Wheeler Page #7

into the Ryman, baby.

Can you believe it?

I'm excited to hear

what he plays.

- Who, Kris?

- Yeah.

Yeah, man.

I just can't believe it.

Just got the chills, man.

I got the chills

runnin' through my spine.

Tsk. Couldn't even

sleep last night.

You know, your dad's

gonna be listening tonight.

Yeah, he is.

He sure is.

What a day, man. What a day.

Can't imagine what

that stained glass is gonna

look like from the stage.

And now a sad piece of news.

Wheeler Bryson,

a recent guest of the show,

was involved in a tragic

automobile accident

earlier today in Franklin

that claimed his life,

as well as the life

of his childhood friend,

Bobby Ross.

His talent was true.

His words were honest.

His voice a beautiful mix

of traditional and modern.

And at his core,

an infectious spirit

that touched the hearts

and souls of everyone he met.

Our friend, Wheeler Lynn Bryson,

dead at the age of 41.

This is an interview

you don't wanna do.

He was special.

Uh... I needed his songs

and I needed him in my life.

When I met Wheeler,

he kinda filled a void.

And... I found something

in Wheeler that I had lost,

just the joy of writing songs

and playing music

for the fun of it.

I really wanted

to come to Kaufman

and I wanted to see the place

and meet the people

who made him who he was.

As long as I sing,

as long as I play guitar

and do shows,

I'm gonna sing our song

and I'm gonna say,

"here's a song...

"I wrote with an old boy

from Kaufman, Texas.

His name

was Wheeler Bryson."

We became friends,

and I don't make friends easily,

because he was so real

and genuine...

And open about...

His flaws and emotions.

He was just honest.

It's hard for me

to talk about it. Uh...

He had no rules,

he was not in any sort of box.

He is... he was just him.

And he had this story to tell.

It was incredible.

I feel like he made it.

He won.

There's just not a day

that goes by

I don't think about him.

Hearin' his music's

almost... bittersweet.

Anyway...

I-I'm glad that the world

gets to have his music now.

You know...

At least everybody

gets a little piece of him.

Kristofferson became

part of Wheeler's story.

And there's this great Lyric,

the greatest

songwriter's song ever

is a song called

to beat the devil.

I was born a lonely singer

in a world turned deaf and blind

who was crucified

for what I tried to show

but if I never have a nickel

won't ever die of shame

'cause the truth remains

if no one wants to know.

Wheeler told the truth

and he broke a lot of rules

in how quickly people

did want to know.

And it matters,

and it's gonna

live on and on and on.

You know that line in the song,

when I say,

"nobody's here forever"?

It sounds good in a song, but...

I think people are here forever.

They're just not here

in the flesh.

It's a crazy thing... death.

It's the one certainty

that nobody's certain about.

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