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Not resting on his own merits, Jim Glaser maintains his working relationships and friendships with many of the people who have played important roles in his life and continues to offer his support and assistance to them whenever the occasion arises. I am so grateful to have  received the following letter from him.  When I asked him to provide some comments regarding his relationship with Jimmy Payne, he responded without hesitation.  While reading the letter, I sensed how secure the bonds between musicians are and how eager they are to 'be there' when needed.  Oh also, should you have had any questions, I am sure they will be answered now that you can read the story about the 'birth' of that elusive, "Woman Woman" 

A letter from Jim: August 11th, 2002-

"I first met Jimmy Payne when he moved to Nashville in the early sixty's. He had met my brother, Chuck, while they were both in the army, stationed in Ft. Lewis, Washington. When Jimmy got to Nashville, Chuck got him a recording contract with Epic Records, and his first single released for that label was a song I had written called, "What Does It Take (to Keep a Woman Like You Satisfied"). Skeeter Davis also had a hit record with the female version of this song, and an album released with it as its title-song"

"When Jimmy was looking for material for his second session for Epic, he asked me if I had anything for him. I remembered that a few months earlier I had been in one of the dressing rooms at the Grand Ole Opry when Mel Tillis came in. He said he had just written a song and asked if I'd listen to it. The song was, "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town." I thought it was a wonderful song, but his usage of the woman's name, "Ruby," bothered me a little, as it reminded me of the old bluegrass tune, "Ruby, Are You Mad At Your Man." On the way home from the Opry that night I started thinking of writing a song about a man who feared his woman was cheating on him but, instead of calling her by name, simply refer to her as, "Woman."  The last verse came to me very quickly, complete with melody. When I got home, I wrote it all down on a scrap of paper and threw it into the drawer with all of the other half-finished ideas I had. (The melody and chords were written down in numbers.)"
 
"When Jimmy asked me if I had a song for his upcoming session I said I  didn't, but then I thought of that verse I had written on the way home from the Opry. I called Jane, my wife back then, and asked if she'd dig around in the drawer and read me the lyrics and numbers I'd written down that night after the Opry. She found it, I sang it to Jimmy, and he loved it. I asked him to help me finish writing it, and he said he would."  Well, the rest is history that still surfaces, in the form of that song, when sung by Gary Puckett and The Union Gap.

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