Country music legend Roy Clark is coming home.
The entertainer, who became a household name as the “pickin? and grinnin? ” partner of the late Buck Owens on the TV show “Hee Haw,” will bring his Christmas tour through his childhood hometowns.
“I had a hip replacement … and I was laid up for a while. That really gave me time to stop and think,” said Clark, who was born in Meherrin, Va., and moved to Washington as a child. “When you tour for200 days, you get so caught up in [business] you don?t think about what you?re missing. I gave up a lot of personal things, like fishing in the Chesapeake. … Things that I really enjoyed.”
So Clark reworked his schedule and slated more time for family and friends. Just before coming to Annapolis, Clark reminisced about his father, who always took him to free symphonic and military concerts, taught him to play guitar and played music himself with the Shenandoah Playboys.
“He was my first and only teacher,” Clark said. “It was such great training, watching my dad and the other musicians play.”
Clark joined his father?s band and soon moved into the big leagues, playing with country legends, including Hank Williams, and performing his own hits at the Grand Ole Opry (“Yesterday When I was Young” and “Thank God and Greyhound”). But Clark still routinely returned to the area to visit his siblings, who reside in Edgewater and Davidsonville, and play everything from country to rock.
“Roy has been an inspiration to many and especially to me,” said Tony Santorella, who worked with Clark on a training package for aspiring musicians. “He truly … wants to share his life?s job with everyone.”
Although Clark has slowed down, he?s still widely recognized. That likely will increase now that “Hee Haw,” which was aired for 28 seasons, is available on DVD.
“People say to me all the time ?You?ve played all over the world. What does it feel like, being in this little place?? ” Clark said. “I always tell them ? and I really mean it ? that this little place and its people are the most important things in the world to me that night. … I want to give people a good time. I stomp my foot, and away we go.”
If you go
Roy Clark
» Venue: Rams Head on Stage, 33 West St., Annapolis
» Time: 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday
» Tickets: $45; 410-268-4545; www.ramsheadtavern.com
