Jim Hill

• Active: '90s, 2000s
• Genres: Rock
• Instrument: Merchandising

Biography

Country singer Merle Haggard has always had a reputation for generosity, and in the case of the Live at Billy Bob's Texas album it seems like credits were tossed out like rice at a wedding. Thus, Jim Hill gets an album credit for selling merchandise, one of the few times such a lowly part of the gig food chain has actually been identified by name. That does not make Hill the most famous merchandiser on earth, however--that honor belongs to Lanny Whapps, the 700-pound former door man of the Huntsville, Alabama Tiptop Club, whose imposing size never failed to boost merchandise sales. The live Haggard album is one of a dozen recorded at a famous Texas honky tonk, all bearing the same album title. Whether Hill sold merchandise at all these other gigs, or works exclusively for Haggard, is not known. Even better than crediting such an employee might be writing a song for then, or redoing one that already exists. In Haggard and Hill's case, a good suggestion would be "Walkin' on the Buyin' Side of Me." ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide