[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 28 (Monday, March 16, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E378]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       A TRIBUTE TO CLIFFIE STONE

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. HOWARD P. ``BUCK'' McKEON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 16, 1998

  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, in January of this year, Country music lost 
one of its greatest legends. Cliffie Stone, a larger than life 
individual, passed away earlier this year at the age of 84. He was one 
of those characters that you imagine riding off into the sunset, with a 
guitar slung over his shoulder and mounted on a white horse, singing a 
song that reminds us of who we are and want to be.
  Starting in the 1940s, Cliffie Stone was a well-known bass player and 
singer. In the '50s, his Hometown Jamboree television show made him one 
of the largest personalities of the time. Many careers can trace their 
roots to this show, including Tennessee Ernie Ford and Molly Bee.
  Cliffie was a lifelong music producer who also performed with the 
Sons of Pioneers. His mark in the industry includes a star at Hollywood 
and Vine, a Bronze Saddle on the Western Walk of Stars in Santa 
Clarita, and membership in the Country Music Hall-of-Fame.
  Mr. Speaker, the members of our community in Santa Clarita remember a 
different Cliffie Stone. We knew Cliffie as a neighbor, constituent, 
and friend. Cliffie never forgot his roots and returned each year to 
give something back to the people that admired him so. For each of the 
last 40 years, Cliffie Stone would return to Santa Clarita to perform 
free benefit concerts for hundreds of charities within the Santa 
Clarita Valley.
  Today I join the thousands of constituents of mine in the Santa 
Clarita Valley in saying goodbye to a wonderful musician, a good 
neighbor, but most importantly a friend. We, and I in particular, will 
miss Cliffie very much. Let me end by offering my condolences to the 
family of Cliffie Stone and with the wonderful lyrics of his music:
  The arena is dark . . . the bleachers are empty and the crowd noises 
are no more. The Cowboy has ridden off into the sunset . . . as was 
always God's plan. The boots and the buckles are polished, the guitar 
is back in its case . . . with the guitar picks in their place. The 
turbulence has subsided . . . The dragons are all slain . . . The 
arena, somehow, has lost its reason to be.

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