Rockabilly Hall of Fame inductee Betty Nickell visited MY(P)WHAE headquarters today, which is (are?) conveniently located at the address Bev and I reside at. Betty's a really sweet lady, and quite sharp, to boot. And she's not without plenty of interesting and fun true-life stories to share from her career, including the time she nabbed first prize on a radio show after one whole day's practice. Not so fun, to be sure, is the memory of making "nothing" from the record that earned her a place in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame (the terrific rocker Hot Dog), though it amazes and delights her to discover that the record is quite fondly remembered after 51 years (to the tune of $380 in a recent eBay auction!). Sometimes, you don't know how famous you are until you Google your name. Or not famous, whichever the case may be.
Update: A yellow-wax copy of Hot Dog went for $500 in an Oct., 2008 eBay auction. Whoa.
Betty gave me a photocopy of a Country Music Digest article about her and her group, The Mystics. Here they are in all their circa-1975 glory:
More to come!
Lee
8 comments:
Wow, this just shows how popular the blog is. It's attracting celebrities! :) Very cool! Please tell Betty how much we've enjoyed listening to her music - I've been playing "Tomorrow" over and over for the last few days.
I'll let her know! That is a terrific single, even if I can't remember where it turned up for me--probably a Columbus, Ohio thrift. Or it could have turned up in San Diego. Or in Florida.
But I have it narrowed down to those three locales....
That's my Aunt Betty!! And my dad Rick was in the Mystics with her!! We still listen to their records and it's so great the she's getting recognized now for it all! I love listening to their music they're so amazing! "Tomorrow" was always one of my favorites off thier record! I'm so glad you have her on here to reconize her talents!! Love you Aunt Bett!
Erin :)
I hope you get this soon!!! I just sent you an email. I'm writing a story about Betty and would love to make contact with you. email @ jenblue34@aol.com.
Thanks so much,
Jen
Erin,
I'll let your aunt know you stopped here!
Jen,
I'll be happy to help out. I just left my number at your voice mail.
I already knew Betty Nickel for "I'm ready" and "Hot dog", I appreciated the ballad "Tomorrow",very compliment to this rocking girl!
Tooooo cool. Will wonderbreads, er, wonders of rockabilly lives past never cease... Lesse . . . 500 semolians . . . just over a minute in length . . . So, each second. . . That's a whole lotta bread ! ! ! Or cabbage. Something like that.
Thanks to Leeland & the "box"-type samplers, we need not worry about busting our piggy banks, and can invest our do-re-mi in her "Come Back" album!!!!
Does any "Session" info. exist on her rockin' lil gem "I'm Ready"? Sure sounds like some of the top Nashvull cats coulda been in on the mix.
Rock on Betty! And say "howdy!" to Laura Lee Perkins and Wanda Jackson and Brenda Lee and all the rest when they start up the Rockabilly Kittens H.O.F.!
- Boppin_B
Yes, we remember Betty. She is one of a kind.
Billie Sue
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