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Fame
& Fortune: Mickey Gilley
No money headaches today
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| Bankrate:
Where do you think the direction of country music is headed?
Mickey Gilley: I was
watching "60 Minutes" and saw where Toby Keith will be making $46 million
this year. That shocked me! In 1980, Johnny Lee and I were on top of the charts
and we weren't even close to that kind of money. We spent a lot, too. It's the
same with the ballplayers. Babe Ruth spent a lot, too and the ballplayers make
a lot more money now. I had seventeen No. 1 songs and I didn't see anything like
that kind of money. I bought a King Air airplane. I've grown up with my audience;
they're my age or older. Not a lot of kids are coming to see me. Some shows in
Branson are more family-oriented. Jim Thomas brought me out to Branson, to play
the Roy Clark Theater. I asked him, "Where in the world is Branson, Missouri?"
The money they were offering was OK, but I told him I didn't want to play in front
of a bunch of empty seats. He called back and let me know all three shows were
sold out, then six. There used to be a lot of acts, which was good, because people
don't want to see the same act every night. But, you don't want too many acts,
you don't want to over-saturate it. You don't want to over-saturate anything.
I'm set to have my best year ever: I'm hiring some acts and there will be a show
in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening. I'm going to use my theater
to its fullest potential. I have the restaurant, too. I serve Southwest, barbecue.
I do things differently than they can get in Branson. If you have good food, people
will come to your restaurant. Bankrate:
How did "Urban Cowboy" change your life? Mickey
Gilley: I had had five or six No. 1s. John Travolta came down and they
did a kind of classic country mix. It opened bigger rooms for me to play -- Vegas,
Reno, Tahoe and Atlantic City. I always wanted to play those kind of places. Bankrate:
Do you manage your own money? Mickey
Gilley: I have an office in Texas where the wife and people who work for
me pay the bills. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I do know how
to count. I used to have a CPA who got me into some pretty bad deals. I was making
money but didn't see it. I said, "This is not working." They would tell
me that things were fine, but I didn't care what they said, if I could see that
the bills, the notes weren't going to be paid. Bankrate:
Do you have investments other than your theater and restaurant? Mickey
Gilley: I had a few stocks, but stocks took a dive. I never sell my stocks.
The only one that made money was Reebok. I had some airline stock, but the airlines
tanked. I didn't have a lot of money in them, though. If you want to be a successful
trader of stocks, you have to stay on top of it. All I want to do is do my shows
and play golf. I asked my accountant, "Where is all my money?" He pointed
to my King Air. So, I put it up for sale! Now, I have a smaller plane, a C55 Baron.
I pilot it. I am instrument and commercial rated. If I got to the point where
I couldn't fly, I'd give up Branson, because I have to be able to go home on weekends.
I pilot it myself; I won't pay somebody to do what I can do for myself. Tamar
Alexia Fleishman is a lawyer and freelance writer living in Baltimore. |
