Building a Career in Branson

My wife and I had never been to Branson Missouri before; hence we did not know what to expect. As college professors, we wondered if this country music capital would be sophisticated enough for our tastes.

As it happened, we needn’t have been concerned. The quality of entertainment far exceeded our expectations. But more than this, we stumbled on to a bonus that put president Obama’s disparagement of the entrepreneurial spirit into perspective.

Quite by accident, we attended two tribute programs put on by James Garrett. One was for Johnny Cash and the other for John Denver. In both cases, we found ourselves cheek by jowls with the musicians in the tiny Little Opry Theater having the time of our lives.

Also quite unexpectedly, we later found ourselves enjoying two extended conversations with Garrett, which left us equally impressed. Anyone who believes that country music stars are dimwitted bumpkins ought to talk to Garrett. They would quickly find themselves disabused of their error.

But more than this, Garrett had a compelling story to tell. Some of it he related during his shows, but much he elaborated upon in private. This was about his life and how he moved up from very humble beginnings to realize considerable artistic success.

Garrett is not a superstar, but he did attract notice as the lead singer for the country group The Kendalls. Nowadays, with this behind him, he has been organizing award winning tribute shows. In addition, he is very good at what he does. Personable and charismatic, he routinely draws audiences into his world.

In any event, to say that Garrett began from unpromising roots would be a gross understatement. Abandoned as an infant, he spent the first decade of his life being tossed from one unpleasant foster home to the next. And even when his biological father reclaimed him, many of his subsequent years included bouts of homelessness.

With this background, he could, as did one of his brothers, have descended into alcoholism. He did not. Nor did he become embittered or emotionally disturbed. No doubt distressed by the trials he had to endure, he instead devoted himself to disproving predictions that he would never amount to a hill of beans.

Did Garrett build his own career? Or did the government hand it to him? Yes, audiences use state roads to get to his performances, but did the state give him his talent or supply the effort needed to develop it?

And what about organizing his shows? Which songs to sing and how to present them were not wired in from Washington. Poor decisions in these would quickly put him out of business—considering that there are almost a hundred and fifty other shows from which Branson customers can choose.

Obama says we need help in order to succeed. He tells us we cannot do things on our own. In this he is right—but in a trivial sense. As social creatures, we must cooperate with others, but even this cooperation, if it is to be beneficial, requires input from us.

To return to Garrett, he is not a one-man band. There on stage with him is Jim Glaspy, one of the most talented guitar and banjo players to be found anywhere. That the two can coordinate their performances as seamlessly as they do owes more to their own efforts than to Obama’s.

Garrett must also be a businessman who promotes his shows, an impresario who deals with theater owners, and a host who connects with audiences. All of this involves working with others, yet none of it detracts from the fact that he is largely responsible for his own success.

So I say let’s offer up three hearty cheers for James Garrett, and all those like him. It is to them that our country owes its greatness, not to the vainglorious Washington politicians who seek to take credit for what others have wrought.

Melvyn L. Fein, Ph.D.

Professor of Sociology

Kennesaw State University