Rare Track: Not in Front of the Kids (Mel Tillis)

•Single: Not in Front of the Kids, RIC S-150-65 (1965)
•Written By: Unknown
•Produced By: Unknown
•Studio: Unknown

Not in Front of the Kids was one of six singles that Mel recorded for RIC in 1965. This was after Mel ended a brief stint with Decca Records (1962 ~ 1964) and before he joined Kapp Records (1966 ~ 1971). When Kapp signed Mel to a recording contract, they purchased the RIC singles, which included, Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back / Not in Front of the Kids (RIC S-150-65), Wine / Buired Alive (RIC S-158-65) and Mr. Dropout / Bring On the Blues (RIC S-178-65). Kapp did not release this material. However Gusto Records reissued these singles on a CD titled, Mel Tillis At his Best in 2009.

Mel Tillis (b. 8/8/1932): Although Mel recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the '70s and into the mid-'80s. In 1976, Mel was named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association (CMA). Mel is the father of country music singer Pam Tillis.

During his youth, Mel learned the drums as well as guitar. At age 16 he won a local talent show. Later, he worked for the railroad, before joining the United States Air Force. When Tillis was stationed in Okinawa, he formed a band called The Westerners, which played at local nightclubs. After his military stint ended (1955), Tillis worked a number of odd jobs before moving to Nashville, Tennessee. The following year, Mel wrote several songs for Webb Pierce, including, I'm Tired (1956), Honky Tonk Song (1956) and Tupelo County Jail (1958). Ray Price and Brenda Lee also charted songs composed by Tillis around this time. In the late 1950s, after becoming a hit-making songwriter, Mel signed a recording contract with Columbia Records. In 1958, he charted his first Top-40 hit, The Violet and a Rose.

Mel wrote the hits I Ain't Never for Webb Pierce (Tillis's own future hit) and Crazy, Wild Desire. Meanwhile, he continued to record and chart minor songs for Columbia which included, The Brooklyn Bridge, Loco Weed, and Walk on, Boy. Bobby Bare, Ray Price, Wanda Jackson and Stonewall Jackson also covered his songs. Although Mel was enjoying success as a songwriter, pitching material to Pierce and others, it was ten years, before he begin to achieve sufficient chart success of his own. In 1965, Tillis switched to Kapp Records and scored his first Top-15 hit with Wine (1965). His chart run continued with such songs as Stateside (No. 17, 1966) and Life Turned Her That Way (No.11, 1966). Mel wrote for Charley Pride the song, Snakes Crawl At Night and he wrote a big hit for Kenny Rogers & the First Edition called Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town. Mel also wrote the hit Mental Revenge for outlaw superstar Waylon Jennings. In 1968, Tillis scored his first Top-10 hit with Who's Julie (No. 10, 1968).

In 1970, Tillis and his esteemed new backing band the Statesiders came into their own as performers after Mel scored back-to-back upper chart hits with Heart Over Mind (No. 3, 1969) and Heaven Everyday (No. 5, 1969). That same year, Mel switched to MGM Records. Two years later, he charted his first No. 1 single, I Ain't Never (No. 1, 1972). Mel's most fertile period as an artist was the 1970s, as evidenced by a series of Top-5 songs like Neon Rose (No. 3, 1972), Sawmill (No. 2, 1973), Midnight, Me and the Blues (No. 2, 1973), Stomp Them Grapes (No. 3, 1974) and Memory Maker (No. 3, 1974). Between 1976 and 1980, Mel charted five No. 1 songs, including Good Woman Blues (No. 1, 1976), Heart Healer (No. 1, 1976), I Believe in You (No. 1, 1977), Coca Cola Cowboy (No. 1, 1979) and his final, Southern Rains (No. 1, 1980). Tillis appeared in a number of films, including 1975's W.W. and the Dance Kings (with Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed), Clint Eastwood's Every Which Way but Loose in 1979, and 1980's all-star Smokey and the Bandit II.

After signing with Elektra in mid 1979, he continued to chart hit songs such as Blind In Love (No. 6, 1979) and Lying Time Again (No. 6, 1979). Up until 1983, Tillis remained on top his game as one of country music's most successful vocalists of the era. Your Body Is an Outlaw went to No. 3 in 1979. He remained with Elektra until 1982 before switching back to MCA for a brief period in 1983. Mel scored a Top-10 hit with In The Middle Of The Night (No. 10, 1982) and charted his last Top-10 hit with New Patches in 1984. Then his chart activity started to diminish as the music landscape had changed dramatically as new blood begin to infiltrate Nashville's recording studios.

During his heyday (1970s ~ 1980s), Mel racked up 33 Top-10 singles, of which 6 topped out at No. 1. Tillis appeared as the television commercial spokesman for the fast-food restaurant chain Whataburger during the 1980s. He also built a theater in Branson, Missouri, where he performed on a regular basis until 2002. In 2007, Mel was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

~RJB: Country Music Historian, 12/2010.

Category:

Music

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[allengoodman69]

Me- Me- Mel Tillis...Thats country !

[claysjavelin1]

Great

[mrfiddleman]

I thought I'd heard everything Mel ever recorded, guess not.

[truckingsonofagun]

great upload((smiles))

[jtls8]

Thank you for uploading a great song by Mel!!!!!