Billy Boyd remembers when he and his brother, Bobby, were 8 and 10, respectively, growing up in the Sequatchie Valley.
“Brush Creek where we lived was, golly, four miles to town (Dunlap, Tenn.),” he said. “We were not rich people, but Mom and Dad always treated us right and would give us $5 to go to town. They had this pool hall oriented to kids with a pinball machine. Bob would get his in rolls of nickels and he would build his odds (essentially betting it all) off to the side every time.
“He’d get right down to almost the last (nickel), but 95 percent of the time, he would hit on it and win. Ol’ Billy, I’d be dropping mine one nickel at a time. That, in my mind, was his whole philosophy on life. He was the same way about writing songs. He’d say, ‘The more I write, the better my odds.’ And it usually worked out for him.”
Bobby Boyd parlayed that philosophy into a successful songwriting career, and Billy Boyd wants to honor his brother with a concert on Saturday, July 29, at Harris Park in Dunlap. He has lined up 10 acts to date, including members of the Old Playboys rhythm section with Billy Dee (as his brother called him), the band that both Boyds played in along with brother Jimmy, and Bernard Tate. This version will include Billy Dee, Tate, Glenn Riddle and Dale Roberson.
Also performing will be Don “PooBah” Mealer, the man who introduced the Boyd brothers to Willie Nelson years ago in Texas, Cody McCarver with Billy Hatfield and Jimmy Dormire, Neal Dover and Family, Tony Colton, Joey Winslett Band, Roberson Brothers and Carrie Hassler.