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Debbie and Doyle

Posted on: 12, Jan

Six weeks ago Doyle Mayfield’s collision course with fame got back on track.

Back home in Mooney’s Gap to take care of some unspecified community service, he stuck his head into the tiny VFW hall for a cold one. On that tiny stage he beheld his destiny: an angelic singer warbling the distaff hits from the Doyle & Debbie catalog, and already named Debbie.

“I know it’s the big break I’ve always been looking for,” says Debbie Purdy, who, after five minutes of conversation with Mayfield that cold, gray night, joined Doyle & Debbie full-time. “It’s like I was born to be part of this amazing country music tradition, what with me being named Debbie and all.”

In the very short time they’ve been together, Mayfield and Purdy have already added two new songs to the act: the linguistically poignant “ABC’s of Love” and the destined-to-be hit “For The Children,” which Mayfield is already shopping around Music Row.

“We haven’t even finished the demo yet, but we’ve already been turned down by Faith, Martina, Carrie, Trisha, Reba and Shania, so there’s some buzz on it around town,” Mayfield says. “We’re hoping to get it to Jessica Simpson by the end of the week, Lord willin’.”

News of the newly reconstituted Doyle & Debbie spread through the entertainment community like wildfire. Late-night talk staple Conan O’Brien was the first in line to grab the duo for his show, with Doyle & Debbie scheduled for an appearance on Friday, Jan. 11, even if Purdy isn’t quite sure who O’Brien is.

“I’ve been singin’ till three o’clock in the morning for the past 15 years, and we didn’t have TV down at the VFW hall, so I haven’t even seen this Late Night with Conan The Barbarian stuff, Purdy says. “Is this the fella that replaced Arsenio Hall?”

But the really big news for Doyle & Debbie is their Tuesday-night residency at the world-famous Station Inn, which started January 8, giving longtime fans the chance to see the old hits (and new Debbie) in an intimate setting. “This is something I never thought I’d get to do,” Purdy says.

“Here I am, taking Nashville by storm, right alongside the most famous man ever to hail from Mooney’s Gap, doing it right in the shadow of massive amounts of condo construction. It don’t get any better than this.”

“That’s mighty fine, Debbie,” Mayfield replies.

“Thank you, Doyle,” Debbie concludes.

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As you all know David Copperfield is a famous American magician and illusionist. But that doesn’t mean his life is a piece of cake. Here is a part of his history.

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Stonewall Jackson (born in Tabor City, North Carolina November 6, 1932) is an American country singer and musician who achieved his greatest fame during country’s golden Honky Tonk era in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was named after the famous general, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, who was an ancestor.

His most popular song was “Waterloo” in 1959. The song is a haunting and catchy tune that states that “Everybody has to meet his Waterloo,” meaning their fate or comeuppance. The song cites Adam, Napoleon and Tom Dooley as examples.

Jackson was the first to join the Grand Ole Opry before he got a recording contract. He signed to Columbia Records and debuted in 1958 with “Don’t Be Angry.” The song didn’t score in the country music top 40, but it got him recognition.

His breakthrough came in the country Top 40 in late 1958, with a song written by a young George Jones, “Life to Go.” It peaked at #2 in early 1959 and his follow-up record, “Waterloo,” was #1 for 5 weeks and crossed over into the Top 40 Pop charts, where it reached #4. His next #1 came in 1964, with “B.J. The D.J.” (about an over-worked country music radio station DJ, who crashes his car in a rainstorm because of bad tires). Jackson was the first to record a live record from the Grand Ole Opry, in 1963 with “Old Showboat.”Other classics include “The Carpet On The Floor,” “Why I’m Walkin’,” “A Wound Time Can’t Erase” and “I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water.” Jackson also recorded a cover of Lobo’s 1971 hit, “Me and You and a Dog Named Boo.”

From 1958 to 1971, Jackson had 35 Top 40 Country Hits. Along with Ray Price, Jackson is considered a cornerstone, after Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell, in the hard-driving “Honky Tonk” sound in the late 50’s and early 60’s.

In 2006, Jackson sued the Grand Ole Opry for $10 million, claiming age discrimination. As a member of the Opry for over fifty years, Jackson believed that management was sidelining him in favor of younger artists. In his court filing, Jackson claimed that Grand Ole Opry general manager Pete Fisher stated that he didn’t “want any gray hairs on that stage or in the audience, and before I’m done there won’t be any.” Fisher is also alleged to have told Jackson that he was “too old and too country.”

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