I met Billy Ray Cyrus well after "Achy Breaky Heart" had disappeared from the public radar.  In case you weren't around for it the first time, here you go:

From what I gathered from more than a few past co-workers who had the opportunity to work with Mr. Cyrus, he was a world-class jerk when that song was huge.  Prima donna all the way.

He's also responsible for keeping the mullet popular for far longer than it deserved

By the time Billy Ray and I crossed paths, "Achy Breaky" was long behind him and he was a guy who was basically rebooting his career. He came to the station I was working for in Cincinnati to do a "Lunch with the country star" type of deal for a bunch of lucky listeners.

While he may or may not have been a jerk in the past, when I met Billy Ray, he was one of the sweetest, most genuine people I've ever met.  During the lunch, he came right out and said something along the lines of, "I really let the fame get to my head and was a jerk to a lot of people.  Now I'm trying to do better."

Then today, I read Vanessa's Blog post regarding Cyrus's daughter, Miley.

The part that really got me was this:  "Miley goes on to say that's why her dad Billy Ray Cyrus got out of country music. "You have to wear those cowboy boots and be sweet as pie,"

She's a big girl and probably out-earns her father by more than a few digits.  She probably has no reason to listen to anything he has to say about anything. Then again, considering his reaction to this performance (spare your ears some torture and just skip to the very end):

...I'm thinking that Billy Ray doesn't have much say at all over what his daughter does.

However, Billy Ray should know better than anyone else that being "sweet as pie" goes a long way, not just in country music, but in life as well.  He would do well to have a "Just be nice for Pete's sake," talk with her.

By the way, the boots are optional, sweetheart.

Your TTPK Hint for yesterday is:  "verdant"

Your Blog Keyword for today is "mullet".  It's good for 250 WDEZ Club Points until 1700 on 3/19/10.

Be Cool,

TS