Years ago, one of the things a lot of us Todd Countians looked forward to was the annual fair over in Hopkinsville. Sure, there were rides, exhibits, and plenty of good food, but for many of us, the biggest attraction was the country music concerts. Some of the biggest names in country music came through there, and folks from all over Todd County would make that short drive to Hoptown to see them perform. I imagine quite a few of you reading this remember those nights. Well, I’ve got a little story about one of those concerts involving John Anderson, and it’s one I’ve never forgotten.
Last week, I wrote a story about the passing of John Anderson. If you read that story, you know that over the years, John and I got to know each other. But there’s one little story I left out, and every time I think about it, I can’t help but laugh.
Back in the 1990s, when I was working as a cameraman for the television station in Hopkinsville, John was scheduled to perform at the fair in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Naturally, I headed down there with my camera to cover the show for the evening news.
Now, back in those days, there were rules about how much of a concert you could videotape. Usually, you were only allowed to film a short portion of a song. But I had a little problem. John had so many good songs that I couldn’t decide which one I wanted to use for my television story.
So I did what any good cameraman would do. I just kept filming!
I figured I’d record three or four songs, take the footage back to the station, and pick out the best thirty seconds or so for the news. After all, I wasn’t going to air the whole concert.
Well, apparently, John had other ideas.
I was standing about three-quarters of the way back in the crowd, looking through the viewfinder of my camera, when I noticed something interesting.
Right in the middle of a song, during a guitar break, John looked over toward a fellow standing near the side of the stage. He gave him a little nod, leaned over, and whispered something in his ear.
Now, I’ve been around enough concerts to know when something is going on.
And I had a pretty good feeling I knew exactly what it was.
Sure enough, not two minutes later, here came that fellow walking straight toward me.
He stepped up beside me and said, “Hey, you’re not allowed to film more than forty-five seconds of a song.”
Well, I wasn’t about to argue with him. I explained that I knew the rules and had no intention of putting more than about thirty seconds on television. I just couldn’t decide which song I wanted to use, so I was filming several of them to make up my mind later.
He seemed satisfied with my explanation. I shut down my camera, and he went on his way.
But I knew one thing for certain.
John Anderson had spotted me all the way from that stage and sent somebody out there to straighten me out!
Now, here’s where the story gets even better.
A few years later, after John and I had gotten to know each other, we were sitting around talking, and I brought up that night at the fair in Hoptown.
I told him the whole story, right down to watching him whisper in that fellow’s ear and knowing he was fixing to send somebody after me.
Well, John just busted out laughing!
He got a big kick out of the whole thing. I can just imagine him saying, “Well, maybe you got taught a lesson that night!” And I guess he would’ve been right.
I guess I can say I got caught bootlegging a John Anderson concert, and the man himself was the one who turned me in!