From the Tiger Beat Archives, August 1971
Some of the fans who I’ve talked to just can’t believe it when I tell them how much fun I have with my brothers! They tell me, “Older brothers and sisters just boss you around!” Well, though that might have been true for some, and while I’ve felt that way a few times in my life; for the most part, older brothers can be pretty special. And that’s the main reason I’m writing this–to tell you about the other side of the coin–to tell you how older brothers can help you!
In some way brothers are like parents–they’ve lived longer, and they been through a lot of the troubles and problems that their little brothers and sisters are just coming up against. And one of the best things is there not as old as parents, so they haven’t forgotten so much about what it means to be a kid!
Well, I’ve learned something from each one of my four older brothers, and to be honest I have to admit they really have been worth the occasional headaches they caused!
Always Concerned
I guess we might as well start at the top. Alan is the oldest, and he’s the most like my father, always concerned with my problems and always gentle in his advice to me. I’ve never been so sad that I couldn’t go to Alan, and he’s never failed to make me feel better. Probably the most vivid memory I have of this is from a few years ago. Alan had a fishing pole that he loved more than anything in the world. He had saved for months to get it, and he oiled and cleaned it all the time, so that it shone like a jewel! He would take it out in the backyard and practice casting for hours.
My friend Billy and his father asked me to go fishing with them, and I didn’t have a pole. I could see that Alan was a little worried about it, but he offered me his anyway. We set off that morning and I felt like I would catch buckets of fish!
Out in the middle of the lake, I baited the hook and, with some pride, I cast out into the water–but I caught the sinker on the edge of the boat, and the pole flipped out of my hands, and end over end into the deep blue lake! It sank from site, and I got a terrible empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. I was going to have to tell Alan!
Ready to Cry
It was doubly awful, because I felt so bad that Alan was the one I wanted to talk to anyway! I knew that he could make me feel better like no one else in the world–and it was his pole I’d lost!
I got home and told him I was ready to cry–and Alan was more concerned with stopping me than he was about the pole! He cared about the pole, sure, but nowhere near as much as he cared about trying to keep me from being sad! Alan talked to me and made me realize that no pole in the world mattered as much as any person being unhappy–and that’s just what Alan taught me! The thing is just a thing, but a person is something precious, and there’s no way you can do too much for him!
At about this time my brothers and I were getting worried about our careers. We done lots of television and stage shows, but nobody seemed to like our records, and we were wondering all the time what was wrong we talked it over with our mother and father, and among ourselves, but we didn’t seem to be moving any closer to an answer!
Wayne Wasn’t Worried
Only Wayne seemed unworried. He just shook his head and kept saying “It’ll happen.” I remember especially one night when Merrill got upset with him and began saying that Wayne didn’t really care, or he’d be worried too. Wayne shook his head and said, “I’m not worried because I have faith.”
Later that night I went into his room and woke him up. He sat up in bed and we began to talk. I asked him about faith, and he told me something I’ll never forget.
“There’s only one kind of faith for me,” he said, “and that’s faith in yourself. The Good Lord gave each of us everything he needs to do the things he should do, and there’s no reason to worry about it. If you’re not doing what you should do, you should stop doing it–but if you’re doing what you really want, you’ll make out fine. Remember, the Lord gave you everything you need–all you have to do is make sure you’re doing the right thing with that! I know that we brothers are doing what we should, and I’m not worried.” Wayne taught me about faith!
Feeling Tired
Merrill taught me something very different. We were on our tour, right after “One Bad Apple” had made number one, and we were traveling hard, working every night–and remember, I’ve got to study during the day because I go to school just like you! It was exciting and thrilling each night, bu I was pretty tired during the day.
We got off the plane in the city in the Midwest, and there were a bunch of people waiting to meet us. The concert promoters had pulled a limousine up to the plane, and I started to head for it, but Merrill grabbed my arm and steered me toward the people. I was cranky and started to argue, but he put his face close to mine and hissed: “Are you so super all of a sudden that these people’s love doesn’t mean anything to you?”
Boy, that was a blinding flash! I love my fans, but I had forgotten that you owe more than just the people when you’re doing well in your career! Just because I’m tired doesn’t mean that I can’t ever turn myself off where my fans are concerned! That’s the kind of thing that will stay with me throughout my whole career.
And as for Jay, well, what can I say about Jay? He’s the closest to me in age–only three years older–and that makes them kinda special. Were always traveling together, and life on the road can be kind of lonely. All my friends are back in California, and I need somebody to talk to and share things with–and that’s Jay.
We been around the world together and we always find something to laugh about, something to talk over late at night when were too excited to go to bed.
Being in the entertainment business is strange in some ways. Millions of people give you their love, but up close the same people are often shy and ill at ease, and that makes it difficult to make friends. Of course, I’m close to all my brothers, but it’s Jay who’s given me a friend who goes wherever I do. Jay has taught me about true friendship!
All in all, I think my brothers are pretty special, and I bet your brothers and sisters have given you quite a bit, too–if you stop and think about it!
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