Mel Tillis has died after battling ‘intestinal issues’ since 2016. The suspected cause of death was respiratory failure. He was 85
The quote in the title is from a routine he did back in the '70s, where he talked about driving a truck for a cookie maker named Harry. He was the Harry Cookie Man. IIRC, the joke was that eating a ‘Harry Cookie’ would kill him.
Mel was an excellent songwriter. Several artists had hits with Mel’s songs. He became a good singer.
My condolences to his daughter Pam and other family.
R.I.P.
Mel Tillis released an album in 1975 that was actually titled M-M-M-Mel.
My wife was never a country music fan. She first heard of him when she was taking classes in speech therapy and her instructor used his stuttering as an example of how speech uses one part of the brain and singing uses another.
I knew Mel in 1959 before he was well known. Nice man.
One of the ultimate “how on earth did they get away this songs”, I Got the Hoss.