The Spree of '83

Country Music legend Freddy Powers, credited with introducing Dixieland Jazz into Country for the first time, is affectionately known as the 'Ol Blue Eyes' of Country Music, according to the L. A. Times, and if you were to ask country superstars Willie Nelson, George Jones or Merle Haggard (they'll)...tell you that he's one of country music's best-kept secrets. That secret is spilled for the first time on paper in Powers' highly-entertaining and emotionally-touching page-turner THE SPREE OF '83 - The Life and Times of Freddy Powers (with Exclusive Commentary from Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard). Taking readers from the plains of West Texas into the Marine Core in the 40s before winding up in Arlington, TX alongside Willie Nelson as undiscovered artists in the early 50s before Freddy's career as one of Nevada's TOP performing acts exploded over the 1960s and 70s before landing in the studio with Willie Nelson to produce the Grammy-winning 1980 Over the Rainbow album. His career got even hotter in the 1980s when he joined forces with another country music superstar Merle Haggard, moving up to Lake Shasta in Northern California, where the two lived a truly rock & roll lifestyle on houseboats during the height of the roaring 80s, writing # 1 hit after # 1 hit, including Natural High, Let's Chase Each Other Around the Room Tonight, I Always Get Lucky With You, among many more. After moving back to Austin, Texas onto Willie Nelson's golf course in the 1990s, Freddy hosted his own TV show, Rogers & Hammerhead, and mentored a new generation of country stars, including John Rich of Big & Rich, Pauline Reese, Mary Sarah. In the 2000s, just as Freddy was beginning to be acknowledged on a legacy level with induction in to the Texas Music Hall of Fame among many others, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. In the 2000s, just as Freddy was beginning to be acknowledged on a legacy level with induction in to the Texas Music Hall of Fame among many others, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Battling over the next decade while founding his own Foundation, Freddy became an inspiration to others suffering from the disease, staying in the spotlight front of sold-out crowds even as his condition worsened. Presently in film production, the screenplay adaptation of The Spree of '83 is as cinematic as the book, and sure to be a hit with Freddy's legions of fans!