Billy Crockett???
Esther A. Paris
long time ago ('86, '87 maybe), I went to an Amy Grant concert and
picked up an tape by Billy Crockett called "Surprises in Disguises".
It was published in '86 by WORD, Inc. I've really enjoyed it... and
it's rather worn out now, but I still listen to it. I've never seen
any tapes by him in any of the stores I've been in, although I haven't
looked recently. Anyone know anything about this Xn artist, and if
so what albums he has put out and where I could get them, mail order
or stores? Thanks in advance for any help you can give!
Esther Paris
est...@mar.ed.ray.com
"... still looking for a pious in Central Falls, RI ..."
ps, apologies in advance if this a FAQ! I'm new to this grp. <grin>
Logan Shaw
EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT BILLY CROCKETT AND MORE
(by Logan Shaw)
First, we'll start with the pertinent info about Billy Crockett - his
discography. (I haven't listed all the songs here, but if you want
me to I can.)
Billy's first album was released in either 1984 or 1985 (I can't remember
which). It is called _Carrier_ and was released on Dayspring. All in all,
it's a good album, particularly the songs "Time to Begin Again", "Say
Hello", and "He is the Wind." It was released on cassette and LP an has
never been rereleased on CD.
His second album, _Surprises in Disguises_, was released a few years later,
also on LP and cassette but not on CD. It also is very good. (Warning:
I'm going to say that about every one of his albums.) Notable songs
on it are "How Good You Are", "Portrait Of Love", and "41 Lawnmowers."
The third Billy Crockett release is called "Portraits" and was released
on cassette and CD. It contains some songs from his first two albums
and one new song, "All for You".
His fourth album, _The Basic Stuff_ is on the relatively new "Urgent
Records" label. From what I've heard, Billy had some part in forming the
label. This was the first album which featured Billy's acoustic
bass-playing partner, Danny O'Lannerghty. This has several *really* good
songs. My favorite is probably "Silent Movie", a wonderful instrumental.
There are also several fun songs, like "The Bottom of Life" ("I've got a
question Mr. Jesus - I'm wonderin': what's at the bottom of life?") and
"Couch Potato" ("Couch Potato - livin' on remote control, Couch potato -
the VCR has got your soul.").
Billy recorded several songs on an Urgent Records artists Christmas
album, called "Christmas in Our Time". I think was a cassette/CD release.
And finally, the most recent album he has done is called _Any Starlight
Night_. He hasn't lost his whimsicality, as is evidenced by "Big Rubber
Bumper" and "Bogart's Independence". "Truth is the Tiger" is one of my
favorites. It's part of a recurring theme in all Billy's work that God is
seeking you; in this song He is compared to a tiger in a jungle, and you
are compared to a hunter, but then the question is raised: "Who's really
hunting who?"
Hey, while I'm at it, I'll describe recurring themes throughout Billy's
work.
1) God is seeking you out. This theme is not only in "Truth is the
Tiger". It's also in "Love Waiting" ("And He's not waiting, He is in
love with you"), "Every Heart is a Hunter ("God's heart is a hunter
too; it's a heart of love and it's lookin' for you."), and "The Depth
of God's Love" ("And the depth of God's love reaches down (down, down) /
to where we are until we're found (found, found) / a quiet word, or
none at all / pursues the heart behind the wall.")
2) That reminds me of another one: Walls. Billy sings alot about the
fact that we're so afraid of things that we rarely take the opportunity to
love each other. This is touched on in "Say Hello", a song written after
John Paul Miles and Todd Welbourn (two guys that were in my youth group)
died in a plane crash. The song explains the triumph we have in Christ
over what we're all afraid of - saying our saddest goodbyes. The next
obvious song with this theme is "41 Lawnmowers", which describes how "we
wouldn't want to lose any of stuff" (to quote Billy during one of his
concerts) and how our possesions are just generally too important to us
all. Another song is simply called "Walls" and was co-written by Billy and
Kenny Wood but recorded by Paul Smith on his album _No Frills_. And
this is mentioned in the song "The Day I Gave My Heart Away", a very
personal song which describes accepting Christ into your heart. On his
most recent album is the song "Big Rubber Bumper", which talks about
same thing in a more humorous way.
3) I couldn't leave out the "Carrier" theme and live with myself, so here
it is: The Carrier theme is really two themes. The first type of Carrier
is like a carrier of a disease. Christ is the Carrier of God's love. From
the song "Carrier", "You stalk the streets in search of those / Who lose at
love and live alone / You spread the cure and not disease / To hearts that
live on make-believe." This theme is also in the song "Caught in the
Crossfire". The other carrier theme is that God is the faithful One we can
depend on. This theme is in "Love Carrier" and "A Father's Love."
I could go on all day with the other minor themes, like the fantasy /
delusion theme ("Storybook Dreams", and "Carrier"), the glimpses of God
theme ("A Glimpse of You", "Here's Another Picture"), the unity theme ("All
Together"), etc. OK, I'll stop now.
Billy's biography (I said this was everything you ever wanted to know
about Billy, didn't I?):
Billy grew up around Dallas, Texas (in Richardson and Plano). As a child,
he learned to play the violin, which he apparently didn't like. Somehow he
got started on the guitar, which he *did* like. He grew up in a musical
family - his mother leads a brass ensemble at her church (How do I know
this? I used to go that church.). Anyway, while he was in the youth group
at that church, the youth minister asked him to help write and perform a
christmas song. The youth minister's name was Kenny Wood. That was the
start of a long co-writing relationship which is still (as far as I know)
going today. During high school, people began to take notice of his guitar
playing. I remember hearing that his brother Davy (yes, his name really is
Davy Crockett) was always annoyed when he would bring his friends home only
to have them ignore him and ask Billy to play something on his guitar.
:-) I'm told that Billy played guitar regularly at a local club while
still in high school.
After graduation, Billy decided to go to college at North Texas State
University (which is now called the University of North Texas). UNT has a
very strong Jazz program, and it seems that this must have influenced
Billy's style. After a couple of years there, he transfered to Miami State
University to persue a career in music engineering. I'm not completely
clear on what he did after graduation, but I do know that at some point he
toured with a South American musical star playing guitar for him. This
explains the Hispanic influence on his music. Apparently, after that he
decided to be a professional Christian musician. I first heard him at a
youth camp that I went to in 1984 when he was the camp musician. Everyone
that heard him was thoroughly impressed. The next thing I heard about
Billy was that for awhile he had a romance with Lisa Welchel (who played
Blair on "The Facts of Life"). During this time, he lived in both Los
Angeles and Nashville. :-) Anyway, that (the romance) apparently didn't
work out, and now he lives in Austin, Texas, which is where Urgent Records
is located. Actually, he lives across the street from the college pastor
at the church I go to (I don't think I could get away from Billy if I
tried), but that's another story.
Last time I checked, Kenny Wood (who writes the majority of the lyrics
to Billy's songs) lived in San Antonio and was pastor or youth pastor
of a church there.
Other miscellaneous facts I couldn't fit gracefully into the rest of
the post:
- Billy is *wonderful* in concert. If you ever get the chance,
go see him.
- Billy is apparently about to begin touring with Amy Grant.
- In 1984, Billy wore K-Swiss tennis shoes and ate Super Sugar
Crisp for breakfast (these facts courtesy of my sister...)
- Billy likes mexican food.
Oh, and finally time for an anecdote involving Billy: One time, I was at a
Dallas area shopping mall singing in the church youth choir right around
Christmas time. My sister and I decided to go to a Christian music store
in the mall and buy our friends Billy Crockett tapes for Christmas (in case
you couldn't already tell, we were both rather devoted fans at the
time...). Well, while we were checking out, one of us made the comment
"Gee, they look different without the autographs, don't they?" The
salesperson looked at us like "Ha ha ha. That wasn't even close to funny,
kids." Well, we went back and sang with our respective choirs and you'll
never guess who was in town and there to watch the choirs sing. That's
right - Billy. After the concert, my sister and I grabbed him and took him
with us to the same Christian music store. The look on the face of the
salesperson was absolutely priceless. You could tell she was thinking "OK,
maybe they *do* have autographed Billy Crockett tapes."
Well, that's just about all I can think of to say about Billy right now,
though there are doubtlessly some more things about him hidden back
in my brain somewhere.
Oh - one more thing: if you ever see him in concert, remember to ask
him to play "Hot Chitlins". He'll be sure to respond with an
oh-no-not-that-again look on his face.
Adios,
Logan
--
"Driving across Dakota, I saw an old freight train \ that train has crossed
this state through the wind, the snow, and rain \ now the wheels were rusted
golden, and it wasn't on a track \ somebody somewhere swore that train would
be coming back \ but You remain unchanged." -Margaret Becker
Esther A. Paris
>
> EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT BILLY CROCKETT AND MORE
> (by Logan Shaw)
>
>
>
>Billy grew up around Dallas, Texas (in Richardson and Plano). As a child,
>he learned to play the violin, which he apparently didn't like. Somehow he
>got started on the guitar, which he *did* like. He grew up in a musical
>family - his mother leads a brass ensemble at her church (How do I know
>this? I used to go that church.). Anyway, while he was in the youth group
Thanks! And just before I got to that part, I was beginning to wonder
if you were closely related to his mother! This was wonderful stuff and
I much appreciate it. I'll have to look more closely in the stores for
the other albums. And maybe a not-so-worn copy of "Surprises in Disguises".
And I like the autograph story! (Thanks thanks thanks thanks)*250,000
Esther Paris
est...@mar.ed.ray.com
"... still looking for that pious in Central Falls, RI ..."