But he never spoke on stage – letting others introduce songs and thank the crowd. Then, when he was just breaking into the music business in Nashville, Tillis played rhythm guitar in Pearl’s band. “I said, ‘Mama, do I stutter?’ She said, ‘Yes, you do, son.’ I said, ‘Mama, they laughed at me.’ And she said, ‘Son, if they’re going to laugh at you, give them something to laugh about.’ So I went to school the next day and it was the very first day in showbiz.” Tillis remembers going to school for the first time at age 6 and coming home to his mother. It was advice from two women, one his mother and one country legend Minnie Pearl, that got him to overcome his worries about stuttering. If I’m up there on my own and I know what I am supposed to be doing, I can say it.” I still can’t read a cue card or I’ll stutter. I never could do that, even in high school, like giving a book report. “A lot of folks, if they have a kid who stutters, or even older people who stutter and come through my autograph line, they’re amazed that I’ve been able to live with it,” he said. But instead of letting it hold him back, Tillis used his stuttering in his shows. This is no small feat considering his lifelong struggle with a speech impediment.
Throughout his career, Tillis has been known as a storyteller and a comedian, as well as a singer.
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