finally got her to her room in
the level just below Intensive Care Unit she told me, "I saw Bub! (Bub is
our late son) He came and took me by both my hands and led me up through a
rainbow and let me touch the colors. He then got a puzzled look on his face
and led me back down. He put one of my hands in yours, the other in Stacia's.
I opened my eyes and there you both were with tears in your eyes, my hands
in yours."
The next night she fell in her room and
cut her head! She's now home and getting stronger each day. With taking care
of her and answering all the Christmas cards that came each day my December
was quite busy.
To recap 2008: I played 17 shows from
January to November. They were in 10 states the length of the USA from
Florida to Minnesota to Texas. This included me headlining a rockabilly
festival in Austria. Most of my US Shows were "Narvel Concerts" in Theatres.
There were also such package shows as Country Gold, Country Legends and
Tribute to the Louisiana Hayride. These were with many country legends
including Leroy Van Dyke, Freddie Hart and Jim Ed Brown. My recording,
"Fraulein" went to #8 in the major HotDisc Chart, which is compiled from 100
reporting DJs in a dozen European countries plus Australia and New Zealand.
Loretta found a rare tape that we didn't know we had. It was Bub singing,
"Ruby's Red Lips". We released it to the HotDisc reporters. It went to #21
in their top 40.
We hope you had a great Christmas and
that 2009 will be kind to you.
Loretta and Narvel
A Happier, healthier Christmas - 1993
Photo taken by Bub |
Cover of the Austrian
Rockabilly Bombardeer Magazine
advertising the show with Narvel as the Headliner
Click
any of these photos for larger view |
Narvel Arrives in Austria
Narvel was driven from the Munich,
Germany airport to Hohenems, Austria in this '50 Mercury
October 26, 2008
Photo Courtesy of Martin Telfser |
Narvel Headlines Festival in Austria
Narvel on stage backed by "Mars
Attack" and the "Narvelettes". Bombardeers Rockabilly
Festival, TennisEventCenter, Hohenems, Austria
October 25, 2008
Photo Courtesy of Martin Telfser |
November
2008
On November 11th, I was at home in
Malden, MO with my wife, Loretta for my 70th Birthday. Thank you all for the
gifts, cards and calls from America and Europe! I'd played my last show in
my 60's in Hohenems, Austria to a full house and very receptive audience.
October 25th - November 14th I did my 3rd
annual concert at the historic Collins Theatre in downtown Paragould,
Arkansas. This was my first show in my 70s! I'm thankful my career has
survived from 17 to 70 and from the 78 RPMs to CDs! The first two years in
Paragould had been sell outs. This time a bad wind and rain storm came
through in late afternoon and lasted till show time. I was afraid this would
hurt the crowd but I took the stage to a full house, balcony and all! Gary
Prince & Sugar Creek had done a great job on their opening the show, as they
did backing me. Terry Wood from Country Legends Radio 95.9 did a terrific
job singing a couple of songs on their set and introducing me. I called him
on stage for a duet with me of "Johnny B. Goode". Prior to the show they,
along with the promoter had gathered in the dressing room with a birthday
cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to me. A huge birthday cake was in the lobby
for the audience as was a large card for them to sign. Michael Smith, "The
Hillbilly Cat" presented me with a birthday plaque on stage during my show.
His wife, Debby brought roses and a teddy bear and laid them on the edge of
the stage. The audience had come from as far away as Little Rock, some 260
miles to the south and from St. Charles, Missouri, some 260 miles to the
north. They were very receptive and blessed me with a standing ovation at
the end, then a near 2 hour autograph line where I stood for them in the
lobby afterward at Huey's Record Rack. Huey and I then made the 60 mile
drive home. This show had been a "Narvel Show" filled with my hits from the
70s plus some from the 50s and 60s
Loretta has a very serious back surgery
on December 8th in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. A general surgeon will go
through the front of her abdomen preparing the way for a neurological
surgeon to do the fusion in her lower back. She'd had a serious back surgery
in 1999. Please remember her in your prayers.
 Merry
Christmas
from Narvel & Loretta Felts
Click card for larger view |
 Loretta
Felts
Christmas at Home
Malden, Missouri
Click card for larger view |
October
2008
On October 11th I did my 6th annual
concert at the Riverview Ampitheatre at the Lady Luck Casino on the bank of
the Mississippi River in Caruthersville, MO. Beautiful weather and a big
crowd welcomed me to this out-door stage. I was backed by Double Edge
who did their usual marvelous job backing me. This Memphis based band did a
great job on their own opening the show, too. The crowd was very receptive.
They blessed me with a some two hour autograph line at Huey's Record Rack
after my one hour show.
October 17th Huey and I made the more
than 11 hour drive to Durant, Oklahoma. I was there to be one of the artists
on a tribute to the Louisiana Hayride at the Choctaw Event Center on
Saturday, the 18th. Among the other artists appearances were: Charlie Louvin,
T. Graham Brown and Marty Raybon. Backing me on my five song set was the
Rodney Lay Trio. They did their always great job. A really big crowd
welcomed me to the stage. I did my show to much applause and many screams. A
long autograph line awaited at Huey's Record Rack.
Sunday the 19th we made the some 2 1/2
hour on to Fort Worth, Texas. I was there to be a part of the Country
Legends Show at the Will Rogers Memorial Center. I was on the headline set
with: Freddie Hart, Jim Ed Brown, Leroy Van Dyke and David Ball. I did my
four song set to a full house with many people standing in front of the
stage. They applauded and screamed loudly through parts of each of my songs.
They kept this up at the end of, "Somebody Hold Me" till I repeated the
ending again! This Texas/Missouri band and vocal group did a wonderful job
backing me. A long autograph line awaited me at Huey's Record Rack. The
following day we made our some 12 hour drive home in my white '05 Dodge
Grand Caravan. A 1,230 mile round trip. After arriving home late on Monday
night I had two days to down-load from this trip and get ready to go to
Austria.
On Thursday, October 23rd I made the near
3 hour drive from my home in Malden, MO to the Memphis airport in the
pouring rain. There I caught a flight to Amsterdam, Holland. We flew through
the night arriving late in the morning on Friday the 24th. There I changed
planes and flew on to Munich, Germany arriving mid afternoon. I was met by a
young man of 25 named Phil. He had a 1950's picture of Elvis' face tattooed
on his arm. He led me to a golden brown customized '50 Mercury and drove me
the three hour drive on to Hohenems, Austria. He took me first to the TennisEventCenter where my show would be the following night on the 25th.
The Bombardeers Old School & Rockabilly Club were staging their annual
festival there I was the headliner. Martin, leader of the band Mars Attack
who would be backing me then drove me to my hotel. The next morning we had
our rehearsal. I then taped an interview with Jens Bohn for his radio show
on Radio Memory jens-bohn@t-online.de
www.memoryhits.com When I took the
stage that night the Event Center was full. People stood shoulder to
shoulder from the edge of the stage to the back of the building. They gave
me a rousing welcome. They were there to see me perform my Rockabilly
records from the 1950's which have now become legendary in the Rockabilly
circles around the world. The hit of the night was my 1957 Sun Records
recording, "Did You Tell Me" Their lips were mouthing the words along with
me Of course I sprinkled some of my top country hits of the 70's into my
hour show. Little Rachel & Barbara became the Narvelettes and did some vocal
backgrounds. They and Mars Attack did a marvelous job backing me. The crowd
called me back for two encores. This ended my last show in this decade of my
life, the 60's, A two hour autograph line awaited. Through it came fans
dressed like the 1950's from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and
Holland.
Sunday, the 26th Phil drove me back to
Munich where I stayed at a hotel with airport shuttle service. The next
morning I was up before daylight for the trip back home. I arrived some 24
hours later. I got very sleepy driving the last 25 miles. It took me a week
to get over my jet lag. I'm looking forward to being home with Loretta on my
70th Birthday on November 11th.
Final Farewell: Rube Yelvington (As
manager of the Music Ranch USA, West Point, KY, Rube booked me for about a
dozen shows there from 1999 to 2007)
(above) T. Graham Brown & Narvel
Choctaw Event Center
Durant, Oklahoma
Oct. 18, 2008
Photo courtesy: Ruth & Roy Bruks
Click photo for larger view |
|
 |
(left)
Narvel Felts
Riverview Ampitheatre
Lady Luck Casino
Caruthersville, Missouri
Oct. 11, 2008Photo courtesy: Ruth Bryant
Click photo for larger view |
September
2008
A few months ago my wife, Loretta was
looking through a dresser drawer when she found a cassette tape. On it was
written, "Bub Sings 7th Song". We were not aware we had this. We listened
and cried, hearing him sing a song we were not familiar with. I sent it to
Nashville, had it mastered then had it released to Country DJs across Europe
plus some in Australia and New Zealand on the September compilation of
HotDisc. September 14th was the 13th anniversary of our son Bub's death.
"Ruby's Red Lips" by Bub just peaked at #21 in the HotDisc Country Top
40/ This chart is compiled from a hundred or more DJ reports. We'd like to
share this with you, so this song, plus my talk about it can be downloaded
FREE as a gift from Loretta and me... plus the song's writer, Ed Dickey
by going to the Ode To Bub page on this web site.
On September 20th I did a concert at the
Stoddard County Fair at Dexter, MO. It had been this fair that I'd attended
with some buddies when I was 16. The bleachers were full for my show. The
audience was very receptive. It included some classmates of mine from Bernie
High School. They'd been in the audience when I entered that high school
talent contest back in 1956 when I was 17. This led to my music career
that's lasted ever since. I was introduced at this 2008 show by Walt Turner
from KDEX Radio. The Bill Barnett band did a great job backing me. A long
autograph line awaited at Huey's Record Rack when the show was over. I then
made the short 15 mile drive back home.
I've been taking Loretta to doctors and
hospitals for tests. She'll have to undergo another back surgery when my
October, November touring dates are done. She had major spinal surgery the
first time in 1999. This one will probably be around December 1st. Please
remember her in your prayers.
Final Farewell: Charlie Walker, Stan Kann
 |
Harold Boner (Manager) & Narvel
Lovelaceville, KY
November 9, 2002Photo courtesy: Faye Huffman
Click photo for larger view |
 |
Larry
Cole performs at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame alongside
Narvel's life-size portrait of Narvel's induction into the
RBHF
Rock-a-Billy Fest '06
Rock-a-billy Hall of Fame, Jackson, TN Photo courtesy: A fan of
Larry's took this photo and sent it to him and he generously
shared it with us. Thanks Larry!
Click photo for larger view See
more of Larry and Narvel here |
August
2008
August 9th I was one of the headliners at
the International Rock-a-Billy Hall of Fame Fest, 2008. The show was held in
the arena building at the fair grounds in Jackson, TN. Other acts appearing
were "Little David Wilkins, W. S. Holland & the Johnny Cash Experience,
Sonny Burgess & the Pacers plus Larry Cole. I took the stage after a great
introduction by Hall of Fame DJ, Ron Campbell. I was backed by Double Edge
who did a great job backing me. The full house blessed me with standing
ovations then a long autograph line after my show. Fans and friends from as
far away as Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Germany and Holland came
through my line to Huey's Record Rack as did Tennessee fans.
August 23rd I did a matinee plus a night
show at the Midwest Country Theatre in Sandstone, Minnesota. I walked on the
stage to a standing ovation at the first show. The near full house gave me
another one at the end of the of that show. On the second show the good
crowd gave me a standing ovation after, "Somebody Hold Me". This prompted me
to repeat the ending. They blessed me with another standing ovation at the
end of that show. Autograph lines awaited me after each show. They were from
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota and Canada. The Midwest Country
Band with Michellle Johnson did a great job backing me on each show. They
also did great opening sets/ These shows were taped and portions will be
used on future Midwest Country shows on RFD-TV. This airs at 8pm central
time on Saturdays. Speaking of RFD, a couple of people have told me they
recently saw me on the Porter Wagoner Show from 1974 on that network.
Huey and I drove this trip. Thursday and
Friday going up (Saturday shows) Sunday and Monday coming back. A 1,930 mile
round-trip in his gold '06 Buick Lucerne.
Final Farewell: Leroy Glazier, Jerry
Reed, Buddy Harmon
 |
Narvel Felts & Leroy Glazier
Midwest Country Theatre, Sandstone, MinnesotaPhoto
courtesy: Jerry & Bev Mackey
Click photo for larger view |
June
2008
On June 20th my manager, Harold Boner and
I made the 6 hour drive to Marengo, Indiana. This was the first time Harold
has made a trip with me in a couple of years. He has been in failing health.
He did good on this trip and getting around on his walker. It was good
having this visit with him. The morning of the 21st we were met my Jack
Randle from WPRO 89.9 Country Radio. He took us for breakfast at a
restaurant on a high hill overlooking the Ohio River with a view of Kentucky
on the other side. I was in the Marengo area to do a concert that night at
the Crawford County Fair Grounds. After that afternoon's rehearsal, friends
and fans Tom and Annie Costello, who had made the long drive from South of
Cincinatti to be there, took us to supper.
That night's concert was opened by Linda
Smith and the Tunes. I took the stage backed by the Corn Brothers The
Audience blessed me with standing ovations. A long autograph line awaited at
Harold's Record Rack. The radio station had played 3 hours of nothing but
Narvel, before the concert started. The following day we made our Sunday
drive home, a 643 mile round trip.
I welcome two new members to our family.
Walter Sorrells married my sister, Ogareeda They had each lost their life's
mates in '05. Jess Foster married my niece, Lecia.
As I finish this June's news to you on
July 18th, I was bitten on my arm by a brown recluse spider during the night
prior to the morning of the 15th. I've been to the doctor today and it
is better. It should be well in 2 or 3 weeks. This happened at home in my
own bed. I had been bitten on my leg the same way in 2000. It's a constant
battle to try and keep them controlled here.
Final Farewell: Danny Davis (of Danny
Davis & the Nashville Brass) and Hugh Jarrett (formerly of the Jordanaires)
 |
Narvel Felts 64th Birthday Show
Nov. 9, 2002 (actual birthday Nov. 11th)
Trail's End Ranch, Music Barn
Lovelaceville, KentuckyPhoto by Ruth Bryant
Click photo for larger view |
May
2008
Saturday night, May 24th Huey and I made
the near 200 mile drive to our motel in Adamsville, TN On Sunday afternoon
the 25th I played a concert at the Double D Music Hall in nearby Crump, TN.
The show was opened by Bo Jack and River City Express. The River City
Express Trio backed me on my show. All did a good job. A good crowd welcomed
me to the stage and blessed me with a great reception throughout my show.
Tracy Davis had won a contest to join me on stage for a duet. She chose, "To
Love Somebody", which had been a top 20 country hit for me in 1977 for us to
do. The crowd loved it. She did a fine job A long autograph line awaited me
at Huey's Record Rack. We made our drive back home that night. My wife,
Loretta's birthday will be July 3rd. I look forward to being with her on
that day.
Final Farewell: Glen Barber, Jerry
Wallace, Jim Hager, Eddy Arnold and Bo Diddley
 |
Narvel Autographing
Florida State Fair
Tampa, FL
Feb. 14, 2008Photo by L&S Hamilton Photography
Click photo for larger view |
April
2008
On April 1st my wife Loretta and I and our daughter, Stacia
observed what would have been Narvel "Bub" Felts, Jr.'s 44th birthday. Bub
had played drums with me (his dad). We lost him in a car accident on a foggy
highway near Campbell, MO On Sept. 14th, 1995. He was 31. This month Loretta
found a treasure tucked away in a dresser drawer that we didn't remember
having. The tape was from when Bub was doing some studio work in 1991. The
first few sons were by another artist. A note said, "Bub sings last song."
We listened, Loretta cried, Stacia and I got misty-eyed hearing his precious
voice again. It was very good. He could have been a hit country artist!
April 19th I did a concert at the, "Fun on the Farm Jamboree" which is held
in the Dixie Carter Performing Arts Center in Huntingdon, TN and aired live
on True Country Radio 100.9. We had a complete sell out! This is a near 500
seat beautiful theatre. Fans were there from several states including
Illinois but the long distance traveler award would have to go to Faye
Huffman and sister Patsy from Louisiana who bought their mother and sister
Judy who drove from Oklahoma to meet them there and attend. The show was
opened by several area singers who did two or three songs each. Double Edge
did a marvelous job backing me. The crowd blessed me with 3 standing
ovations Huey's record rack then opened and a long autograph line awaited in
the lobby.
April 30th Loretta and I celebrated out 46th wedding anniversary quietly at
home. She grows more precious as years go by.
P.S. "Fraulein" by me peaked at #8 in the Hotdisc top 40. This chart is
compiled from country DJ reports across Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
It's peak was April 17th with 111 reporting.
 |
T. G. Sheppard and Narvel Felts
Florida State Fair
Tampa, Florida
February 14, 2008
Photo by Sam HamiltonClick photo for larger view |
March
2008
March 1st I did a show at the Eagles Club
in Cape Girardeau, MO. I'd been there in March of '07 and sold it out. This
year it was full again. The Bill Barnett Band did a great job of backing me.
In the receptive audience was our former 6 term US Congressman, Bill Burlison and his wife. From KWKZ Radio (who promoted my show) was Rick Jones
and Doug Owens. They joined me on stage for a song. Long distance travelers
all the way from Baton Rouge, Louisiana were Faye Huffman and sister Judy.
Also in the crowd was Michael Anthony Smith and his wife, Debby. Michael
entertains as "The Hillbilly Cat" and looks the part. My daughter, Stacia
made this short 129 mile round trip drive with me as did Huey P. Long who
had driven down from Kansas City to sell my CDs at the show. A more than 2
hour autograph line awaited after my show at Huey's Record Rack.
On March 15th I played a concert at The
Middle Creek Theatre near Louisburg, Kansas. This was the 7th anniversary of
this show. A good receptive crowd attended my show. The Middle Creek Band
did a wonderful job backing me. In the audience was a lady who's been a big
fan of mine since 1974, Mary Lambright. Long distance travelers were Jerry
and Bev Mackey all the way from Minneapolis, MN. They were kind enough to
drive me the 68 mile round trip from our motel to the rehearsal, again to
the show. A long autograph line awaited after my show at Huey's Record Rack.
Sunday I made the drive home alone. I'd driven up on Friday, a some 800 mile
round trip.
 |
Click on pics
for larger view |
 |
Rudy Gatlin, Ronnie Prophet, Bobby Bare, Narvel
Felts & Moe Bandy back stage, Florida State Fair,
Tampa, FL
Feb. 14, 2008 |
|
Narvel Felts & Huey P. Long
Middle Creek Theatre, Louisville, KS - March 15,
2008
Huey travels with Narvel & handles sales |
February
2008
On Valentines Day, Feb. 14th I was a part
of the Country Gold Tour. We played the Florida State Fair in Tampa. The
other artists on the show were: Leroy VanDyke, Bobby Bare, Jim Ed Brown,
Helen Cornelius, T. G. Sheppard, Moe Bandy, The Gatlin Brothers and Ronnie
Prophet. This was one of the most amazing shows I've ever been a part of!
Once people paid to get into the fairgrounds they had to buy a ticket to get
into our show. The auditorium had 4,000 seats. Some 3,500 attended our noon
show then out 4pm show was a sell out so some 7,500 attended our shows.
With so many of us on the show, we did 4 songs each on each show. I was told
I got 3 standing ovations on the last show (the spotlights were so bright I
couldn't tell). Leroy then called me back for an encore. A long excited line
awaited at the autograph tables. They were pushing so hard at my table after
the 2nd show that they nearly knocked it down!
As all the artists shared the same dressing room and we were there from
around 9:30am till about 8pm we had a great visit. The auctioneers did an
excellent job backing us all. I've never heard anyone do better!
Final farewell to Bobby Lee Trammell who was found dead in his Jonesboro,
Arkansas home around the 20th of February. Like me, Bobby Lee was an
original Rockabilly in the latter 1950s. He had such records as, "You Mostest Girl" and Shirley Lee". In the early 1960's his "Arkansas Twist"
became a big regional hit. In 1972, "Love Isn't Love ('Til You Give it
Away)" made the national country charts. In 1964 & 1965 he was a frequent
guest on my TV show, "Narvel Felts Show" on KAIT-TV channel 8, Jonesboro,
Arkansas. We did several personal appearances together back in those days.
In 1973 he was in Bill Rice's office while Bill and I worked up "Drift Away"
to record that night. Bobby Lee and I had supper together and he told me,
"This is the one you've been looking for. It's going to do it for you." He
was right! When I recorded "Reconsider Me" it was a split session with Bobby
Lee doing 2 songs, me doing 2 songs. After my take on "Reconsider Me" Bobby
Lee said, "Remember what I told you when you recorded "Drift Away"? This
one's gonna be even bigger." It was!
He later got into politics and won State Representative in his Arkansas
District 3 times! He called me this past year and we had a good long long,
overdue phone visit. He was 74.
 |
Narvel Felts,
Billy Lee Riley and Wade Olson
Ritz Carlton Hotel, Cleveland, Ohio
Nov. 10, 2007
"Prayers for Billy Lee Riley who recently suffered a
heart attack while undergoing hip replacement
surgery.
Photo by Holly Olson
View larger photo
|
January, 2008
On January 26th I did my annual concert
at the Florida Sunshine Opry in Eustis, FL. This was my first show of 2008,
the first of my 52nd year in the music business.
The day before I was up early at 6:30am, had my breakfast and drove the near
200 miles to the St. Louis Airport. There I went through security and caught
my flight to Tampa. There I rented a car and drove the more than 100 miles
on alone to my motel near Eustis arriving around 11pm.
A good receptive crowd attended my concert and blessed me with three
standing ovations. They were from Florida, North Carolina, Connecticut,
Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan and South Dakota. One couple, Larry and Linda
Armstrong from Minnesota had attended my last concert of 2007 in Hayward,
Wisconsin during a snow storm. Imagine my surprise when I saw them at my
first of '08, some 1700 miles from my last show!
The Sunshine Opry Band did a great job backing me... probably their best job
ever. A long autograph line awaited in the lobby.
The next morning I was up early again and arrived home 17 hours later.
From
time to time I release a record to the Hot Disc reporters around the world.
In '05, "Away" went to #5 in this Country Top 40. In '07, "Earth Angel" went
to #10. In late '07 I released "Four Seasons of Life" which I feel is the
best song I've ever written. It probably has too deep a meaning to be a big
commercial success as it peaked at #31. I'd like to share a few of the
reports with you from some of the ones who loved it.
John Bjoersvik - Radio Sotra, Norway; "A genius!"
Tom Robinson - Kingstown Radio, UK; "Narvel's best yet. So much feeling and
I've been a great admirer of his talents over many years. This performance
has depth of feeling in the vocals, music an a first rate storyline.
Excellent all around recording."
Jaap De Geus - Radio Spijkenisse, Holland; "What a wonderful thing it is
that this legendary fellow is still around. I'd wish him plenty of four
seasons to come."
Roy Hoysted - Breeze Radio, Australia; "The legend lives on."
I wrote "Four Seasons of Life" when I was 24, just before our first child,
Stacia was born. The older I get the more sense it makes. It's available on
my CD, "Super Songs Narvelized."
Photos:
Narvel with his band in 1979 & 2 of the latest photos from Narvel's fans
here
