i was doing some shows in the illinois state fair. and i was on the bus talking to big jim thompson, the governor of illinois. and he and i were sitting there, and it was kind of like an annual ritual. i would come in and do the fair and he would come on the bus and we d have a bowl of chili and drink a beer and talk about things. and this particular year, we started talking about the farmers. i d heard from my friends in texas about how the farmers weren t doing that good. and i grew up on a farm. and i knew that it didn t ever do really great. but i heard that it was worse than usual, that they weren t get anything money and they were going out of business at an alarming rate. i started checking out, and sure enough. we at one time had over 8 million small family farmers, and now we re down to less than 2 million and that s not right. larry: it s the big companies that are running it. and that s not good for the food. it s not good for the land. it s not good for you and me.
was governor? i don t know that i did. we played fairbanks and, you know, ketchikan. i went up there in 61. i know she wasn t governor then. i went up there in 61, me and ray price and played ketchikan. larry: is there any state you haven t played? no. larry: all 50. yeah. larry: you tour europe? yep. larry: asia? asia. me and johnny cash, kris kristofferson and waylon jennings, all toured asia and went to singapore. larry: how did that come about, the highwaymen? we had done a christmas show in switzerland with john and june, and we were having a photograph session with all of us there. and we were telling about going to switzerland. and the photographer happened to ask waylon, what are you going to switzerland to do a christmas show. and waylon said because that s
money, and the dairy cows are not worth what they should be worth. and this is really bad for not only the farmers, it s bad for america. it s bad for all of us. larry: how did you get involved, interested in the farming thing? i was doing some shows in the illinois state fair. and i was on the bus talking to big jim thompson, the governor of illinois. and he and i were sitting there, and it was kind of like an annual ritual. i would come in and do the fair and he would come on the bus and we d have a bowl of chili and drink a beer and talk about things. and this particular year, we started talking about the farmers. i d heard from my friends in texas about how the farmers weren t doing that good. and i grew up on a farm. and i knew that it didn t ever do really great. but i heard that it was worse than usual, that they weren t getting any money and they were going out of business at an alarming rate. i started checking out, and sure enough, we at one time had over 8 million small
larry: maybe we can nail it down. they don t like big government. they don t like taxes, i guess. well, so far that s two that s pretty good. larry: what do you think about sarah palin? oh, i think she is a likable person. you know, personally, i like her a lot. larry: politically you re not in tune? politically, i don t know, you know. i just don t know. larry: do you ever play alaska? yes, i have. larry: you ever play when she was governor? i don t know that i did. we played fairbanks and, you know, ketchikan. i went up there in 61. she wasn t governor then. i went up there in 61, me and ray price and played ketchikan. larry: is there any state you haven t played? no. larry: all 50. you tour europe? yep. larry: asia? asia. me and johnny cash, chris kristofferson and way len
that s pretty good. larry: what do you think about sarah palin? oh, i think she is a likable person. you know, personally, i like her a lot. larry: politically you re not in tune? politically, i don t know, you know. i just don t know. larry: do you ever play alaska? yes, i have. larry: you ever play when she was governor? i don t know that i did. we played fairbanks and, you know, ketchikan. i went up there in 61. i know she wasn t governor then. i went up there in 61, me and ray price and played ketchikan. larry: is there any state you haven t played? no. larry: all 50? yep, yep. larry: you tour europe? yep. larry: asia? asia. me and johnny cash, kris kristofferson and waylon jennings toured asia and went to singapore. larry: how did that come about, the highwaymen? we had done a christmas show