Couple croon country tunes
Betsy Mullen accompanies her husband on an acoustic bass guitar and occasionally provides vocal harmonies to their tunes.
With the sounds of country classics coming from a sound system in the covered wagon, Bruce Mullen performs for passing fairgoers on Wednesday afternoon as part of his musical act, Travl’n Opry.
In the scorching midday heat, Bruce and Betsy Mullen stroll down the main thoroughfare of the Northwest Montana Fair, pulling two stuffed horses and a covered wagon loaded with 500 pounds of sound equipment.
Dust and the blazing sun don’t daunt the duo as they strum their guitars and Bruce croons an old Hank Williams Sr. country classic, “Kaw-liga.” Bruce bobs and grins, singing the story of the wooden Indian by the door who fell in love with the Indian maid in the antique store.
Fair visitors gather and smile back, roped in by the covered wagon and captivated by his melodic crooning of the humorous tale that ends with a wealthy customer taking the maiden away.
“Kaw-liga just stands there as lonely as can be
And wishes he was still an old pine tree.”
Bruce asks for special requests and gets one for something from Chris LeDoux. Bruce, far from stumped, fires up his guitar.
More than an hour later, the two, still lashed to their covered wagon, drag back toward the green van they drive on the fair circuit, starting from their home in Colville, Wash. It’s a typical day in the life of the couple who call their act Travl’n Opry.
“This is easy,” Betsy said as they rolled the wagon down the pavement. “The fairs that aren’t paved are a lot tougher.”
The two unhitch from Eagle and Miss Molly, the stuffed horses Betsy stitched up using fabric from Walmart. They introduce their covered wagon cowboy, Howdy the drover, created by Betsy from the toes up by stuffing baby pajamas and re-purposing her children’s clothes.
“I built everything from scratch,” she said with a grin.
Married for eight years, the couple said they met through music and siblings. Betsy downplays her musical credentials as just a high school rock band and church singing, but she trumpets Bruce’s deep roots in country music.
“Music is all he’s ever done,” she said. “He got a contract right out of high school.”
Bruce, who grew up in the Pasco, Wash., area, said Bonnie Guitar, best known for her 1957 hit “Dark Moon,” discovered him and brought him to Nashville where he signed a recording contract with Dot Records.
During his career, Bruce has played with country greats such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Freddy Hart, contracted with Buck Owens Enterprises and recorded for Capitol Records in Hollywood.
About the time Bruce met Betsy, he began writing and recording country gospel songs. They recorded a CD, “Only One Way,” featuring Bruce as the main voice and Betsy singing harmony and an occasional solo.
“We’re working on another CD now that will come out in October,” Bruce said.
He has high hopes for one song– “Two Doors Down from Jesus”– as well as Betsy’s solo “New Day.” They titled their upcoming collection “Something to Sing About.”
Bruce said their recordings get good play on Christian radio stations and sometimes grab the notice of country stations. He thinks their new work may cross over, opening up broader possibilities.
“I think it will be the best recording we’ve ever done,” Bruce said.
In the meantime, they sell their recordings when performing and online through cdbaby.com (search Bruce & Betsy Mullen) where the site compares his sound and style to Marty Robins, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. Bruce does impressions of all those as well as Roy Orison, Conway Twitty and more.
Bruce said he hesitates to tell people that he knows at least a thousand songs by heart because they think he’s exaggerating.
“But if I had enough time, I could write down a thousand songs word for word,” he said.
Bruce gets plenty of practice doing requests at performances on the fair circuit in the Northwest during the summer followed by personal appearances in the East in late fall, RV parks in Arizona in the winter and in Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee for about six weeks a year.
After performing on Thursday at the Northwest Montana Fair, the couple loaded up the covered wagon into their van along with Eagle, Miss Molly, Howdy the Drover and their guitars to head for a booking in Cusick, Wash., at the Pend Oreille County Fair.
Bruce said he never gets tired of performing or traveling. Betsy attributes his restless soul to a family gene, saying his brothers also follow a nomadic life as fair concessionaires.
“I’ve been on the road ever since I was a kid,” he said with a smile. “I still look at a map and I want to go. It sure beats working 9 to 5 somewhere.”
People interested in more information about the performers may contact them at travln_opry@yahoo.com.
To view an audio slide show, go to http://www.dailyinterlake.com/app/videography/?S116
Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.