“Garden Party” is a 1972 hit song written by Rick Nelson and recorded by him and the Stone Canyon Band on the album Garden Party. The song tells the story of Nelson being booed at a concert at Madison Square Garden.
As the hit song says, he was there to play his old songs, but he didn’t look the same. He had let his hair grow long. And the audience couldn’t handle the change and refused to hear his songs.
My dad told me a story of a similar experience Rick Nelson had when he showed up to sing at a prison rodeo. The convicts didn’t like the change in his appearance either and when he started to sing, they also began to boo and then to yell, “Bring on the bulls!”
The story from my dad inspired the “Bring On the Bulls!” song which I wrote and recorded while serving as Southwest Airlines Ambassador of FUN. The message in the song: no matter what you do and how well you do it, some will say STOP, others YES, DO IT.
Not everyone likes the way singer-songwriter Willie Nelson sings, but that didn’t stop Willie from having a net worth today of $25 million. Like Rick Nelson and Willie Nelson (no relations to my knowledge) learned, stay true to who you are and play to those who want to listen. You’ll be glad you did.
Your *gift *may not be for everyone. But if it’s good enough for enough, then keep sharing it. I invite you to keep on keeping on, even if some may yell, “Bring on The Bulls!”
