A shout-out for Whispering Bill's book

It's almost like one of those "Where's Waldo?" books, when you find the man in the funny cap on every page in every location in every situation.
The subtitle of Whisperin' Bill Anderson's new book, "An Unprecedented Life in Country Music," is not hyperbole. You find Whisperin' Bill grooming country legend Connie Smith, singing to the disco beat, acting on the set of "One Life to Live," co-writing Anna Nicole Smith's favorite song and giving Taylor Swift her first opportunity to sing in public. Did I mention he once was a good if cautious baseball pitcher and has a college degree in journalism?
None of these things is what he's best known for, of course, because Bill Anderson was at the top of the country charts in 1958, when he was 20 years old, with "City Lights" and-except for a few off years-has been writing hits ever since. For 58 years. He's a songwriter's songwriter.
I like this book, written with Peter Cooper, music historian. I especially like the part when Bill Anderson describes his personal song-writing process, always a mystery to me. Which came first, I wondered, the lyrics or the tune, or was it different with each artist, or perhaps each song? Anderson is a lyrics man.
He wrote one of my all-time favorite country songs, made famous by Porter Wagoner in the late 1960s, called "The Cold Hard Facts of Life." It's an industrial-strength classic, with a husband coming home early from a trip, stopping at a corner wine store, buying a bottle of champagne to celebrate with his wife only to find her "entertaining" someone else.
"The story was gripping and spine-tingling as I was writing it, until I suddenly realized I didn't have the foggiest idea how my little soap opera was going to end," Anderson writes. "I had exactly 16 bars of music, about four lines of lyrics, and possibly a tag line with which to wrap the whole thing up "
Writing a song can be like a painter painting himself into a corner and wondering how to get out of the room, he says. Well, he leapt out of the "Cold Hard Facts" corner with an agile, three-word phrase that you can find on YouTube if you've made it this far in life without hearing that wonderful song. I won't spoil it.
He describes hearing song ideas buried in idle chatter or baseball lingo or other unlikely places. And that's just the start of the jigsaw. He's mastered the art.
It's a funny book, a story told without excess ego or exaggeration like some I've read in this genre. Despite great success, he's kept his humility and remains accessible to fans.
"Oh, Bill Anderson," one fan said to him, "it's such a thrill to meet you. I've liked you ever since back when you used to be popular."
When he thought his career was dead, he collaborated with younger songwriters and wrote another round of country hits. It was his hairstylist who insisted he call her friend Vince Gill, and that was the beginning of a beautiful collaborative friendship.
This book won't be in the inspirational section of your local book store, but it probably should be. The main message is to follow your passion, never give up and be nice to people.