PDA

View Full Version : Have the Billys parted ways?



b52hbuff
08-27-2004, 07:58 PM
Ok, so I know that Billy Hill has expanded beyond the four originals and
is practically a franchise with a cast of players.

I was cruising the web, and found...

http://www.billyandthehillbillies.com/
...will redirect to here...
http://billyandthehillbillies.net/
...and that site only has the Marshall brothers. It says:
"This concert will feature John Williams “Billy” Marshall and Evan “Billy” Marshall and two of their hillbilly friends, performing many of their now famous Evan Marshall orchestral arrangements for hillbilly band and symphony orchestra, including Beethoven’s “Rage Over a Lost Penny”, and of course, “Roll Over Beethoven”, hillbilly style."

Somehow I get the feeling that their friends aren't going to be Kirk Wall
(Elvis Billy) and Dennis Fetchet (Old Fiddle Billy).

I also note that the new CD (available from www.cdbaby.com) entitled "I Want U 2 Want Me" is by 'The Billys', and not 'Billy Hill and the Hillbillies'? I really miss Evan's playing on the CD.

So what happened?? Did they original team lose the name 'Billy Hill and the Hillbillies' to Disneyland? Did Kirk and Dennis get kicked out of 'the band', and the Marshall brothers take the official name?

...did Yoko split up Billy Hill and the Hillbillies? Are we going to see a documentary, "This is Billy Hill"?

btw, note that the original Billy Hill album (brown cover) is no longer available, so keep your copy nice...

Bruce Bergman
08-28-2004, 08:10 PM
As far as I know, Evan and John Marshall own the rights to the concept and name "Billy and the Hillbillies" and when they brought the show to DL they changed the name slightly to differentiate it. Or Vice Versa - they owned it first as "Billy Hill and the Hillbillies" and changed it for the 'Road Company' events out of the park...

As far as I know, there's no bad blood going on. The split only occured when they cancelled Dean Dana's "Golden Horsheshoe Variety Show" that ran Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and "Billy Hill" needed to cover the Golden Horseshoe 7 days a week with 4 people - and that simply wouldn't work...

So they made more of the people who were Substitute Billies into permanent members of the cast on certain days of week, and paired off into three basic teams (with some repetition) so that the Original Four could have regular days off that coincided with other regular outside gigs they play.

(You need a program to keep it all straight. Thankfully there is one Here. (http://www.jansworld.net/billy_hill/1_billy_hill_main_page.htm) )

Kirk, Evan, Dennis and John all have various other shows they do - Kirk has the "Johnny Fabulous" stuff, Dennis goes to that Italian restaurant in Palmdale (or is it Canyon Country?)...

:fez: --<< Bruce >>--