Remembering Mel Tillis: Randy Travis, Charlie Daniels Pay Respects

Following the news of country music legend Mel Tillis’ passing Nov. 19, friends, colleagues and contemporaries paid their respects with heartfelt remembrances, including bandmate Bobby Bare, who said, “I’ve lost a brother.”  

Mel Tillis
Jason Moore
– Mel Tillis
“Stagecoach: California

The statement, compiled from 117 Entertainment, continues: 

“Mel was the very first person I met when I came to Nashville in the late ‘50s and we’ve been friends ever since. I’ve lost another fishing buddy and a talented, talented brother. Without Mel and ‘Detroit City,’ I probably would not have had a career. Mel’s one of those people you’ve got to love.” – Bobby Bare, fellow Country Music Hall of Fame member and bandmate of Tillis’ in “Old Dogs” with Jerry Reed and Waylon Jennings. Mel Tillis co-wrote Bare’s smash-hit “Detroit City.” 

“Mel was a special friend, great artist, and constant inspiration to me—Heaven’s choir just got sweeter.” – Randy Travis, fellow Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member 

“Hall of Fame entertainer and songwriter — he was all in one, a great combination. He is one of our biggest heroes.” – Randy Owen of Alabama, fellow Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame member 

“Mel Tillis, you will be missed by so many of us you touched over the years. Rest in peace my friend.” – Charlie Daniels, fellow Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member 

“All I could think of when I heard the news of Mel’s passing was ‘one of the brightest lights in country music went out last night.’ He left an amazing legacy with his songs, but I will always remember his humor more than anything else. It’s sad to think there will be no more ‘Mel Tillis stories.’ – Jeannie Seely, fellow Grand Ole Opry member 

“It’s a sad day in country music but even sadder for the family and those of us who loved the late, great Mel Tillis. His life was the stage and making people laugh for years. He was truly one of the kindest men in the business to me. He was great friends with my dad and my uncle Bill and he’s treated me like a daughter. My heart breaks for the future of the Tillis family while they heal. It’s a hole that will never be filled for them. God bless Mel Tillis and the Tillis family.” – Lorrie Morgan, fellow Grand Ole Opry member 

“Mel was a great entertainer who inspired me so much. I am deeply saddened. What a great friend he was to me. I just thought the world of him. We will miss him dearly. His great songs will be with us forever. God Bless his family.” – Moe Bandy 

“I first met Mel when I played with him on Bobby Bare and Friends in ‘85. He was a true country gentleman, a giant songwriter and an icon.” – Max T. Barnes 

“We always loved working with Mel. He was one of the kindest, funniest persons we were ever around! We still laugh about the stories he would tell, hanging out after a show – one of the memorable people in our career.” – Marlon Hargis of Exile 

“I was honored to be Mel’s friend! He took me under his wing a long time ago and for that I will be forever grateful. The world has lost a truly talented man. His music and hilarious stories will live on forever. Rest in peace my friend, I’ll see you on the other side.” – Johnny Lee 

“Mel Tillis was one of the first people I met in Nashville and he was always so kind to me. We certainly have lost a giant in our music family.” – Lee Roy Parnell 

“We lost a treasure today! Mel Tillis will always be an American original, he was humble, kind, gracious and funny. His stories were amazing — thank you, Mel, for showing me how it’s done. Be as cool off stage as you are on stage. Rest in Peace my friend.” – Tim Rushlow 

Tillis remained active in recent years, and in 2016 was part of the Country Music Cruise that included Wade Hayes, T. Graham Brown, Riders In The Sky, The Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rogers, Randy Owen and others in January of that year.  

He also remained active at the Grand Ole Opry, often playing with daughter Pam Tillis. In 2014 he was part of the WInstock festival in Winstead, Minn., which included Toby Keith, Ashley Monroe, and Justin Moore June 14. In 2013 he had a residency at the Clay Cooper Theater in Branson, Mo., from September to November and a March run at the Riverside Resort Hotel and Casino in Laughlin, Nev., which he played frequently in recent years. 

 Mel Tillis Passes at 85 

Mel Tillis
Alonzo Adams/Invision/AP, File
– Mel Tillis

A spokesman for Tillis, Don Murry Grubbs, said Tillis died early Sunday at Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala, Florida. He was 85.

Grubbs said Tillis battled intestinal issues since 2016 and never fully recovered. The suspected cause of death is respiratory failure.

Tillis, the father of country singer Pam Tillis, recorded more than 60 albums and had more than 30 top 10 country singles, including “Good Woman Blues,” ”Coca Cola Cowboy” and “Southern Rain.” Among the hits he wrote for others were “Detroit City” for Bobby Bare; “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town,” by Rogers and the First Edition; and “Thoughts of a Fool” for George Strait.

Country music stars Charlie Daniels, Crystal Gayle and Blake Shelton offered their condolences on Twitter.

“He once spent an entire day at his place in Tennessee showing me all the memorabilia he’d gathered over the years where he gave me a pair of his stage boots,” Shelton’s account said. “He even took time to talk me through some hard times in my life on a couple phone calls.”

Although his early efforts to get a record deal were rebuffed because of his stutter, he was a promising songwriter in Nashville in the 1950s and 1960s, writing tunes for Webb Pierce and Ray Price.

In all, the Country Music Hall of Fame member wrote more than 1,000 songs and in 2012 received a National Medal of Arts for bringing “his unique blend of warmth and humor to the great tradition of country music.”

He also dabbled in acting, appearing in such feature films as Clint Eastwood’s “Every Which Way But Loose,” and the Burt Reynolds movies “Cannonball Run I and II” and “Smokey and the Bandit II.” He starred in several television movies and briefly had a network TV show, “Mel and Susan Together,” with Susan Anton.

>In 2007, Tillis became a regular performer on the Grand Ole Opry country music show.

“You know what? Another part of the dream has been fulfilled,” he said at the time. “It’s been a long, hard road.”

>Tillis was raised in Pahokee, Florida, and developed his stutter as a child while being treated for malaria. He dropped out of the University of Florida and instead served in the Air Force and worked on the railroad before relocating to Nashville in 1957.

Musical from an early age, he started performing in the early 1950s with a group called The Westerners, while stationed in Okinawa and serving as a baker in the Air Force.

He held a variety of odd jobs before breaking out, including being a truck driver, a strawberry picker, a firefighter on the railroad and milkman, which inspired his breakthrough song. Feeling down one day he began singing to himself, “Oh Lord, I’m tired. Tired of living this ol’ way.” He turned his lament into “I’m Tired,” which became a hit for Webb Pierce.

Price, Skaggs, Brenda Lee and hundreds of others would cover his songs.

Tillis, meanwhile, became a major success on his own in the late 1960s and toured for decades, often using his stutter as a source of humor — though his stutter disappeared when he sang. — Associated Press