It was Clint "Dirty Harry" Eastwood who ultimately persuaded Mel Tillis to record the tunes "Coca-Cola Cowboy" and "Send Me Down to Tucson."
Eastwood invited Tillis to San Diego in the late 1970s to talk about a possible role in the film "Every Which Way But Loose." Record producer Snuff Garrett was also there to pitch Tillis on a couple of songs for the soundtrack.
Tillis wanted to do the movie, but the songs weren't to his liking. "Coca-Cola Cowboy" "had 100 verses to it," he said, and he thought "Send Me Down to Tucson," about a man involved in an affair, might give his wife the wrong idea.
"Clint told me if I didn't do the songs, he was going to beat me up and I couldn't be in his film," joked Tillis, 76, in a recent phone interview. "I recorded them both, and they were both hits."
Tillis will perform both songs along with some classic holiday tunes in "A Tillis Family Christmas." The show, Friday night at the Desert Diamond Casino, will also feature his daughters, Pam and Carrie April Tillis, and his son, Mel Tillis Jr.
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Have you ever done this kind of show before?
"No. We've never done a Christmas show, but we've done a non-Christmas family show in Branson. I recently recorded my first Christmas album, called "Snowflake." Pam also had one. Carrie did one, too. We thought now would be a good time for this show."
Do you enjoy touring with the kids?
"Oh, yeah. They are fun. I have to criticize them every now and then. I tell them where to stand. But we are having a good time."
Does the Tillis family have any longtime Christmas traditions?
"No, not really. We just eat a lot and open presents."
You were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007. Many of your hits came out in the 1970s. Do you feel these honors were long overdue?
"I was just happy to receive them. I didn't think they were overdue. There are others I think should have been in there before me, Slim Whitman for one. Also, Tommy Duncan, who was a great singer for Bob Wills. Their time will come. I'm going to vote for them every time their names come up."
When was the last time you were sent down to Tucson?
"I came down there to do some stuff for the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. That was a few years ago."
If you go
• What: "A Tillis Family Christmas" with Mel Tillis, Mel Tillis Jr., Pam Tillis and Carrie Tillis.
• Where: Desert Diamond Casino, 1100 W. Pima Mine Road.
• When: 8 p.m. Friday
• Cost: $25-$45 through Ticketmaster, 321-1000.
