Nashville’s ‘Ole Red’ week has Gulf Coast connection, WATCH songwriter perform country classic hit

Posted May 11, 2020 | by: Rose Ann Haven

PERDIDO KEY, Fla – (WKRG) A big honor for a local songwriter and performer, Mark Sherrill of Perdido Key who co-wrote the classic country song, ‘Ol’ Red’ in the late 1980’s.

Nashville’s WSM radio has declared this week “Ole Red’ week leading up to Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani’s performance on the Grand Ole Opry Saturday night, Stefani’s Grand Ole Opry Debut.

Shelton is the most recent singer to record the song in which the spelling of the title is changed from ‘Ol’ Red’ to ‘Ole Red’ to reflect the Grand Ole Opry.

Other singers to record ‘Ol’ Red’ are George Jones, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash, and Hoyt Axton.

For it to be declared ‘Ole Red Week’ in Music City means a lot to Sherrill, “It choked me up and kind of brought tears to my eyes. It’s not an honor everybody gets.”

‘Ol Red’ is about a Georgia prisoner who used a prison tracking dog’s attraction to a blue tick hound to escape. Sherrill co-wrote the song when he lived in Nashville and owned a bait shop.

“We were fortunate enough that the good Lord put one in our hands. It’s just something that..when I play it at the Flora-Bama, people come from all over the country to hear me sing the song. I had two couples say that song saved their lives, and I wondered what kind of life did they have because it’s about two dogs getting it on you know. All I can figure is, people love a good story.”

MARK SHERRILL

Sherrill continues to perform at the Flora-Bama on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Link to article: https://www.wkrg.com/baldwin-county/nashvilles-ole-red-week-has-gulf-coast-connection-watch-songwriter-perform-country-classic-hit/