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By VAN ROSE; Times Leader Staff Writer
Sunday, July 16, 1995 Page: 2A
HUGHESVILLE — The Lycoming County Fair has served as a proving ground for
some of country music’s most talented entertainers.
Among them are Garth Brooks, John Michael Montgomery and Neal McCoy.
Now, Ken Mellons’ name may be added to that list.
Mellons, an up-and-coming young artist on Epic Records, turned in a Garth
Brooks-type performance Friday night before 600 fans at the fair.
The 95-degree heat at showtime might have had something to do with such a
small turnout. However, it didn’t stop Mellons from delivering a
well-balanced, explosive show that lasted for nearly two hours.
“I see some empty chairs out there,” Mellon said, after opening the show
with a rollicking song entitled, “The Farmer’s Daughter.”
“This may be a small crowd, but it’s intimate,” he said.
Mellons took complete control from the minute he walked on stage, and in
Garth-like fashion, schmoozed the crowd throughout the show.
He repeatedly left the stage to shake hands with fans, and on several
occasions, hugged and kissed female fans. He invited people in the grandstand
to fill the empty seats on the track.
Mellons’ music was sensational, and his showmanship was even better.
He set up every song by telling what it meant to him and why he recorded
it.
Mellons performed six songs from his self-titled debut album, including
“Keepin’ It Country,” “I Can Bring Her Back,” “Doctor Jesus,” “Workin’ For The
Weekend” and “The Pleasure’s All Mine.”
The latter song was one of the show’s highlights, because he sang it to a
teenage girl from the crowd. She sat beside him on the steps of the stage as
he performed. He said the song was inspired by his wife.
Mellons also scored big with some songs that will be on his next album,
scheduled for release this fall. Among them were, “You’ll Never Be A Lawyer
‘Cause You Can’t Pass The Bar,” and a ballad, “If I Could Be A Stranger In
Your Eyes.”
However, Mellons’ best new offering was a hard-driving, heart-pounding,
honky-tonk masterpiece entitled, “Don’t Make Me Have To Come In There.”
It’s about a young man whose mother makes sure he stays out of trouble. The
song has the potential to be a chart-topper.
Mellons was unable to ignore the heat.
“The cactus are starting to grow up here,” he said, referring to the
oven-like stage.
Still, Mellons found a way to turn up the heat even more when he tore the
place up with a 15-minute version of his most notable song, “Jukebox Junkie.”
During that song, Mellons wasn’t bashful about shaking his behind at the
audience.
More than half of the fans wound up standing on their chairs, cheering
wildly. Many were screaming.
To everyone on hand at the Lycoming Friday night, Mellons will forever be a
“Jukebox Junkie.”
Ken Mellons