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Beetle McCualsky
by David (Beetle) McCualsky
It was 1970 Summertime; my small club band -- Sunny Skies -- was playing in Printer's Alley in Nashville, Tennessee. The name of the club was Boot's Randolph's Carousel Club. You may remember him as a great saxaphone player. We played there for about three months, and, on one of our band's breaks, I met this fellow; little did I know who he was -- we pitched quarters outside, and shared the evening. Another group was playing there, a girl's duo, and one of the girls saw me with this guy and said, "Do you know who that is?" I said, "No, but I know his name is Willie," and she responded, "Well, he wrote 'Crazy' for Patsy Cline. Why don't you let him sit in with your band?" As he was quite a nice person, I invited him up on stage, and all he brought was his guitar. He seemed quite happy to perform for a full house. He literally, with just guitar and his voice, touched the whole audience, and received a standing ovation. As this was 1970, Willie was not a household name yet, by any means. But after the performance that I witnessed, I could tell there was something special about this gentleman. Upon finishing the few songs that he did, he offered me to sign his guitar. I signed right under where the neck joins the body of the guitar, "To a real gentleman," then my nickname, "Beetle," because my Dad had nicknamed me after the comic strip character, "Beetle Bailey." Willie and I have never run across each other since, but I have always been honored to know that he asked me to sign his guitar. Since then, I have watched him entertain at concerts, where he played for millions of people around the world over the years. I have always thought of Willie as being not only one of the top songwriters/singers in the nation, but also a humanitarian (with FarmAid, etc.) As a member of the family of music-makers, Willie is an inspiration, and a guy I can really relate to. I must say this time, only in words, he is a true gentleman. - Beetle McCualsky |
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