Tillis's biggest hits include "I Ain't Never", "Good Woman Blues", and "Coca-Cola Cowboy". On February 13, 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Tillis the National Medal of Arts for his contributions to country music.[1] He also has won the CMA Awards' most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year. He is also known for his speech impediment, which does not affect his singing voice. His daughter is country music singer Pam Tillis.
He died on November 19, 2017, at the age of 85.
Mel Tillis was born on August 8, 1932, in Tampa, Florida, but later raised in Pahokee, Florida, (near West Palm Beach). His stutter developed during his childhood, a result of a bout with malaria. As a child, Tillis learned the drums as well as guitar and at age 16, won a local talent show. He attended the University of Florida but dropped out and joined the United States Air Force. While stationed as a baker in Okinawa, he formed a band called The Westerners, which played at local nightclubs.
After leaving the Air Force in 1955, Tillis returned to Florida where he worked a number of odd jobs, eventually finding employment with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Tampa, Florida. He used his railroad pass to visit Nashville and eventually met and auditioned for Wesley Rose of famed Nashville publishing house Acuff-Rose Music. Rose encouraged Tillis to return to Florida and continue honing his songwriting skills. Tillis eventually moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and began writing songs full-time. Tillis wrote "I'm Tired," a No. 3 country hit for Webb Pierce in 1957. Other Tillis hits include "Honky Tonk Song" and "Tupelo County Jail." Ray Price and Brenda Lee also charted hits with Tillis's material around this time. In the late 1950s, after becoming a hit-making songwriter, he signed his own contract with Columbia Records. In 1958, he had his first Top 40 hit, "The Violet and a Rose," followed by the Top 25 hit "Sawmill."
Although Tillis charted on his own Billboard's Hot Country Songs list, he had more success as a songwriter. He continued to be Webb Pierce's songwriter. He wrote the hits "I Ain't Never" (Tillis's own future hit) and "Crazy, Wild Desire." Bobby Bare, Tom Jones ("Detroit City"), Wanda Jackson, and Stonewall Jackson also covered his songs. Tillis continued to record on his own. Some well-known songs from his Columbia years include "The Brooklyn Bridge," "Loco Weed," and "Walk on, Boy." However, he did not achieve major success on the country charts on his own.
In the mid-1960s, Tillis switched over to Kapp Records, and in 1965, he had his first Top 15 hit with "Wine." Other hits continued to follow, such as "Stateside" and "Life Turned Her That Way" (which was later covered by Ricky Van Shelton in 1988, going to No. 1). He wrote for Charley Pride ("The Snakes Crawl At Night") and wrote a big hit for Kenny Rogers and The First Edition called "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town." He also wrote the hit "Mental Revenge" for Outlaw superstar Waylon Jennings. (It has also been covered by the Hacienda Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Gram Parsons, Barbara Mandrell, and Jamey Johnson.) In 1968, Tillis achieved his first Top 10 hit with "Who's Julie." He also was a regular featured singer on The Porter Wagoner Show.
Things turned around in 1969 for Tillis. He finally achieved the success he always wanted with two Top 10 country hits, "These Lonely Hands of Mine" and "She'll Be Hanging Around Somewhere." In 1970, he reached the Top 5 with "Heart Over Mind," which peaked at No. 3 on the Hot Country Songs list. After this, Tillis's career as a country singer went into full swing. Hits soon came quite easily, such as "Heaven Everyday" (1970), "Commercial Affection" (1970), "Arms of a Fool" (1970), "Take My Hand" (a duet with Sherry Bryce in 1971), and "Brand New Mister Me" (1971). In 1972, Tillis achieved his first chart-topper with his version of his song "I Ain't Never." Even though the song was previously a hit by Webb Pierce, Tillis's version is the better-known version of the two. Most of the above-mentioned song hits were recorded on MGM Records, Tillis's record company in the early part of the decade.
After the success of "I Ain't Never," Tillis had another hit, which came close to No. 1 (reaching No. 3), entitled "Neon Rose," followed by "Sawmill," which reached No. 2. "Midnight, Me and the Blues" was another near chart-topper in 1974. Other hits Tillis had on MGM include "Stomp Them Grapes" (1974), "Memory Maker" (1974), "Woman in the Back of My Mind" (1975), and his version of "Mental Revenge" (1976). Tillis achieved his biggest success with MCA Records, with which he signed in 1976. It started with a pair of two No. 1 hits in 1976, "Good Woman Blues" and "Heart Healer". (In an interview, he mentioned having written five hits in one week.) Thanks to this success, in 1976 Tillis won the CMA Awards's most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year, and was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame that year. He achieved another No. 1 in 1978 with "I Believe In You" and then again in 1979 with "Coca-Cola Cowboy," which was put in the Clint Eastwood movie Every Which Way but Loose, in which he also made a cameo appearance. Also in 1978, Mel co-hosted a short-lived variety series on ABC television, Mel and Susan Together with model Susan Anton. Other hits around this time included "Send Me Down to Tucson," "Ain't No California," and "I Got the Hoss." In mid-1979, Tillis switched to another record company, Elektra Records.
After signing with Elektra, he continued to make hit songs such as "Blind In Love" and "Lying Time Again," both hits in 1979. Until 1981, Tillis remained on top of his game as one of country music's most successful vocalists of the era. "Your Body Is an Outlaw" went to No. 3 in 1980, followed by another Top 10 hit, "Steppin' Out." "Southern Rains" in 1981 was his last No. 1 hit. That same year, he released an album of duets with Nancy Sinatra which spawned two hit singles, the Top 30 hit "Texas Cowboy Night" and the double A-side, "Play Me or Trade Me/Where Would I Be." He remained with Elektra until 1982 before switching back to MCA for a brief period in 1983. That summer, he scored a Top 10 hit with "In The Middle Of The Night" and had his last Top 10 hit with "New Patches" in 1984. By this time, however, Tillis had built up a financial empire thanks to investing in music publishing companies such as Sawgrass and Cedarwood. He also appeared in movies, including Love Revival, W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975), The Villain (1979), Smokey and the Bandit II (1980),The Cannonball Run (1981), and Uphill All the Way (1986), a comedy western in which he starred with fellow country singer Roy Clark, among others. In 1979, he acquired radio station KIXZ (AM) in Amarillo, Texas, from Sammons-Ruff Associates, which converted from Top 40 to country music and became a force in the Panhandle region. A short time later, Tillis acquired Amarillo, Texas, Rock FM station KYTX, which changed calls to KMML (a play on Tillis's stutter). Still later he operated WMML in Mobile, Alabama. All of his stations were sold after a time for a healthy return. He briefly signed with RCA Records, as well as Mercury Records, and later Curb Records in 1991. By this time, his chart success had faded.
Since his heyday in the 1970s, Tillis remained a songwriter in the 1980s, writing hits for Ricky Skaggs and Randy Travis. He also wrote his autobiography called Stutterin' Boy. (The title comes from Tillis's speech impediment.) Tillis appeared as the television commercial spokesman for the fast-food restaurant chain Whataburger during the 1980s. Tillis continued to record and have occasional hits through the decade, with his last top-10 hit coming in 1984 and his last top-40 country hit in 1988; like most country artists of the classic era, his recording career was dented by changes in the country music industry in the early 1990s. He also built a theater in Branson, Missouri, where he performed on a regular basis until 2002. In 1998, he teamed up with Bobby Bare, Waylon Jennings, and Jerry Reed to form The Old Dogs. The group recorded a double album of songs penned entirely by Shel Silverstein. In July 1998, Old Dogs Volumes 1 and 2 were released on the Atlantic Records label. A companion video, as well as a Greatest Hits album (composed of previously released material by each individual artist), were also available. In the 1990s, Tillis's daughter, Pam Tillis, became a successful country music singer in her own right, having hits like "Maybe It Was Memphis" and "Shake the Sugar Tree."
The Grand Ole Opry inducted Mel Tillis on June 9, 2007. He was inducted into the Opry by his daughter Pam. Along with being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, it was announced on August 7 that year that Tillis, along with Ralph Emery and Vince Gill, is the latest to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Tillis has six children: songwriter Mel "Sonny" Tillis, Jr., singer-songwriter Pam Tillis, Carrie April Tillis, Connie Tillis, Cindy Tillis, and Hannah Tillis. Mel has one brother, Richard, and two sisters, Linda and Imogene.
Buried Alive
Mel Tillis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now I'm living in a six room grave
All my reasons for living have died so I'm living buried alive
I just exist with nothing but sorrow I don't know if it's today or tomorrow
I'm through living with the world outside so I'm living buried alive
I just can't believe she's gone I've been too weak to cry
Now I sit and wait for teardops to fill my lonely eyes
My headstone is just a mailbox on the street
Now this home is like a grave inside so I'm living buried alive
Yes I'm living buried alive
The lyrics to Mel Tillis's song Buried Alive are a heart-wrenching expression of the deep sorrow and despair that one can feel after the loss of a loved one. The imagery of "living in a six room grave" and "living buried alive" conveys the feeling of being trapped and suffocated by one's grief, unable to escape the pain and move on with life. The persona in the lyrics has lost all of their reasons for living and is simply existing, unable to distinguish between today and tomorrow.
The reference to the headstone being a mailbox on the street is a poignant reminder of the finality of death and the sense of displacement that can come from losing someone. The flowers she planted serve as a reminder of the love and care that the persona's lost loved one had for them, and how that love continues to live on even after their physical absence.
Overall, the lyrics to Buried Alive are a powerful depiction of the toll that grief can take on a person and the sense of isolation and loneliness that can come from losing someone close. Through his words, Mel Tillis captures the complex emotions and experiences that many people go through after the loss of a loved one.
Line by Line Meaning
When she left I locked the door and pulled the shades
After my beloved departed, I made an active decision to cut myself off from the outside world by closing the door and blocking out the light
Now I'm living in a six room grave
Due to my intense grief and isolation, my living space has become a dismal, suffocating tomb that constantly reminds me of my loss
All my reasons for living have died so I'm living buried alive
Without my significant other, my purpose and will to live have vanished, leaving me to merely exist in a state of emptiness and despair
I just exist with nothing but sorrow I don't know if it's today or tomorrow
My life is consumed by unrelenting grief; it's impossible to distinguish one day from the next as they're all equally bleak and devoid of hope
I'm through living with the world outside so I'm living buried alive
Unable to cope with the outside world's reminders of my loss and the need to interact with others, I've retreated into myself, giving up any semblance of a real life
I just can't believe she's gone I've been too weak to cry
The reality of my loved one's absence is so devastating that it feels like a dream I can't shake off; I'm overwhelmed by emotional turmoil and unable to even cry it out
Now I sit and wait for teardops to fill my lonely eyes
In my solitary existence, I'm resigned to waiting for the inevitable, all-consuming sadness to break through so I can finally express my grief
My headstone is just a mailbox on the street
My personal mailbox, which once signified outgoing, real communication with the world, is now the closest reminder of my own mortality and lack of real human connection
And the flowers she planted make it complete
Even though she's gone, the remnants of her presence linger through the flowers she planted outside- a bittersweet reminder of her influence and the fleeting nature of life
Now this home is like a grave inside so I'm living buried alive
Despite being in a physical space that was once a haven of comfort and love, it has become nothing more than a tomb, trapping me in my own never-ending grief
Yes I'm living buried alive
In summary, I'm stuck in a despairing, isolated state where all joy and hope have been suffocated- I'm truly living, but in reality, I'm already dead
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MSASteeler
Great, slow, Country ballad by the amazing Mel Tillis.
caseyboy132003
Now this is what country music truly sounds like!
Broc felix
I played this backwards. She came back. Heaven knows I'm miserable now