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Jan. 28, 2024 - Huckabee Today
43:38
These Are The GLARING ABSURDITIES They HOPED You Wouldn't Notice | FULL EPISODE | Huckabee
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Well, we are now finished with Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, and everyone has dropped out of the GOP running except Donald Trump and Nikki Haley.
And Nikki is hanging on by a thread since Trump has obliterated everyone, including Nikki in the first two contests.
And with everyone else dropping out, heck, I thought about dropping in just for the fun of it.
But then my wife threatened to shoot me.
My kids said they would disown me.
And my dogs threatened to bite me.
So I woke up from that nightmare and forgot all about it.
I will say something about running for office.
Most people don't understand if they've never done it.
It is harder to get out of a race than it is to get in one.
It really is.
Oh sure, entering a race takes long, thoughtful consideration of the time that's going to be consumed, the money, the lost income it will cost, and the friends who will never speak to you again.
But getting out is even more painful because after giving months, sometimes more than a year, going full speed in campaign mode, living out of hotels, eating every meal out of a paper sack on one's lap in a moving vehicle, and surviving on cold pizza and hot soft drinks, it's hard to up and say, that's enough.
I quit.
For me, ending the 2016 campaign for president, well, it was a little easier.
Since I did drop out due to illness.
I don't know if you know this or not, but I had to get out because of illness.
Turned out the voters were sick of me.
But when the contributions quit coming in, it's really hard to go forward when the tank is out of gas.
You feel like you're letting down those folks who came alongside you, but you also know there comes a time when you realize that whatever reason, it ain't happening.
There were 14 or more candidates who got in the Republican primary to begin with this cycle, and all of them have dropped out except Nikki Haley.
All but two of them have gone on to endorse Donald Trump.
Donald Trump is the first ever president to be under indictment as he runs to reclaim the office that he held for four years and might still be holding if there had not been extreme election interference by a collusion that involved the media,
social media giants, and the deep state whose agencies such as the FBI, DOJ, CIA, and others Actively worked to destroy the Trump presidency even before he took the office and throughout his four years as the elected president.
Now, most Americans know this and it's why that when he gets indicted by another crazed and ambitious political prosecutor, his support and approval level goes up immediately.
In fact, If he faces even more of these contrived indictments shoveled out by the current administration and its minions, he might be elected in the biggest landslide since Reagan beat Mondale in 1984. He might.
Unless Joe Biden forgets he's running and spends election day eating ice cream or vacationing on the beach, it's starting to look like a replay of the 2020 election.
Democrats call it the beginning of endless days and nights of voting and finding ballots in mailboxes, under tables and in warehouses, as well as in boxes trucked in like UPS boxes at my house during Christmas.
But Joe might not be able to sit in his Delaware basement this time and occasionally mosey out to a deserted parking lot to yell at a few people in their cars like he did last time.
He might actually have to do events and campaign.
And if so, we might hear inspiring words like this.
We'll teach Donald Trump a valuable lesson.
Don't mess with the men in America unless you want to get the benefit.
Toyota, Volkswagen, Nissan, Tulsa.
Nissan, Tulsa.
If I have all three of them on my side, I don't worry about anything.
Beer brewed here, it is used to make the brew beer during this.
Yeah, you know, it ought to be quite a ride, really.
And this week, President Biden said that all the people who vote for Trump are a threat to democracy.
So there you go.
It's not an open border that's a threat to democracy, not the abuse of government agencies to prosecute political opponents.
It's not making up false stories about your political opponent and getting the media and big tech companies like Facebook, Google, and YouTube to censor any good stories about Trump.
Are making diversity more important than readiness in our military?
Nope, that's not a threat to democracy.
All that's fine.
But voting for Biden's political opponent?
That is a threat to democracy.
Heck, and all along, I thought voting was democracy.
My next guest, well, needs no introduction, but we're gonna give her one anyway.
She was the canary in the coal mine for the populist conservative movement long before any of us imagined a Trump candidacy or presidency.
She stood proudly for conservatism when the Republican party often did not.
She's the former governor of Alaska, where she made history as the youngest and first female governor in her state.
She's a best-selling author of books like Going Rogue and America by Heart.
She's also the first woman ever to have run on the Republican Party presidential ticket on which she ran for vice president in 2008.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome a dear friend and a wonderful patriot, Governor Sarah Palin.
I think this audience loves you, Governor.
I think they like you a lot.
You know, that's exceptional.
You have agreed to go and meet the audience after the show, and that is so kind of you to do that.
But you know, I've known you now for a long time, I guess even before, probably 2007. And you've always been that kind of a gracious person.
And you lit up the Republican Party back in 2008 when we really needed it.
It was a curiosity factor, I guess.
And for that, you know, the media just loved you, didn't they?
Oh, man.
Wow.
Yeah.
Brutal.
It was brutal, but you stood and took it and gave right back to them.
That's hard, isn't it?
Well, when you know that you're speaking for the people, it's not that hard, you know, to stand up there and fight for what's right, especially when you know that the media used to be that they were like the referee, right?
And they would just give the facts.
I have a journalism degree, and I learned the who, what, where, when, and why of writing and reporting.
But when you know that they no longer are a referee, but they're very, very one-sided, you know you have nothing to lose but get out there and fight for what's right and speak truth.
And then the The public, you know, they're smart enough to know what's going on.
Well, I think they are.
And I think they're becoming even smarter.
And they realize that when they only hear one side of this story and the other side is horribly suppressed, they start looking for the answers for themselves.
And I hope that really happens.
Your state's one of the biggest energy states in the country.
Alaska has so much energy.
Joe Biden took office.
One of the first things he did was turn the spigots off.
And we went from energy independence To begging people like Saudi Arabia for fuel.
Exactly.
Why is energy so important in this country?
You understand it.
Most people probably have not.
I do understand it.
It's my baby because I understand the inherent link between energy and security and energy and prosperity.
And our country, our state, especially Alaska, is so blessed with natural resources.
God just dumped these resources for responsible use of mankind.
So it was tragic what Biden has done to our previous position of being energy independent.
It's exactly as you're Explaining.
We're hat in hand now to our enemies asking them to produce for us.
We have the workforce.
We have the technology.
We have the regulations to keep everybody and the environment safe.
Instead, we're going overseas asking them.
It's horrible what's going on with our energy policy.
You know, and to that, There's a lot of people in washington that even republicans who don't totally get that people sometimes talk about the uniparty there is a party of power it's sometimes both republicans and democrats who stand in the way of what some would call an America first movement but basically where we take pride in our country and we put our country first how do we get to that where people start understanding that's what so many Working-class
people in America, they want, they expect, they demand.
Because that's the will of the people.
And our elected officials, our government, are supposed to be working for the people.
So they're just not doing their job.
And that Uniparty, you know, when we both served as governors, it wasn't nearly as blatant, I think, as it is now.
You could see the different sides, and you would try to judge the sides based on policy, but now there is a uniparty, and this uniparty will not put America first.
They are handing this over to globalists because their ultimate mission is control of the people and a one-world government.
So America First has got to be it if we want our solvency and our sovereignty protected.
What they're doing is, like Barack Obama promised us, fundamentally transforming America into something that we don't recognize.
And I hear the concerns, the fears from people every day, everywhere I go, just like you do, I'm sure.
You're going to stick around with us because we want to talk more with Sarah Palin, and we've got a lot more to talk about with Governor Palin.
Do not go away.
We'll be right back.
But right now, Keith Bilbrey is going to tell us what else is on the menu for tonight's show.
Well, still to come, Kurt Kearly is here with his fine-feathered friends, and the one and only Gene Ovinelli performs tonight.
You're watching Huckabee.
*music*
*music* Go to MikeHuckabee.com and sign up for his free newsletter and follow @govmikehuckabee on X.
*music* And welcome back.
We are so privileged tonight to have Governor Sarah Palin as our special guest.
Governor Palin, we were talking about energy and some of the things that are happening, but there's this amazing use of government agencies to go after the political opponents of the current administration.
That's frightening to me.
That is.
That's our system of law, the judiciary being weaponized against a political enemy.
And it's unprecedented, of course, what's going on now.
But Governor, do you see, too, that what is being accepted today, accepted as, at least through the media's mouthpiece, making people think that it should be accepted, It would not have been accepted even a year ago, maybe even six months ago.
We would be baffled and we would be outraged at what's going on.
But it's an indication of the rapidity of how fast America is changing.
The trajectory that we're on, which isn't good, is happening too fast.
So we need to take it back and just wait until people who just want to be left alone, wait until they start getting involved.
Because they're not going to put up with what's going on anymore.
We wake up every day, I'm sure, and we think, oh, gosh, it can't get any weirder.
It can't get any worse.
And then it does.
It does.
So there's hope, though.
We have an election coming up, and we should never put all of our faith in a person because a person, a politician, is going to let you down.
But what that person can represent and speak on behalf of the people, we have hope that there's good change coming.
You know, Alaska is a state where people really do want to just be left alone, and that's a very independent state.
There's got to be some frustration in your home state of Alaska when people see a government that wants to tell us what we can and cannot see, what news is okay, when you have anchors on a news station saying, we're not going to let you hear this politician speak because we don't think You will like what he says.
And I'm thinking, well, if it's as bad as you say, turn him loose and we'll all figure it out.
Right.
I don't get that.
Right.
And I love your common sense and I love the way that you articulate, too, the things that I think so many people are thinking and saying.
It's such a disrespect for the wisdom of the people when the media does what they're doing today.
It's catching up with them, though.
So many people have been awakened to their agenda, the left wing of our country, and of course the media, which is the left wing.
And people are saying enough is enough, and they're becoming quite active.
Look what's going on in Texas today with the border issue.
Yes.
Texans are rising up and saying, it's been going on too long, this invasion of our country.
And, you know, they're doing something about it.
And that's just one example, you know, people rising up and saying, no, we want to put our country first.
We want our citizens, our children protected.
We want our solvency now protected.
Who would have ever imagined that our own federal government would essentially say, we're not going to protect our borders, and if you try to, it's not that we're going to stop the illegal immigration.
We're going to stop the people who are trying to stop the illegal immigration.
So that's an example right there of, can you imagine this a year ago?
I don't think we would fathom that such a thing would be going on.
Six months ago.
But now in the last couple days, we see, no, the people who are trying to secure our border for our sake, they're the ones punished.
They're the ones who are being told, you're wrong, we're going to open.
We don't have a border right now.
And without a border, you don't have a country.
We know this.
They know this.
That's the problem.
The people who are pulling this, they know what the problem is too.
And they know what the result will be.
That's the scary thing.
You know, 26 governors around the country have said we're standing with Texas.
I think it's pretty significant.
You and I were governors during part of the same time.
If something like this had happened, I think we would have also seen that other states would have said, if this can happen to Texas, it will happen to us if we don't stand.
But are you...
I'm proud of and thrilled to see these other states immediately surrounding Governor Abbott in Texas and saying, you're not standing alone.
We're with you.
Absolutely.
And that's the united in United States.
And we need to see more of that.
It's unfortunate that it takes these tragedies and these stupid decisions by government and these mistakes and purposeful errors being made for us to be united and to rise up.
That's what's happening.
And no, we are going to see that change.
We love our country enough.
We care about the next generation, about our children enough to put it all on the line.
I know you do, and that's why you have served these years.
And we've got nothing to lose but get out there and fight for what's right.
- By the way, I wanna mention to our audience that backstage you met some of our other guests.
One of our other guests that'll be on the show a little later happens to be a bird.
We call him Al Gore, but we have a photo of you backstage holding.
Now we're going to tell everybody that if you want to see Sarah Palin holding and controlling Al Gore, this is a real owl and you have now mastered how to control owl gore.
How about that?
Thank you very much for showing it can be done.
I'll take it.
Okay, will you ever think about running for office again?
Is that something you keep open?
And you know, logistically now in my life, the practical aspects of campaigning and serving, I'm in a pretty luxurious position.
I have five kids, the oldest four, they're grown, they have wonderful partners and wonderful families, and I have my youngest, Trigg, he has Down syndrome, so he's always gonna be with me.
Man, God gave him so that I always have a best friend.
So logistically speaking, even, I can do it.
I'm willing and I'm able to do it.
It is all a matter of where does one fit in Filling a need that is out there because, yeah, I would love to.
Like you, you know, it's in my spirit is to serve and it's what I'm passionate about.
And yeah, our country, I'll do whatever I can.
If you throw your hat in the ring, I'll be one of the first people to come to Alaska and campaign with you and for you.
I hope you will consider getting back in the game because you brought a level of excitement.
There's so many people across this country.
You spoke the language.
People that cared.
And I really hope that that is something you will consider.
And I'm not kidding.
If you go up there, go up June or July.
Yes, definitely.
It was 45 below this morning in Fairbanks.
Yeah, no thanks.
I think I'll come in the summer.
I was supposed to be on last week, but you all canceled because you had a snowstorm.
Yes, we did.
You would have felt at home.
I was Googling it going, what?
What?
It was only nine inches of snow, but that shut us down.
Governor Palin, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you, and especially for coming to be on the show.
It's a joy to see you again, and I'm happy to hear that you are still thinking about staying in the game, because America needs you now maybe more than ever, and we're grateful to have you here.
Thank you.
Governor Sarah Palin is active on social media, and you should follow her.
We have all the links for you at Huckabee.tv.
Right now, speaking of links, Keith Bilbrey is linked to everything else in this show.
He is going to give us a scoop on our next guest, so stay put.
Well, after the break, a very special Huck's hero in the fight against human trafficking.
That's next on Huckabee.
Thank you.
And welcome back.
The recent movie, Sound of Freedom, and the crisis on our border have brought a whole lot of public attention to the tragedy of sex trafficking, especially of children.
Minors who are forced into the dangerous world of prostitution.
And they often feel there's just no way out.
But one woman has been working for over four decades to rescue those children.
It's why she is this week's Huck's hero.
It was 1975 and I was a PhD student at UCLA in sociology and I decided to sue the police department for not arresting an equal number of customers for prostitution.
In the courtroom, I met young prostitutes and some who'd been later killed by the hillside stranglers, serial murders, and some who had friends who'd been killed by the hillside stranglers, and that changed my life forever.
Since 1979, the first three years, I took over 250 child prostitutes into my home because there was no place for them.
And then someone from President Reagan's kitchen cabinet gave me enough money to set up a drop-in center in the heart of Hollywood for kids.
And I set up street teams to reach out to prostitutes on the streets.
And then I was able to raise enough money to set up a world-class 24-bed shelter home.
And now I operate a mobilized case management and online tutoring program, teaching them to take the high school equivalency exam, and when they graduate, we have a high school graduation right here at our headquarters, complete with cap and gowns, and they look forward to it every year.
It's my life's work, and it drives me from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep.
The people I've helped are my children.
They're part of my life.
They're a very big part of my life.
They dominate my life.
I always pick up the phone.
Always pick up the phone.
Very beautiful.
Please welcome the founder of Children of the Night and the world's leading expert at rescuing child sex trafficking victims, Dr. Lois Lee.
Dr. Lee, great to have you here.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Most people probably when you were working this organization 40 years ago, they had no idea this was even happening.
We hear much more about it today.
Our southern border is an open sieve, and now it is multiplied.
The challenges that you face and that others face.
What's happened to our culture, our civilization, that children would be exploited in the numbers that we're seeing?
Well, they always have.
It's just never been seen.
And government, sometimes they use the numbers in order to gain funding from Congress.
And then they suppress the numbers or they exaggerate the numbers of who they capture.
And they really have not got a clue.
And they're really not concerned about helping the children.
They're more concerned about Containing them and holding them until they testify against the culprits.
And now they're totally outnumbered by the Crips and by the cartel and there's no concerted effort.
But there's no real reason that they want to do that.
They use it for publicity.
It's scary.
And they're outnumbered.
When you look at these girls and guys too, but especially girls that are just exploited, some of them incredibly young when they're first recruited, and you talk to them in the worst moments of their lives, do many of them feel like that there's just no hope to get out of this, that they are forever stuck and just attached to this lifestyle of being treated like a piece of property?
Have you ever seen a child that is so frightened that they just shake and they can barely talk?
I mean, that's what I have to deal with.
And I just go, come on.
And it's something that you have to convey from the heart and you have to do it within split seconds because I do work with law enforcement and many times they'll call me in in order to talk to a kid and they'll go, how did you do that?
How did you pull her to you?
Well, she knew that I really cared.
And that I was not, you know, someone on the outside who was gonna just take her and dump her.
And to give her the confidence and to build her from the very, very beginning.
Many of these children need intensive psychiatric help.
Dr. Lee, one of the things that I was impressed most about what you've done is that it's not just that you pull these kids out of where they are, but you help them to get into a track, a pathway, To being successful.
And I see the video and these are people now graduating with high school degrees and going on to college.
I mean, that's gotta make you feel extraordinarily fulfilled knowing that the person that you took off the street is now gonna live a real responsible, decent and joyful life.
I knew that from the first child that I met that I could take them from the streets to the boardroom.
And kids go, well, how am I going to do this?
I said, just follow me and listen to what I have to say in order to do this.
Yesterday, the Public Defender's Office came to me and they said to me, You know, the problem is our children who are in juvenile hall, they want to be prostitutes.
And I said, of course, they've identified with the perpetrator.
And they said, but what do you say to them?
And I say, well, you're not going to be 17 forever.
You're going to be 41, fat and ugly.
And so you better have a high school diploma.
And so let's start building that, you know, alongside.
And they're so shocked that I don't care that they're prostituting and I'm not judging them.
That I'm willing just to pick them up and move them along, that there's a path that they can follow that I pull them every single time.
Well, Dr. Lee, I want to tell you, your life's work has saved and changed lives.
Thank you for what you do, letting us honor you as our hero of the week.
It's just a joy to hear your story.
And the remarkable way that you have been used in this country.
Thank you.
And what a privilege to meet you.
Thank you so much for celebrating this for me.
Well, I can't think of anybody we'd rather celebrate than someone who's doing this kind of great work.
And if you'd like to help with the mission of Children of the Night, Or if you're caught in the web of prostitution and you need help getting out, if you go to Huckabee.tv, we will connect you with Dr. Lee.
Right now, we've got something very unusual that's coming up next.
I'm not kidding.
Keith is gonna fly in and tell you all about it right now.
Well, I don't have wings, but I know a few friends in the studio tonight who do, and that's next.
And you'll want to stick around for the incredible Gene Ovenelli.
All tonight, right here on Huckabee.
Go to Huckabee.tv and get your very own Made in the USA Huckabee mugs, t-shirts, and more.
*music* Welcome back.
Our next guest is an accomplished falconer.
That's right, falconer from Huntsville, Alabama.
He's got a passion for the wonders of the natural world.
And in 2013, he founded Rise Raptor Project.
It's a nonprofit whose mission is to inspire the public to embrace principles of good stewardship, engage in scientific discovery, and to be immersed in the riches of history and culture.
All by connecting with the most powerful birds in the world.
we welcome to the show Kirk Kearley and his friends.
Well...
Kurt, we're thrilled to have you.
Thank you, Governor.
I've been giving your owl here a hard time calling him Owl Gore.
Sarah Palin had a great visit with Owl backstage.
Now tell us about the bird.
Well, this is Maximus.
So this is one of eight groups of birds known as raptors, or birds of prey.
Owls are one of the nocturnal grouping of those birds.
So this particular owl, Maximus, is a Eurasian eagle owl.
They are the largest species of owl in the world.
Their name, Eurasia, suggests where they're from, Europe and Asia natively.
So he is not native, but he is a close cousin to the great horn now in North America.
Does he say who?
He does.
Now, he can hoot, but as everybody can see, he doesn't give a hoot right now.
So...
But the interesting thing is not all owls hoot.
Now, this is what they call hoot owl.
And one interesting thing about owls in general is some owls scream, screech, other.
And historically, hundreds of years ago or thousands, they were the source of many ghost stories.
Really?
People thought they were hearing a ghost, they were hearing an owl out of the woods.
If you heard a scream or some, and you think without electricity, no lights, you would hear this scream or a laugh, and you may see some kind of white apparition.
They got blamed for being ghosts or the embodiment of witches.
Well, and now you brought some other friends with you, didn't you?
Right.
All right, let's see some of them.
We've met Maximus.
Right.
So, Emily, you're going to give me a glove, I see.
That's probably a good idea.
A real good idea.
This is one of our most vicious birds and has the most attitude.
So that's why you're doing it, not us.
That's what we say.
She just gave me the bird.
Well, we do have the biggest birds in town.
We'll see if that gets edited out.
Let's say, what kind of bird am I holding here so I'll know?
Okay, this is an American kestrel.
They're native to the United States.
They are a member of the falcon family of the raptor group.
So being the smallest falcon, some people may recognize their larger cousin, the peregrine falcon.
So the peregrine and some people may not realize the bald eagle is also the raptor.
They're a raptor, they're raptors, and they both, the peregrine and bald eagle, were once endangered.
So even our national symbol was endangered, but thankfully, to the work of many people, they were both removed from the endangered species list.
So he can do everything that the peregrine can do, but just in a small scale.
They're found throughout North America.
They're not endangered, but this one interesting thing about this bird is a lot of people think hummingbirds are the only birds that can hover.
The kestrel is an example of a raptor that can hover.
But it is a predator bird.
Right.
They are predators.
And what does this bird go after?
What is his prey?
They would eat anything they can catch with their size.
So the insects, mice, rodents, things like that.
And they use those keen eyes.
That's one of the ways, basically primary way of finding their food is their eyesight.
So when they're hovering, they're also using that stabilization to enhance their eyes.
Well, it's a beautiful bird, but it's pretty small.
Yeah.
I bet you brought something even bigger.
A little bit bigger, yeah.
Than blue here.
So what did you bring?
Oh, well, let's see.
I think he wants to fly over and heck tray on top of his head is what he wants to do.
And then I'll take that from you.
All right.
You want the glove back?
I felt like Michael Jackson with one glove there.
I really did.
Now, Kurt, what kind of bird are we looking at here?
So this is, so we went through owls, falcons, and the third representation of the raptor family is hawks.
This is a red-tailed hawk.
As you can see, the reddish, brownish-colored tail.
He showed us the feathers on cue, right?
Yeah, yeah.
So that's what gives this hawk the name, the most common hawk really throughout North America.
They eat a lot of rodents.
Rodents are their Which we appreciate them doing that.
They do.
Oh, you want me to put a glove on?
This is a big glove, Emily.
Yeah, well, Governor, we did not feed her earlier.
Oh, okay.
So we thought that maybe, uh-oh, she's giving you the evil eye here.
Oh, uh-huh.
Maybe you could help us feed her.
Okay.
So you ready?
Sure.
Let's try and see what happens.
Yeah, let's see what happens.
Mmm.
Love that.
What is she eating, by the way?
Well, she...
She?
She is eating cut-up rodents.
Oh, how lovely.
Hey, Keith, if there's some left over, we'll give you some after the show.
Yeah.
So, now, in ornithology, there are terms for Everything.
Crazy terms that I don't really understand.
And one of the terms for cut up mouse, mice?
Yes.
Is Mises Pieces.
That is a scientific term.
I believe it is.
That's it?
All right.
Okay, the bird says, I'd like some more.
This isn't a golden corral, okay?
That's it, bird.
Kurt, this is amazing.
And you know, you're really helping us not only to understand birds, but also education and enlightenment about the fact that they're very useful to us.
And if you need him to come and to take care of some rats, I'd love to have him come to my place out in the country.
If you want to learn more about the Rise Raptor Project, and I have a feeling you might.
If you'd like to support them and invite Kurt and his friends to address your group, just fly to Huckabee.tv.
But right now, Keith Bilbrey is going to tell you, well, how he's going to just wing it for the rest of the show and tell you what's next.
Keith, take it away.
Coming up next is the legendary Gino Manelli.
You don't want to miss this.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And welcome back.
By the way, thank you to the best band in the business, Trey Corley and the Music City Connection.
Now you may have recognized that all of the break music that they've been playing tonight was written by our next guest.
The sophisticated romantic music of Gino Vanelli has earned him a devoted worldwide fan base, as well as classic hits like Love of My Life, I Just Want to Stop and Living Inside Myself.
He's earned Grammy nominations, gold and platinum records, and he's one of the few artists ever to have scored high on Billboard's charts for pop, rock, adult contemporary, R&B, club music, jazz, and classical.
He's got a new single out.
It's called Stormy River.
You'll get to hear it in a moment, but please give a warm welcome to Gino Benelli.
Gino, great to have you here.
What a pleasure.
You have quite the careers.
16 years old, you get a deal with RCA Canada and you're off to the races.
And that must have been a thrill for a 16 year old to get a record deal.
Yeah, it was.
I got home from school and I decided that I was going to call RCA Victor in those days.
And I put on a fake Italian accent and I said, I have a good boy.
And I got an audition with RCA. I played all the instruments and I came home and I told my dad that I got a record deal.
Did he believe you?
At first, no.
Yeah.
It lasted for a little bit, but then I moved to New York and really tried to go for the big time and that proved to be a little bit more difficult.
But Herb Alpert was one of the people that also heard you, liked you, signed you with A&M Records?
Well, that's quite an intriguing story because my brothers and I, we saved up thousands of dollars, four or five thousand dollars.
We had a group.
We did everything we could to live on meager salaries.
And we took a plane and we spent about four months in Los Angeles, knocked on every door and nothing.
And we were about to leave because we were down to our last $5.
My mother had sent $35 to Hollywood, Florida instead of...
So Joe said, we have to go tomorrow.
I said, I can't go.
He said, what are you going to do?
I said, if I have to panhandle, I will.
So that morning, before we had to leave, I woke up at 4 or 5, and I walked along Sunset Boulevard, and it was dark, and there was a church that was open.
And I decided I hadn't been in a church for a long time.
And I went in.
I was all alone.
And the pews creaked and all that.
And it was about 5 in the morning, and I woke up at...
I slept for about three, four hours.
And I woke up knowing exactly what to do.
And I got out of the church, ran to the hotel, motel.
It was a very tawdry motel.
So I grabbed my guitar and I told Joe, don't ask any questions, let's just go.
And I stood in front of the gates of A&M. And I didn't know exactly why I was there, and the guard kept coming down, telling me, you're not going through these gates.
I said, I know that.
Anyways, a few hours later, Herb walked through the parking lot, and I said, that's what I saw.
And so I ran through the gates, and he ran after me with his gun out and everything.
It just so happens that Herb's wife had nearly been kidnapped a month before.
They thought it might be round two.
So I grabbed Herb and he turned white.
And the guard grabbed me and hauled me off.
And I looked at Herb and he says, no, come back.
And he wrote me a little pass for 30 minutes, you know, to come back in 30 minutes.
And I played him a few tunes and he said, welcome to the family.
Wow.
Why don't you play us a few tunes?
Because, you know, a lot of us remember, I mean, you've had a long string of hits across a lot of genres of music.
What are some of your favorites that we're going to record?
Well, one day, my brother Ross came up to my house.
He says, I got a song I think you should hear, you know, and record it for your next Brother to Brother record.
And I said, okay, let's hear it.
He played it.
And I said, it's very good.
But he says, why are you so sad?
I said, because I'm probably going to have to play that for the rest of my life.
And when I think about those nights in Montreal I get the sweetest thoughts of you and me Memories of love above the seas It took so long to make it Wonderful.
We all know the song.
How many times have you played that song or sung that song?
Any idea?
Well, it was a mission of mine to keep kind of altering it or changing it a little bit.
And so that I would keep interested and keep the band interested.
So after 35, 40 years, it's still a challenge to sing and the band plays it so great.
And I don't know, it just doesn't bug me at all.
Give us another one before we let you really have at it.
I already clicked there.
There you go, sure.
By the way, Arista did not want to put this record out and I begged them to put it out.
And I said, please put it out.
It'll do something.
And they said, it's too complicated.
I said, I don't think it's that complicated.
I am lost Living inside myself Living inside this shell Living outside your love I am lost Somewhere inside my old dreams Afraid of what life really means.
Living without your love.
Gino Vanelli!
Well, as great as it is hearing you perform with just your guitar, I think we got something even more special right around the bend.
It is a full performance by Gino Vanelli with the best band in television.
You stay right where you are.
You do not want to miss what's coming up next right here on Huckabee.
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