{"id":28440,"date":"2022-01-23T09:54:06","date_gmt":"2022-01-23T15:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/?page_id=28440"},"modified":"2022-01-23T13:05:01","modified_gmt":"2022-01-23T19:05:01","slug":"country-boy-eddie","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/country-boy-eddie\/","title":{"rendered":"“Country Boy Eddie” Burns"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Back in the 1940\u2019s, when Warrior, Alabama farmers and housewives purchased seeds from a young door-to-door salesman, little did they know that they were helping that thirteen-year-old boy take his first steps toward a highly successful career.  The young man, who recently turned 90 years old, became one of the states most beloved television personalities while also making important contributions to both the broadcasting and music industries. For bringing sunshine into the homes of thousands every morning for almost forty years, the Alabama Broadcasters Association happily inducts Gordan Edward Burns \u2026 Country Boy Eddie \u2026 into the ABA\u2019s Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

\u201cI rode a mule about a hundred miles trying to sell Garden Spot Seeds so I could buy a fiddle,\u201d says Burns. \u201cThey were ten cents a pack and you had to sell forty bags to get that fiddle. It took me three or four months, but I sold my forty packs and got my fiddle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burns taught himself how to play the instrument and landed his first job as a musician, joining the Happy Hal Burns Band in 1946. He was drafted during the Korean War, but managed to keep music a part of his life by singing on the Armed Forces Radio Network not only in Korea, but in Japan and Hawaii, as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"After the war, Burns worked as a disc jockey at several Birmingham radio stations while also appearing at 600 live performances per year. He managed to find time in his busy schedule to fall in love and marry his wife, Edwina. It was his next decision that resulted in making Country Boy Eddie a household name. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1957, I got my own show on Saturday nights at midnight on WAPI,\u201d Burns says.  A couple of years later, he and his band were hired by WBRC-TV as the stage band for their morning show and eventually the station gave him a shot at his own show. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey gave me a four week trial and I stayed on for 38 years\u201d, laughs Burns. According to those who worked on the program, he never called a production meeting to discuss the rundown of the show. \u201cEverything was ad-lib,\u201d Burns smiles and waits a beat. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know how to read!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Country Boy Eddie Show\u201d was known for giving just about anyone a chance to sing and play. Many of his guests weren\u2019t necessarily all that talented, but he wanted to give them their shot anyway. But, some who appeared on his show went on to become big stars.<\/p>\n

\"\"A beautician named Wynette Byrd was one of many locals to appear on Burns\u2019 show.  \u201cI told her she shouldn\u2019t be on our show. She should go to Nashville,\u201d Burns says. She took his advice \u2026 moving to Nashville and changing her name to Tammy Wynette.<\/p>\n

Although, of course, it was primarily the music and family atmosphere of the show that drew viewers, many would say they tuned in just to watch Burns do his entertaining live commercials. \u201cWhen I first went to the station, they said \u2018Who is going to sell the time?\u2019, and I said, \u2018I will!\u2019 chuckles Burns. \u201cSo I started selling \u2026  and I sold the show out,\u201d he grins.<\/p>\n

The live spots were just as off the cuff as the entire show.  \u201cEagle gave me a box of their rat bait and no copy, so I just read what was on the box and what it would do to rats,\u2019 he says. \u201cAnd then I told people \u2018if you love your rats don\u2019t put this out because it will kill the heck out of them,\u2019\u201d laughs Burns. \u201cAnd we sold more rat bait than anybody to this day!\u201d<\/p>\n

Edie Hand, who helped create the live spots, says she learned as much about sales as she did about broadcasting while working with Burns. \u201cOne time, Eddie took me with him on a sales call. We went to a hardware store and Eddie asked me if I owned any tools,\u201d Hand explains. \u201cI told him I didn\u2019t, and Eddie turns to the client and says, \u2018Everybody ought to have some tools, right? If she mentions your business during a live spot on the show, will you throw in some tools?\u2019 I got the tools and I learned how Eddie made sales!\u201d<\/p>\n

Musicians, clients, broadcasters, viewers \u2026 Burns has made an indelible impression on the lives of so many, an accomplishment he would have never predicted. \u201cI didn\u2019t figure I\u2019d make it really big,\u201d says Burns, \u201cBut I did well – real well.\u201d<\/p>\n

And what does Burns think about now that he is ninety? \u201cI\u2019m going to think about 91,\u201d he grins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back in the 1940\u2019s, when Warrior, Alabama farmers and housewives purchased seeds from a young door-to-door salesman, little did they know that they were helping that thirteen-year-old boy take his first steps toward a highly successful career.  The young man, who recently turned 90 years old, became one of the states most beloved television personalities … Continue reading “Country Boy Eddie” Burns<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-28440","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28440"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28494,"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28440\/revisions\/28494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ba.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}