• June 25, 1990
• Vol. 33
• No. 25

Country Music's Top Stars Sign On...and On...and On...at Fan Fair, Nashville's Annual Autograph Orgy

This year's International Country Music Fan Fair was the usual love fest, but with more than 70 stars obliging 24,000 fans during a week of autographs, photo ops, concerts and how-dee-do's at Nashville's Tennessee State Fairgrounds, there was bound to be some heartache. "At 6 one night we had to shut it off at Randy Travis's booth," said park ranger Dave Peterson. "There were more than 400 people who had waited all day who didn't get his autograph, and they did become a little rowdy."

If you weren't waiting all day at Randy's booth, you could spend hours in line for George Strait, Ricky Van Shelton, Barbara Mandrell, Reba McEntire, Tanya Tucker, Garth Brooks, Kathy Mattea, the Judds, Clint Black and lightning-wristed Loretta Lynn. "I just scribble," she said.

Fan Fair drew everyone from Las Vegas's own Wayne Newton, in a self-proclaimed return to his roots ("I performed nothing but country until Elvis, then I expanded my repertoire to include rock and roll"), to Michael "Lonestar" Luszcynski, president of the Country Music Association of Poland. "One night my father tuned up the Voice of America, and I heard Ernest Tubb singing 'Walking the Floor over You,' " said Lonestar of his fascination. "I fell in love."

Fan Fair fans could identify with the feeling. "There's nothing like Fan Fair," declared Wynonna Judd. "I'd like to see rock music do it." Wayne Newton could go to that, too, then.