Bill Anderson (c) meets his old buddies Richard Sasnett (l) and Archie Hardy (r) at the Newberry Opera House November 19, 1998.

When I lived next door to Bill Anderson in Columbia, I never dreamed he would become a multi–talented country western star.

Anderson says I took him to visit his first radio station, WIS, at the tender age of five. At that time, the station was located in the old Jefferson Hotel Building on Main Street. It was there Anderson met Byron Parker and Snuffy Jenkins, local country stars at the time.

At eight years old, Anderson left Columbia and went to live near Atlanta for many years. He worked his way through college as a disc jockey and graduated from the University of Georgia in 1959. It was during this time that he began performing and writing songs, and at 19 he composed City Lights.

Anderson and Jon Randall won the County Music Award this month for the Song of the Year, Whiskey Lullaby . The song was recorded by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss.

Anderson has been voted Songwriter of the Year six times, and also Male Vocalist of the Year. He has hosted and starred in the Country Music Television Series of the Year; seen his band, Po’ Folks, voted Band of the Year; and in 1975 was voted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Some of his hits are City Lights , Once A Day, Still, and Mama Sang a Song.

When I last saw Anderson a year ago during his visit to Columbia, he was modest and unassuming. He mentioned his childhood years at Schneider Elementary School and playing in Shandon Park.

He also talked with Marilyn McComick Stradtman, a contemporary who lived next door to him. During the years before air conditioning people kept their windows opened. Stradtman remembered hearing Anderson singing at the top of his voice at age three a favorite song of his How Many Biscuits Can You Eat? , a song he learned from hearing Fisher Hendley on WIS Radio.