Chapter 6 -- Every Good Boy Does Fine
The next morning the community and religion reporter for the local newspaper arrived and asked to interview us. She had attended the show the night before, but had been unable to get through the crowd to talk to us afterwards. We still had a few hours available before my family left for a revival in Mobile, and Chris and his band would be going on to Texas later that day. So we agreed to sit for the interview.
Her first question was, "Do you make a practice of calling the young people up to the front when you play".
I told her, "It was a spontaneous thing. I am not an evangelist--my Daddy is. I had never done it before in my life. It seemed to me that some of those kids were kind of idolizing me and Chris. I am not the Idol. If anyone is, it should be Jesus. So I just tried to redirect their attention where it belongs--to him. It was not our aim to steal attention away from the one we all came to praise. If they need an idol beyond that, it should be their Daddy or their Pastor, not some singer who comes and goes."
She asked, "How long have you two been singing together" .
I said, "We began singing together at about nine AM yesterday morning, but I personally have been singing harmony since I was a kid and Chris came out of a Gospel group before he went solo. There is a big difference between two people who can get up and sing in unison--two individual voices. But real harmony takes a connection of spirits and I think we had that yesterday and last night. I can't speak for Chris but I would like to continue singing with him in the future if we can work things out in our schedules".
She said, "Usually harmony that close comes from a lifetime of family singing. It was really something special. And the connection you made to these young people was unique. You guys are sort of like the Pied Pipers of the Gulf Coast. That would be a good name if you ever decided to get together and record".
She said, "I was also impressed about the fact that when I entered the bus security compound this morning, there was a crowd of young people gathered out there.
She added, "When the security guard let me in the gate, the kids pleaded with me to get you guys to come to the gate and talk".
She continued on and we answered some of the usual questions with our standard answers. Then she asked, "Do you intend to record together"?
Both of us agreed, "We would love to, if and when our Label and the management company approve. They are the ones who do all the scheduling for my family anyway, and it might prove difficult".
She then said, "You could be like Waylon and Willy, two separate careers, but when they get together, they are the most popular duos in the history of country music.
Chris observed, "Yes but we are sober and drug free! We would love to have some songs to share with those who love our kind of music whether they are Country or Gospel music fans. But speaking for myself, if I had to become an outlaw to do it, I for one would have to pass".
"Me too" I added.
He continued, "I'm not here to judge anybody. They have their individual styles and are fine singers and musicians. And I am sure that as people they are great guys to know, but there is a line that I personally won't cross in order to be successful. But if I had use them as role models, I would rather flip burgers the rest of my life".
After a few more questions and more pictures, the interview ended. We escorted her to the gate and the screams and cheering started as soon as they caught sight of us.
I had learned a lesson the night before when we were overwhelmed by the crowd. We looked at each other and decided that we would let them into the compound one by one to have their pictures taken with us and sign autographs. We also chatted with them through the chain-link fence. There was no way that I wanted to get mobbed in the crowd again. Many wanted pictures of Chris and I together. But, up to that point, we had none. Despite having a top ten song, I had no individual publicity pictures of me at all. There were Stone Family pictures, but I had none. Chris gave out what he had with him and then it was time to go. We quietly made plans to get together again as soon as our schedules permitted for more than singing.
Within a short week, the CD of our radio interview and the newspaper article entitled, "The Pied Pipers of Biloxi" reached our Label and the management company. It was circulated to all of the Gospel music trade publications and soon my song "Ripples" hit #1 on the Gospel charts.
The family was on tour at the time, but the management company decided to curtail some of our schedules in order to bring Chris and I into the studio. About the time we arrived back at the hollow, it was announced that I had been nominated by the Gospel music fans for Best New Male Artist of the year award.
While there are other awards that are given out by different organizations and publications, there is only one in Gospel where the nominating is done by the fans themselves. It was an honor just to be nominated for one, let alone to actually receive it. I hadn't actually won it yet, but five years previously Chris had won for best new male artist. He had received many other awards every year since then. Those included Gospel entertainer of the year, recording of the year, and many others. I was surprised and thrilled to even be nominated.
The irony of the matter was that I had a #1 record and had been nominated for this prestigious award, but Billy Ray Stone didn't even have a contract with the Label or a management deal. Basically I was penniless teenager except for my allowance from my Daddy. While there was money in the bank for the Stone Family as a group, I personally had nothing--and up to that point I didn't really need any.
The contract Daddy had originally signed was a development deal and basically we were working for wages. They had six of us family members under contract as a group, but they paid a lump sum for our services. They provided the means and the management. We provided the talent. The bus, the sound system and even our stage clothes were their property. We had been on the road almost continuously for two years and we had little to show for it except the good will and friendships we had formed with the congregations and fans. Although the family made more money than the average person on the street does, money was not the problem, bondage was.
When Daddy went to discuss our future with the Label, their attorneys said they would maintain the contract as it was. I was still a minor and therefore had no individual rights. If I was going to record, I was bound by the original contract. Daddy hired a prominent Nashville entertainment attorney to look into the matter.
The Attorney could not find much in the old contract which would offer a solution. However he said, "the family contract was not binding for me if I were of legal age. Once I reached 18, the contract didn't apply to me".
Therefore he recommended that we go to court and have the judge declare me emancipated by judicial declaration. The emancipation decree would state that I had the legal rights of an adult. That is what we did. For the sum of $250.00, I was now legally a free "man" in the eyes of the law even if my calendar age was only fifteen. If it went to court, the ruling would have to declare that I was no longer bound by that old contract.
As an individual, I was now free to enter into a contract with any Label or management company I chose. On the advice of Chris who I was in contact with throughout this process, I hired the same attorney to enter into negotiations on my behalf for a contract with whatever Label made the best offer. The Attorney would also negotiate with other management companies to guide my personal career as well as my participation in the Stone Family as a group. He also formed a type "S" corporation for myself and a second one for the Stone Family. Although he explained all of the advantages, all I wanted to do was continue to make music.
My new contract was eventually signed with the same Label and management as before, but with very different arrangements. The attorney was also able to renegotiate the Stone Family's contract. I was a part of that new contract as well with a full and equal partnership along with my parents and my two brothers and sister. It was a true contract where we would all legally be equal partners.
The financial details are unimportant, but we now had the right to purchase or lease our own busses, equipment and other necessities and offset their cost in taxes. We could also hire and fire any employee we needed in order to make life easier on the road. The first employee we hired was a full-time bus driver so that Daddy could relax and focus on music and writing songs.
We were also able to hire studio time in any studio we chose to use and to produce our own recordings if we chose to do so. The Label would manufacture and distribute our original recordings for a set share of the profits. We would also have our own legal and accounting team to keep track of all the expenses, and ensure that we get all that we were entitled to under the terms of the contracts.
Chapter 7- Another Step, Free at last...
I was now an (almost) sixteen year old emancipated adult with a hit record and his own corporation. I even had a complete set of corporate credit cards and the identification to go with them.
When Chris was ready to begin actively searching for songs for our joint album, he contacted my Daddy and when, our schedules permitted he came pick me up at the hollow and take me to Nashville. Daddy had promised that he would have some duet-type songs ready when we got back, but we needed to see what other songs were available. I took clothes enough for a full week stay. Chris had reserved rooms at a local downtown hotel and we checked in separately.
I was quite proud of my new platinum credit card and when I laid it on the hotel desk the clerk acted like he thought I might have got it out of a pack of bubble gum. I whipped out my cell phone and hit speed-dial and handed the clerk the phone. When my Attorney's secretary answered she informed him who I was and that my credit cards truly were platinum. My bags were quickly taken to my room and the alcohol in the mini-bar was replaced with soft drinks. The clerk apologized profusely and said he had some songs he would like me to listen to. I told him that he had to submit them to my Attorney`s office and the Attorney would have someone on the staff review them. (it seems everyone in Nashville is a song writer).
(A singer/aspiring songwriter cannot afford to listen directly to unpublished songs that strangers try to give them. Whether the material is any good or not, they can later claim plagiarism--that you copied the tune or lyrics or idea from their song and used it in your own later on).
Before our new arrangement, the Label's A&R department and the producer could dictate what songs the Stone Family could record. My Daddy's songs were great but there was no guarantee that they would be on a CD if the Label said no. Chris had managed to get artistic control of his own production several years before and he had quite a bit of experience in doing it. Now Billy Ray and the Stone Family were also able to select and produce their own music.
Because Chris was an established star, he could have first pick of anything that was written by most music publishers. It was a privilege to have a song on his CDs because even a marginal song received royalties if it was on the same CD with a hit--and he had lots of hits. Now that I also had a hit, I would have the same privileges.
After I got settled in, Chris called and asked if I was ready for lunch. I told him I had just showered and would throw on some clothes real fast. He said don't bother because, "You know what I want for the first course".
When I answered the door he waited until I closed it and he grabbed me and our lips met for the first time in months. I was wrapped in a damp towel and he grabbed the knot and ripped it off. He knelt before me and rubbed his cheek all over my hard cock. He stuck out his tongue and licked it from my balls to the tip and back, over and over. After a few minutes he backed off and just stared and nuzzled it for a few seconds and then returned to licking it. He opened his lips and allowed it to enter. He lightly grasped it with his lips and laved the underside of the head with his tongue. The only sound in the room was his fevered breathing and my murmurs of pleasure. I eased back towards the bed and he followed on his knees. As I sat, I tried to pull him up on the bed with me but he resisted. I wanted my turn...but I was quite beyond control--I was only a man by the laws decree but was still a greedy boy mentally. I got my feet up on the bed and spread my legs as far as possible to surrender as much of my most secret parts to his lips--and he took control. My only interest was my writhing butt and moans of pleasure. As I approached the point of no return, he only sucked faster and deeper. "More, more", I said as I got to those proverbial "short rows". Finally those illusive spasms of pleasure arrived and my whole body jerked and spewed forth...I was racked in a warm liquid aura.
(For you city boys... When you work in the fields all day you try to save the short rows of whatever you are growing for last. Near quitting time those short rows mean you are almost done for the day and work goes much faster when the end is in sight. It is the same for sex...you pump much faster when that elusive feeling is imminent).
After a few minutes rest, I said "its my turn".
...Chris languidly said, "No. We really should get going and get something solid to eat because we have appointments this afternoon. We have all week to find each other again".
So I got dressed and we went to one of Nashville's best restaurants of lunch. At lunch, I asked, "What time our appointment was for".
He said, "2 PM but the time really didn't matter--we are stars. They would stay until midnight waiting for us if necessary to try to get us to listen to their catalogue of music".
That first afternoon we listened to dozens of songs and made notes on the ones we might want to try to record. They also called in session musicians the play background so we could focus on the harmony allowed us to use a practice booth to see what harmony arrangements would be suitable.