The Johnny Bond greatest hits and Mel Tillis

When all else fails to release the depression of these days fall back into the past hits of Mel Tillis and Johnny Bond. I hope you didn’t forget these great entertainers! Cyrus Whitfield "Johnny" Bond (June 1, 1915 – June 12, 1978) was an American country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and composer and publisher, who co-founded a music publishing firm. He was active in the music industry from 1940 until the late 1970s.Early yearsBond was born in Enville, Oklahoma, and grew up on several small farms in Oklahoma. As a youngster, he was influenced musically by records that his parents played. He learned basics of music as a member of his high school's brass band. While in high school he bought a ukulele, but soon he switched to playing the guitar.[2]PerformingBond first performed on radio in Oklahoma City when he was 19 years old. In 1937, he began performing with Jimmy Wakely and Scotty Harrell in the Bell Boys trio, named after the Bell Clothing Company, which sponsored the group[3] on radio station WKY in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He went on to join Gene Autry's Melody Ranch in 1940.[4]He also performed with his own group, the Red River Valley Boys.The Encyclopedia of Country Music says that the Bond-Wakely-Harrell trio "pulled a clever musical scam" by recording for two companies under different names: the Jimmy Wakely Trio (for Decca Records) and Johnny Bond & the Cimarron Boys (for Columbia Records).[3]Bond also acted in more than 40 films,[4] beginning with Saga of Death Valley (1939)[5] and including Wilson and Duel in the Sun.[6]Beginning in 1953, Bond and Tex Ritter were hosts of the syndicated country music television series Town Hall Party, which lasted seven years.[2]RecordingBond's first solo recordings came with Columbia Records in 1937.[2] He is best known for his 1947 hit"Divorce Me C.O.D.", one of his seven top ten hits on the Billboard country charts. In 1965 at age 50 he scored the biggest hit of his career with the comic "Ten Little Bottles", which spent four weeks at No. 2. Bond's other hits include "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed" (1947), "Oklahoma Waltz" (1948), "Love Song in 32 Bars" (1950), "Sick Sober and Sorry" (1951), and a cover of Charlie Ryan's "Hot Rod Lincoln" (1960). Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932[1] – November 19, 2017)[2] was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, with a long list of Top 10 hits. Tillis' biggest hits include "I Ain't Never", "Good Woman Blues", and "Coca-Cola Cowboy". His composition "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town" became a world-wide hit in 1969 when recorded by Kenny Rogers.On February 13, 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Tillis the National Medal of Arts for his contributions to country music.[3] He also won the Country Music Association Awards' most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year. Tillis was a member of the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Country Music Hall of Fame. Additionally, he was known for his stutter, which did not affect his singing voice. His daughter is 1990s country hitmaker Pam Tillis.Early lifeMel Tillis was born in Tampa, Florida, US. His parents were Burma (née Rogers; 1907–1990) and Lonnie Lee Tillis (1907–1981).[4] After a few months living in Tampa’s Lowry Park area, they moved to Plant City, Florida where he attended Wilson Elementary School.[5] The family eventually moved to Pahokee, Florida (near West Palm Beach). After a bout of malaria during his childhood, he developed a stutter.[6] As a child, Tillis learned the drums as well as guitar. At age 16, he won a local talent show. He attended the University of Florida, but he dropped out and joined the United States Air Force.[7] While stationed as a baker on Okinawa, he formed a band called The Westerners, which played at local nightclubs.[6]