Mel Tillis of "Detroit City' fame passes
Home folks think I’m big in Detroit City
From the letters that I write they think I’m fine
But by day I make the cars
By night I make the bars
If only they could read between the lines.
I always thought of "Detroit City" as an anthem for all who migrated to Detroit to work on the line and hope for better things. Like me. I first heard it played by legendary Cass Corridor pianist-singer Bobby McDonald at Cobb's Corner [corner of Willis and Cass] in the early seventies. Being one of those migrants, not from the south--a lot of us came from north of here too, this song always hit home for me.
https://youtu.be/37gHaud7S1w
Mel Tillis co-composer of Detroit City, with DannyDill, and a stutterer who overcame his handicap and achieved stardom passed today. Detroit City won a grammy for Bobby Bare in 1963.
Wapo Obituary
