August 2002
Hello Friends -
Hope you are doing well these days. And sure hope your funeral fan is working good with all this hot weather. Or maybe some of you uptown folks has got you a ‘lectric’ fan.
We have been very busy since my March newsletter. There are so many to thank for sponsoring or attending our shows. The gospel concert at the Johnson Road Baptist Church was so successful that I will be there again on August 25, 2002 for the 11am service. We sure had a good time with all the folks in Ft. Scott, KS at the Jubilee. And we love those retired RVers in the Good Sam Club of Oklahoma. And we say thanks to all those wonderful people in Snyder, Lawton, Taloga, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Ponca City, Reagan, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Medford, Norman and Muskogee, Oklahoma who attended our shows. And we send greetings to those special friends in Weatherford and Lake Kiowa, Texas, too.
On July 28th, I sang Happy Birthday to J.W. Parker in Yukon, Oklahoma on his 80th with the great Dale Robertson. And Bob Wills Day at the Oklahoma State Capitol was lots of fun with Byron Berline and Jana Jae. Martha and I sure enjoyed ourselves at the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon Supper Ranch near Benton, Kansas with our friends Orin Friesen, Johnny Western and the Prairie Rose Wranglers. Such great food, music and western culture. They have already booked me there for July 4, 2003. Hope you will plan to bring the entire family for that special night.
A few weeks ago, I recorded a revised version of my “Oklahoma Pride Show” on video, with some new stories and songs. The sound track is now available on CD. Please contact me by phone, mail or email if you would like to order the CD or the revised video show.
I am now offering a discount on all my cassette tapes. The new price is $5 each at our shows or $7 each by mail, postage paid. So if you are thinking about Christmas presents or your own collection, let me know which ones and how many you would like to order.
In the next few days, I will be in the studio to record my 8th album. The working title is “My Special Memories”. It will feature stories and songs which relate to events of my early years. It will be very nostalgic and bring back a lot of memories. Release date target is September 20, 2002.
Now, a message from Martha. As a result of so many requests, she has decided to publish her fourth cookbook. (She says it will be her last, but she said that last time.) There are many of you who have told her how much you regret not having sent a recipe last time for her 3rd book. So now is your chance. Please send several of your favorite recipes ASAP, even if you are in her previous books. And to quote her directly, “THIS MEANS YOU!!”
I hope you are making plans to come to the annual Gene Autry Film and Music Festival in my hometown of Gene Autry, Oklahoma. The dates are September 26-29. I will be on the Friday night show (solo) and the Saturday night show with my band. The Saturday night show will also feature Rex Allen, Jr. and Roy (Dusty) Rogers, Jr. If you are planning to attend, please call ahead (580-294-3047) to reserve tickets. The Saturday night show will be a separate ticket from the festival ticket. There is lots of room for RVs to park if self-contained. For information about motels, call the number shown above.
As many of you know, my band and I have been booked at Silver Dollar City for the past 5 years in the month of May. But this year, the Great American Music Festival has been moved to the fall and combined with the Craft Festival. So this year they have booked us for October 1-26. They are closed Mondays in October and will close the park after the 26th for a week to convert over to Christmas. So we will be at Silver Dollar City every day they are open in October. We will appear in the Red and Gold Heritage Hall for 3 shows each day, 11am, Noon and 1pm. There will be a dance floor and plenty of seats. There will also be a food court in this, the newest and largest building in the park. So you can listen, dance and eat all in one building.
Thanks for your support and hope to see you soon.
Les
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PRODUCT INFORMATIONALBUMS
MY SPECIAL MEMORIES – CD
Loaded with songs and personal comments which will bring back so many memories. Due for release September 20, 2002.
RAILWAY TO HEAVEN – CD or Cassette Tape
Features 15 gospel favorites including Amazing Grace, Wings of a Dove, Family Bible, Precious Memories, Go Rest High on That Mountain, How Great Thou Art, et al.
REFLECTIONS OF LIFE – CD or Cassette Tape
Features a total of 15 songs including Masters Call, Man Walks Among Us, Shenandoah, Waltz Across Texas, This Ole House, Oklahoma Hills, et al.
SOMEWHERE IN THE WEST – CD or Cassette Tape
Includes Faded Love, Sugar Moon, I’ve Been Everywhere,
Magdalena, The Wildest Bronc Ride (Walmart), et al
WESTERN COUNTRY – CD or Cassette Tape
Includes Silver Haired Daddy, Foolish Questions, Les’ patriotic song, What’s Right With America., et al.
THE COWBOY HIT PARADE – CD or Cassette Tape
The top ten all-time favorite western songs and stories behind the songs.
OKLAHOMA PRIDE – CD
Stories and songs about famous Oklahomans who have made major contributions to Country and Western Music.VIDEOS
THE COWBOY HIT PARADE
The top ten all-time favorite western songs and stories behind the songs.
OKLAHOMA PRIDE
Stories and songs about famous Oklahomans who have made major contributions to Country and Western Music.COOKBOOKS BY MARTHA
HOME ON THE RANGE – The first in the “Range Series. It is a collection of 750 recipes including many from entertainers and friends gathered from our travels.
BACK ON THE RANGE – This second in the series contains over 850 recipes plus the story and photos of Les’s hometown of Gene Autry, OK and how the town got its name.
COOKS ON THE RANGE – The third ‘Range’ cookbook contains over 850 recipes, including recipes from the President and Governors of 1948 plus the story and photos about the origin of the song, ‘Home on the Range’.PRICES
Compact Disc…………………………..$17.00 ppd
Cassette Tape…………………………...$ 7.00 ppd
Video………………………………….. $12.00 ppd
Cookbooks…………………………….. $12.50 ppdTo order, please send check or money order to:
Eagle Enterprises
P.O. Box 350
Ponca City, OK 74602
Adios and Keep Smiling!!
LES GILLIAM
"The Oklahoma Balladeer"
Eagle Enterprises
P.O. Box 350
Ponca City, OK 74602
(580) 762-4837
(580) 762-0965 (fax)
lesgilliam@sbcglobal.net