One of Augusta's longtime radio announcers, Charlie Raiford "Peanut" Faircloth Sr., has a new CD out that actually is an old album re-released.

The record, Bluebird Special - Just Us, The Faircloths, was originally recorded in 1976 with his son, Charlie R. "Ray" Faircloth Jr. and daughter-in-law, Sadie, on an eight-track tape recorder in Nashville, Tenn.

"We thought the master tape had been lost but came across it under a stack of old 78-rpm records," he said by telephone.

Howard Levi, his friend at Crystal Recording Co., restored the deteriorated tape, which contains such classics as Scarlet Ribbons, Faded Love and When They Ring Those Golden Bells.

Copies can be obtained by e-mailing BCDV@mindspring.com; calling (423) 877-1411 or writing Mr. Faircloth at 3474 Lockwood Circle, Chattanooga, TN 37415.

If there ever was a hall of fame for Augusta-area radio announcers, Peanut Faircloth, now 80 and living in Chattanooga, surely would be in it.

"I just had my 40th birthday for the second time in April. I had a stroke two years ago but still perform when I can."

His musical programs aired live over WRDW-AM in the early 1950s and his appearances in Bell Auditorium and other venues with his band, Hot Roasted Peanuts, still are remembered vividly by local residents.

Country and rock superstar Brenda Lee credits Mr. Faircloth for talking Grand Ole Opry star Red Foley into letting her sing on his show in Bell Auditorium on Feb. 23, 1956. That led to her contract with Decca Records and selling more than 100 million records worldwide.

In talking about his old days in Augusta, Mr. Faircloth revealed that he was the guy behind Elvis Presley's first booking at Bell on March 20, 1956.

"In 1954, I briefly left Augusta and went to work for a station in Muscle Shoals, Ala.," he said. "I went to do a show at the community center in Sheffield, Ala., and saw Elvis for the first time.

"There was an assistant fire chief captain named V.E. King in Macon, Ga., who used to book a lot of country shows, and I called and told him about Elvis. He was the one who booked Elvis into his first show in Bell Auditorium."

DAN MILLER'S REACTION: I got an e-mail from Dan Miller, grandnephew of Frank Miller (who built the Miller Theater), about his return to Augusta in September for The Three Faces of Eve 50th-anniversary tribute in the Imperial Theater.

Mr. Miller, now a personality on WSM-TV in Nashville and a columnist on its Web site, for the Eve tribute interviewed Augusta veteran TV announcer Jim Davis about his memories as master of ceremonies of the Eve premiere in the Miller in 1957.

"I simply cannot express how much I enjoyed being included in the festivities there in Augusta," Mr. Miller wrote. "Getting re-connected with so many people, and meeting other Augustans who I never knew before, was something that will be on the 'highlight reel' of my life ... That was the first time I've been inside the Imperial in probably 40 years, and what a 'jewel' it is for the city."

CONGRATULATIONS: Radio station WKXC-FM in Evans is the Country Music Association's Small Market Station of the Year.

The station will be recognized for its national award at the 41st annual CMA Awards Show broadcast Nov. 7 on ABC.

Don Rhodes has written about country music for 36 years. He can be reached at (706) 823-3214 or at don.rhodes@morris.com.