Brumley to Perform in Branson - SNL

Al Brumley and an all-star band will perform two shows Thursday in Branson.

NEWS-LEADER FILE PHOTO


Want to go?
What: Stroll Down Memory Lane with Al Brumley Jr.


When: 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday


Where: Tri-Lakes Center, 2527 Missouri 248 in Branson


Cost: Tickets are $5


Call: 336-0219


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By Michael A. Brothers
News-Leader

Al Brumley Jr. wants to take audiences on a journey down memory lane next week, but it won't necessarily be a straight path.
The two shows Brumley and an all-star backing band will perform Thursday at the Tri-Lakes Center in Branson will feature pop songs, country songs and gospel songs. It will have pop vocal elements with Brumley and Detroit native Debbie Brady singing, and it will have plenty of swing with members of the Les Brown Band of Renown backing them up.

"We're really shooting for '40s, '50s, '60s type of music," says Brumley. "Music like 'Sittin' On Top of the World' and 'Sleepwalk.'"

Both concerts will be captured on video for possible use on PBS television stations around the country during pledge drives and on cable television, though no deals have been inked yet.

"In a way it's a pilot," Brumley says.

Brumley is best known as a gospel singer, and his father, Albert E. Brumley, is famous for the more than 900 gospel songs he composed in his lifetime, including classics like "I'll Fly Away." His brother Tom, who also will perform on the show, is a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame and has played onstage and in the studio for Buck Owens, Dwight Yoakam and many others.

"It's a lot of the old pop standards and a lot of dad's songs," Tom Brumley says. "I think that will appeal well to the people who come to Branson."

Al Brumley Jr.'s most recent recording project is a collection of standard and original pop songs backed by a big band.

In addition to players from the Brown Band, members of the Lawrence Welk Band and a handful of string players from the Springfield Symphony will flesh out the sound at the Branson performance.

"It's dynamite," Brumley says. "It's a good, full sound."

Brumley says he wanted to keep the ticket price low at $5 to get as many people as possible into the massive 2,700 seat Tri-Lakes Center, formerly the Mel Tillis Theater. A good audience makes for a better television product, and Brumley is hopeful the program will be able to help PBS stations.

"That's the whole thing — for the pledges," he says