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There’s always that one toy, that one Christmas gift that you remember above any other.
For country gospel artist Susie McEntire, her husband Mark Eaton and singer/songwriter Bobby Tomberlin - all of whom will be performing Saturday, Dec. 13 as part of this year’s A Country Christmas - those were a baby buggy, a slalom ski and a guitar, respectively.
“I had a baby doll. I was the only one of my siblings that had a baby doll. I think my brother had a stuffed animal,” McEntire recalled. “But I had a baby doll that I took care of as my child, and I wanted a baby buggy and I got up on Christmas morning and there it was. I loved my baby buggy. I took that baby everywhere in that house. That was my prize Christmas gift.”
Eaton said, “I lived in the Northwest, north of Seattle, and my parents worked hard to put together a camper and a ski boat for us, and I wanted a slalom ski that I looked at in the boat shop. I walked into the boat shop when Dad was getting a part for the motor, or a part for the boat. I immediately looked to my right and there was the wall of water skis, and I had my eye on one. I just fondled and touched it and imagined what it would be like and how well I could ski as a 12-year-old boy if I only had that Connelly Hook - that was the name of it.”
That Christmas, the ski was wrapped up underneath the tree and he knew exactly what it was because of the shape of it.
“Best Christmas gift ever for a 12-year-old boy,” Eaton stated.
Tomberlin said he got a toy guitar when he was probably 3 years old.
“It didn’t take long before I was begging for the real thing, but I remember it just like it was yesterday. I wish I still had it. I’ve got pictures of me holding that guitar,” Tomberlin recalled.
A Country Christmas benefits the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots and the gift a child receives from the program could mean as much to them as the baby buggy to McEntire, the ski to Eaton or the guitar to Tomberlin.
“Children need toys. Children need joy and hope and laughter and to be able to relax and use their imagination,” Eaton said. “This is more than just a toy. This is helping children develop and giving adults maybe just a moment to exhale: Their child’s got a gift. So, it’s way more than just a toy. This is 60 years later and I’m talking about that water ski, and the appreciation it gave me for my parents’ hard work. So it’s way more than just a toy.”
A Country Christmas is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13 at Lakeview Middle School, Warsaw. Doors open at 6 p.m. While the concert is free, attendees are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy for donation to Toys for Tots.
Performers returning are McEntire, Eaton and Keenie, with new singers including Tess Frizzell, Tomberlin and Jason Michael Carroll.
Singer/Songwriter
Tomberlin has been writing songs probably longer than he has been out on stage performing. He co-wrote “One More Day,” recorded by Diamond Rio; “A Good Day to Run” by Darryl Worley; “Someday It’ll All Make Sense” by Dolly Parton and Bill Anderson; as well as had songs recorded by Blake Shelton, Willie Nelson, Barbra Streisand, Faith Hill, Vince Gill, actor Chris Pine and many more, according to his website www.bobbytomberlinmusi.com.
“I’ve been really blessed. That’s all I can say,” Tomberlin said in a telephone interview from Nashville, Tenn. “There wasn’t a time that I wasn’t just consumed with music, even as a kid, and I’ve just been doing it for a long time and going out and doing shows and just been blessed to have a lot of my heroes record my songs.”
From a small town in south Alabama, he was a disc jockey when he was 11 years old. He interviewed people like Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings.
“I just had the music. I was just totally consumed. Learned to play the guitar at an early age. The first song I ever wrote was called ‘Alabama Moonlight.’ It was not that good of a song, but it made me feel like I was brilliant for about three months until I played it for a few people who knew better, but I just kept writing and writing,” Tomberlin said.
The first record he ever had released to radio that was a significant song was recorded by Linda Davis, who had the big hit with Reba McEntire called “Does He Love You?”
“She was the first one, a major artist, who recorded one of my songs. And since that time, Diamond Rio recorded a song called ‘One More Day’ and that’s been my most famous song because it crossed over to the pop charts and it still gets a lot of significant airplay. And then Blake Shelton and Faith Hill and Willie (Nelson). I’ve got four songs on his (Nelson’s) new album that’s coming out next year, and I’ve got a Christmas song (“Christmas Love Song”) that he’s just released for the Christmas season, and I’ll definitely be doing that one up there for the show,” Tomberlin stated.
He said he works with brand new artists who just sign with a label to legendary icons like Parton and Nelson. When he went to Nashville, he went just to write songs. Mel Tillis, a Country Music Hall of Fame member, brought Tomberlin to Nashville.
“I came here just to write. I never wanted to be that artist, but in the last 15 years, especially the last 10 years, I’ve been doing 75 to 100 shows a year, and it’s just really fun going out to do these intimate shows, and I share the stage with a lot of artists, a lot of other writers. We just share the stories behind the songs. It’s just a great, intimate experience for the audiences and it’s something that has just turned into a really big deal. There’s songwriter festivals all over the country now and I’ve toured everywhere from Alaska and California to way down to Florida and New York,” he said.
His girlfriend, Tess Frizzell, will be at A Country Christmas with him and they do a lot of shows together.
“She comes from a legendary country music family. Her grandmother is Country Music Hall of Fame member Dottie West and she recorded a bunch of duets with Kenny Rogers. And then Tess’s uncle is a Country Music Hall of Fame member - Lefty Frizzell, who influenced Merle Haggard, Keith Whitley, Randy Travis. So a lot of our shows we honor some of her legendary family members, as well as singing some of our own music,” Tomberlin said.
His songs usually are inspired by just every day life.
“Things I’m going through or observing what other people are going through. The songs that I’ve had the most success with have totally been when I’m true to myself, and really writing what I know. It’s hard for me to write something I don’t know and not be true to myself,” Tomberlin said.
He still gets emails and letters every week every year on “One More Day.”
“People use it to help heal from the loss of a loved one. They use it for memorials. And that’s the biggest reward for me, when something that I helped write or wrote can really help someone. That’s bigger than any kind of award,” Tomberlin said.
He has a project out, with Vince Gill singing harmony with him on one of the songs. It also features some other guests.
“Sometimes I just write one especially for me. Like I have a song called ‘I’ve Lived Country Music,’ and that led to writing a memoir with the same title, ‘I’ve Lived Country Music,’ and that’s been on the market since August,” Tomberlin said.
The memoir, which hit the top 10 on an Amazon chart, includes stories about Tomberlin’s journey as a songwriter from a small town to Nashville.
A Dozen Years
This is the 12th year for A Country Christmas.
“It was a hard thing to, I think, that our regulars weren’t going to be there - Linda (Davis) and her husband, Lang. Of course, we had Janie Fricke last year,” Susie McEntire said. “(Organizer) Mike (Loher) is always trying to kind of keep it interesting and not the same all the time, but familiarity, and I think that is a really good thing. Some that have been there all the way through - me and Mark - and then Keenie a little bit more, and then new. I think it’s a good thing.”
Eaton said Loher works “super hard” at taking care of his artists, which is why he and McEntire are able to return every year, because they are treated well.
“We travel and do enough shows that we know where it’s fun to go and where it’s fun to do work and where it’s hard to do work. So coming up to y’all there, Mike Loher does a great job of making sure we’re taken care of, makes us want to come back every year and join y’all. It’s been such a great run,” Eaton said.
So many toys for the Marine Corp’s Toys for Tots have been raised over the past 11 years at the annual concert, he pointed out.
“It was a huge number last year and I’m sure Mike will have an update for us on that,” he stated.
McEntire is already thinking about the Christmas music for this year’s holiday concert. Eaton said, “So we’re looking forward to having some new guests on stage with us. I think it will be a real interesting show for the people in the Warsaw area. We’re looking forward to it.”
McEntire said their main emphasis is toys.
“Everyone, to be able to get in the door, needs to bring a (new) unwrapped toy, and it’s an honor to be able to do that,” she said. “As well, there will be an overflow, I think, from our Pamper Me. People can come in and shop a little bit of the vendors who want to stay up until the show starts, right there in the common area.”
Pamper Me
The third annual Warsaw Ladies Pamper Me, hosted by McEntire and Keenie, along with special guest speakers, is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13 in the Lakeview Middle School commons. Tickets are $30 per person or $35 at the door. Preregistration ends Friday, Dec. 12. Register at www.susiemcentire.com.
The Christmas Bazaar is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This free-admission shopping event will feature a variety of vendors offering holiday gifts, handmade items, seasonal décor, apparel - including the debut of Freedom Fest merch, sweet treats and more. Guests attending Susie’s Pamper Me or the A Country Christmas are encouraged to come early, browse the vendor market and enjoy a warm and festive atmosphere created by local artisans and small businesses.
For more information about A Country Christmas, call 574-376-0193 or visit the website at www.countrychristmaswarsaw.com.
