Friday Photo Flashback

As a former radio guy who has been to a lot of concerts, I can honestly tell you that one of the most entertaining shows I’ve ever seen was put on by Neal McCoy. I’ve had the chance to see him perform a few times and his show is full of great music, dad jokes and hilarious interactions between band members. From the moment he steps on stage, he takes the audience on an entertaining ride that is full of stories, laughs and hits.

I should have posted this yesterday, as he celebrated his 68th birthday, but the picture works better for Friday Photo Flashback.

This photo was taken back when the Clio Amphitheater used to bring in popular singers of the day. It was truly the perfect place to see an artist. It was a very intimate venue with a mere 3200 seats. There were no bad seats and it sounded great.

It was not odd for stars to jump off stage and walk through the crowd. Neal always did. It really made it a special time for audiences.

In 1994, Neal had number one hits with No Doubt About It and Wink. His cover of the Casinos’ 1967 hit Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye was a Top Ten hit, while The Shake peaked at number five. By the late 1990’s, his radio popularity seemed to dwindle. Whether because of radio consultants & programmers not adding the new songs or poor promotion by record labels, Neal (and many other artists) began to get less airplay.

Neal is still out touring and has a great social media presence. All these years later, I can tell you that I would not hesitate to buy tickets to see him if he was in town.

Happy Birthday, Neal!!