Country Music People April 2019 | Page 4

cmp APRIL 2019 Volume 50 Number 4 Issue 590 News Walt Trott in Nashville Duncan Warwick in London Bus pass for the Duke boy Editor Duncan Warwick Contributors David Allan, Janet Aspley, Donnie Ayers, Craig Baguley, Tony Byworth, Larry Delaney, Don Cusic, Julie Flaskett, Kelly Gregory, Michael Hingston, Tony Ives, Spencer Leigh, John Lomax III, Adrian Peel, Paul Riley, Alex Rossi, Wayne Smart, Chris Smith, Tom Travis, Walt Trott, Dave Watkins, Jack Watkins New release consultant: Steve Tidbury Assistant editor / Special projects coordinator Kelly Gregory Photographers Patricia Presley, Barry Dixon, Billie McAleer Printed by Micropress www.micropress.co.uk Distributor Seymour International Press Distributors Ltd. 2 East Poultry Avenue London EC1A 9PT Telephone [phone] Fax [phone] Country Music People is published the last Thursday of each month by KICKIN’ CUTS LIMITED 24 Darley Close, Wittering, Peterborough PE8 6EQ, UK Telephone [phone] - 783689 [email protected] www.cmpcountry.com ©2019 Kickin’ Cuts Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means without the prior written permission of the Publisher. The Publisher accepts no responsibility for statement of fact or opinion expressed by contributors.The views of the contributors are not necessarily those of Country Music People or its editor. 4 cmp - APRIL 2019 Whatever became of John Schneider, country hitmaker? Well, come April 8, he turns 65 and hasn’t really been heard from as a recording star for more than three decades. Many of his fans will say he’s best known anyway for the (now politically-incorrect) TV series Dukes of Hazzard, (1979-1985), in which as blue-eyed blond Cousin Bo he shared the spotlight with equally-masculine heartthrob Tom Wopat as Luke Duke. (John also played Jonathan Kent in Smallville, the series about young Superman, Tom Welling.) Yes, Wopat even did some recording, though on a less impressive level than John’s discography, his best of 10 chartings being Bob McDill’s The Rock & Roll of Love (co-written by Charlie Black), peaking at #16 in 1987. Having attended Madison Area Technical College (as did this writer under the GI Bill) in Wisconsin, one would consider a partiality to Tom, but let’s face it, Schneider’s baritone was considerably more appealing, with four chart-toppers as proof: I’ve Been Around Enough To Know (co-penned by McDill and Dickey Lee, 1984), Country Girls (1985), What’s a Memory Like You (Doing In a Love Like This) and You’re the Last Thing I Needed Tonight (both in 1986). John, born in Mt. Kisco, N.Y., initially set out as an actor, but the Scotti Brothers signed him to a recording contract, resulting in his first charting It’s Now Or Never (#4, 1981), followed by a Top 20 Them Good Ol’ Boys Are Bad, a parody of Waylon Jennings’ #1 1980 theme song Good Ol’ Boys, Waylon wrote for the TV series on which he also served as narrator (but whose face was never shown). Emblazoned with a Confederate Flag on its roof, the cousins’ muscle car was forever dodging the law. Of 17 total chartings, Schneider debuted with a Top Five It’s Now Or Never (1981), for Scotti and boasted the four #1s all on MCA, along with additional hits: It’s a Short Walk From Heaven To Hell, I’m Going To Leave You Tomorrow (both #10, 1985), At The Sound Of The Tone (#5, 1986), Take The Long Way Home (#10, 1987) and Love, You Ain’t Seen the Last of Me (#6, 1987). His two final 1987 MCA chartings were When the Right One Comes Along (#32) and If It Was Anyone But You (#59). A few seasons back, CBS halted re- runs of “Dukes” due to its alleged glorification of the Confederacy, prompting Schneider to say, “Are people who grew up watching the show now suddenly racists?” Nonetheless, gone are his pension payments. More recently, he produced a feature film “Like Son,” in Louisiana, which he wrote, directed and plays a supporting character. In 2014, John’s wife Elly filed for divorce from the artist and claims he owes her back payments, plus the $19,000 monthly alimony, all of which he alleges he’s too “broke” to pay. Last summer he was ordered to spend three days in jail in L.A. for failure to pay; however, Schneider was released after only a few hours, supposedly due to “over-crowding.” The couple have three adult children whom he says won’t talk to dad now. Schneider’s Louisiana film studio and its product was wiped out in a March 2016 flooding, but still he continues to accept job offers. The latest being Odyssey, a 52-song project which brought him back to Nashville, to record and film videos, along with such talented supporters as Jamie O’Neal, John Conlee, Tanya Tucker, Collin Raye and other acclaimed artists, writers and musicians. In reference to his ex-wife, John acknowledged, “I don’t wish Elly to hurt like I hurt right now, I really don’t . . . But the laws of nature dictate that she’s going to, and it’s gonna hurt her bad. When those kids won’t talk to her, I don’t know how she’s gonna take that.”