Posted by Larry Jordan on November 14, 2013, 11:34 am Edited by board administrator November 23, 2013, 12:34 am
I didn't know David Bussey, my favorite antagonist from the UK, was a comedy writer. But with his typically flowery prose, he wrote a review of last week's BBC tribute to Jim, "Welcome To My World," and made some hilarious assertions involving me.
He wrote: ”Credit should be given where credit is due, but after Stateside murmurings & closer examination of content & music sourcing, I came to the conclusion that more than one person was involved in the planning & scripting of the programme. The spectre of an author at work permeated the whole thing. The subtle use of plugs for a book & namedropping throughout, showed a shrewd & unscrupulous marketing genius. And I, in my sheer ignorance & innocence, thought the BBC didn’t allow advertising. Thankfully, at least there was nothing untoward in the dialogue.“
I guess I should feel flattered that Mr. Bussey thinks I am a "marketing genius." But as has been his pattern over the years, David's imagination has run away with him.
For the record, (1) I had no role whatsoever in scripting that show, other than to implore the producer to include mention of Bea Terry's role in helping Jim — a story which I revealed in my book but which heretofore has been wholly unknown by the vast majority of fans. (2) If I HAD put my stamp on the program, it would have included a plug for VoiceMasters (as the show drew heavily from music and Jim's spoken words I have released on various CDs), but the BBC did not mention my label.
I did not hear the program ahead of time and was only sent a copy by the producer after it aired. I thought they did a good job of bringing in new voices, from people who offered interesting and insightful comments about Jim and his music. It was a first-class production from beginning to end.
One last thing: In his latest excursion into fantasyland, Mr. Bussey says the BBC told him last March it was planning a tribute show to Jim "for next year." But he goes on to write "Imagine my surprise when I was contacted a mere 4 days before the programme by a friend to tell me there was a Jim Reeves broadcast going out on Radio 2 on bonfire night, Tuesday, 5th November 2013." So he admits to being caught completely by surprise by the recent airing of the show.
Yet this contradicts the assertion made on the same Holland website on November 5th in which it was claimed that the reason David Bussey "is not featured on tonight's programme, is because he chose not to be. He was approached by the Manchester producer for an interview, and after serious consideration, turned the offer down, as he felt he'd had his radio days years ago, got his tee shirt, and would leave the programme in the hands of the new kids on the block. He has diametrically opposed views & opinions to some of those on the programme and did not wish to stir the waters and spoil their moment of glory."
I see that Mr. Bussey, who seems to have taken over Mr. Den Dulk's website (I wonder where HE is these days?), has posted 3 letters from Mary Reeves dated from around the time I know Larry got acquainted with her in the fall of 1966. He posted these in an apparent attempt to validate his efforts to run a Jim Reeves fan club with her blessing -- which he did, for awhile.
But I wonder if Mr. Bussey will tell, as Paul Harvey used to say, "the rest of the story?" Such as how Mary later cut him off at the knees after one of his visits to her office and an incident that upset her very much, and rightly so. I think any fan would be shocked if they knew that story, which Mr. Bussey has tried to keep secret. (Memo to David: Word travels fast, especially when you go around bragging about what you pulled off. Too bad Mary found out about it).
Mr. Bussey is on record as complaining (as did Mr. Den Dulk in a nasty letter to the editor of a country music magazine publicly ridiculing Mary for not supporting his fan club efforts) that Mrs. Reeves suddenly withdrew her approval of his club. So he's admitted that.
Just what IS "the official" explanation for why Mary withdrew support for the British fan club?
So take all this with a grain of salt. It seems to me to be a wee bit sanctimonious to be posting old letters from Mary without telling how and why their relationship ended. Because it leaves a false impression in the minds of the fans.
By comparison, my husband Larry — author of the 672 page award winning book "Jim Reeves: His Untold Story" and producer of the VoiceMasters series of CDs — and Mary remained friends right up to the end as I can personally attest as I took calls from her when Mary phoned our home and we even went to Nashville. (You can hear one of their taped conversations on Larry's blog by clicking on the link below).