The Lyric Theatre Presents Mel Tillis 1/19

Country western legend, Mel Tillis has written more than 1,000 songs, including hits like "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" (recorded by Kenny Rogers), "Detroit City," (Bobby Bare) and "Emotions" (Brenda Lee). He has also recorded over 60 albums of his own, scoring 36 top ten singles, such as "Good Woman Blues" and "Southern Rain."

Tillis began performing in the early ‘50s while serving with the U.S. Air Force in Okinawa. After the service, he arrived in Nashville and landed a job with Minnie Pearl, the great country comedienne. Tillis and another soon-to-be-famous newcomer, Roger Miller, played and sang back-up. But Tillis had one significant problem: his acute stuttering. Although it didn't affect his singing, Tillis had trouble even introducing a song without getting laughs from the audience.

"Let ‘em laugh," said Pearl. "Laughs are hard to get, and I'm sure they're laughing with you and not against you." Tillis took her advice to heart. He quickly gained a reputation as the singer/songwriter who stuttered when he tried to talk, ultimately landing him appearances with everyone from Johnny Carson to David Letterman. He also built a strong film career, appearing in popular movies like "Every Which Way But Loose" with Clint Eastwood.

Over 50 years since he first took to the stage, Tillis is still going strong, touring the country and the world with his band the Statesiders. Looks like he's getting the last laugh.