Podcasts about nashville songwriters hall

Season 2: Episode 1 Linda Edell Howard Song Chronicles launches its second season with a truly unique music insider conversation with Linda Edell Howard. Linda during her high school cheerleading days    Linda is an attorney in Nashville who has been an advocate for songwriters and artists over the last 30 years. Her expertise, and the focus of our interview, is in the often-complicated areas of copyrights, publishing, and royalties.   In her first-ever podcast interview, she generously gives listeners an enlightening music business primer that any aspiring, or even experienced songwriter, would learn from. Linda discusses the significance of sync, blanket, and mechanical licenses, sources for royalties, and how song credits work — and the ways all of these can bring the songwriter, a "small business owner", as she calls them, money. We talk about how performing rights organizations differ from publishing companies, and how both differ from SoundExchange.       Linda Edell Howard with Charlie Daniels        One of Howard's specialties is in the field of legacy copyrights, especially termination rights. Her mantra “forever doesn’t mean forever” takes us further to her explanation of how songwriters can use the not-well-known termination laws to recapture the rights to their songs. In her world, people and their circumstances are always changing, and so is the value of a copyright. What does this mean for a music business attorney? Changing circumstances open doors to renegotiation, because as is the case with so many deals songwriters make starting out, no one knew the actual value of their catalog at that time they signed their publishing away. There is a window of time, Howard tells us, where those copyrights can revert back to the songwriter.             Linda with Desmond Child     You’ll discover the importance of the numbers 56 and 35 for copyrights, and what black box money and gray box money are — and how they can be windfalls for songwriters. Throughout our conversation, she shares some great insights and valuable tips.                          Linda with her husband, Doug Howard      Linda currently is a partner at the Nashville law firm Adams and Reese, where she leads its Entertainment and New Media team. She was one of the seven attorneys featured in Billboard’s Women in Music 2016 and among Nashville Business Journal’s 2019 Women in Music City Award honorees. Linda takes deep pride in how her work, as she puts it, “actually changes people’s lives.”   Billboard's Women in Music 2016 (Linda third from the right)        As a teenager growing up in New Jersey, Linda aspired to be a rock photographer, hanging out at clubs along the Jersey Shore. She shifted her career goal from album cover design to law after realizing she could help musicians more as an attorney.             Kelly Putty (Ordinary Hero Foundation), Hillary Scott (Lady A) with Linda         After she graduating law school, Linda would spend her Sunday nights doing “contract clinics” for musicians at the Asbury Park’s legendary Stone Pony club, charging only a pizza slice and a beer. Her law career has included working for the Elvis Presley and George Gershwin estates and at PolyGram Music Publishing Group. More recently, her clients have included Fats Domino, Don Everly, Lady A, Desmond Child, Charlie Daniels, and Gretchen Wilson.            Linda and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Dickey Lee   We are delighted to present our first episode of Season 2,  an enlightening conversation with Linda Edell Howard.

Allen Reynolds has had a legendary career as a performer, songwriter, and producer of songs over six decades. A member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Allen began his career in the legendary Sun Studios of Sam Phillips in Memphis where he and Dickey Lee wrote Memphis Beat for Jerry Lee Lewis. He went on to write 17 Top 40 hits. His collaborations as both writer and producer of Don Williams and Crystal Gayle transformed their careers and catapulted them to stardom. His magic in the production room led to him becoming the go to producer for Garth Brooks, Emmy Lou Harris, Kathy Mattea, Chris LeDoux, Hal Ketchum and many others. Allen Reynolds artistic contributions to the American musical lexicon are vast and expansive and it is a thrill to have him on Backstory Song.

The Garden Party Radio Show with John Jenkins - Nashville Songwriters Series # 1 - Craig Wiseman Craig Michael Wiseman is an American Country music songwriter and producer, and the owner/founder of the Big Loud enterprise.[1] He has been writing since the late 1980s, and his songs have been recorded by Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton,[2] and numerous other acts. He has written twenty-six #1 songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs music charts, and has won a number of industry awards. In 2009, he was named "Songwriter of the Decade" by the Nashville Songwriters Association International,[3] and in 2015, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.[4] 21 Summer" - Brothers Osborne. Buzzin' -y Blake Shelton (featuring RaeLynn) If the Good Die Young" - Tracy Lawrence. "A Little Bit of You" - Jason McCoy "Someone Else's Dream" Faith Hill. "Walkin' Away" -Diamond Rio "Everywhere" - Tim McGraw. "She's Got It All" - Kenny Chesney. "Just Another Day in Paradise" - Phil Vassar "Tell Her" - Lonestar. "Live Like You Were Dying" -Tim McGraw "That's What It's All About" - Brooks & Dunn. "Love Me If You Can" - Toby Keith

In this episode we go deep into the life, lessons and learnings of a legendary musician, singer, producer, and songwriter Sharon Vaughn. Sharon has written hits for legends like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Reba McEntire, The Oak Ridge Boys, George Jones, Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, Patty Loveless, Agnes, and Kate Ryan. In 2019 Sharon was inducted into the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. If you’re a creative person, if you love music and if you find inspiration in stories of amazing triumph, you’ll love this episode. Pay special attention to Sharon’s thoughts on the grand dame of country music, Dolly Parton. Bio: Vaughn moved to Nashville in her early 20s. In 1974, she charted two singles as a performer for Cinnamon Records: a duet with Narvel Felts titled "Until the End of Time", and "Never a Night Goes By". A year later, she signed with Dot Records and released a third single, "You and Me, Me and You". She was also the lead singer in the Lea Jane Singers, and worked with the Jordanaires, the Nashville Edition and The Holladay Sisters. Vaughn’s first big songwriting success was "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys",[5] which was first recorded by Waylon Jennings in 1976 and further popularized in 1980 by Willie Nelson for the soundtrack of the movie The Electric Horseman.[6] Her next songwriting hit was "Y'all Come Back Saloon" by The Oak Ridge Boys in 1977. Since then she has worked with country artists such as Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Tanya Tucker and Kenny Rogers. Vaughn has been nominated for the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame three times, and was inducted in 2019. Vaughn has during the last couple of years had over 100 cuts with European artists and four number ones in Japan. She has worked with several Swedish Idol artists including the winner Jay Smith (2010) and a number one hit for Ola. She has also worked with many Scandinavian songwriters and artists including Agnes, Mutt Lange, Tony Nilsson, Vendela, Anders Hanson and Emilia. In 2009, her co-written song Release Me by Swedish pop artist Agnes reached #1 on the U.S Billboard Dance Club Songs Chart.[8] In 2013, Vaughn received a JASRAC Award as #1 of the Top 10 Foreign Works for her 2011 co-written song "Rising Sun" by the Japanese pop band EXILE. During 2014, Vaughn competed as the songwriter of three songs in Melodifestivalen. Vaughn has also co-written songs with Ian Dench[11] and Carl Falk. In 2018, Vaughn was registered as having emigrated from Sweden. Links: Nashville Songwriters Foundation Hall of Fame Waylon Jennings My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys – Waylon Jennings My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys – Willie Nelson Wikipedia - My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys   

In this episode we go deep into the life, lessons and learnings of a legendary musician, singer, producer, and songwriter Sharon Vaughn. Sharon has written hits for legends like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Reba McEntire, The Oak Ridge Boys, George Jones, Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, Patty Loveless, Agnes, and Kate Ryan. In 2019 Sharon was inducted into the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. If you’re a creative person, if you love music and if you find inspiration in stories of amazing triumph, you’ll love this episode. Pay special attention to Sharon’s thoughts on the grand dame of country music, Dolly Parton. Bio: Vaughn moved to Nashville in her early 20s. In 1974, she charted two singles as a performer for Cinnamon Records: a duet with Narvel Felts titled "Until the End of Time", and "Never a Night Goes By". A year later, she signed with Dot Records and released a third single, "You and Me, Me and You". She was also the lead singer in the Lea Jane Singers, and worked with the Jordanaires, the Nashville Edition and The Holladay Sisters. Vaughn’s first big songwriting success was "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys",[5] which was first recorded by Waylon Jennings in 1976 and further popularized in 1980 by Willie Nelson for the soundtrack of the movie The Electric Horseman.[6] Her next songwriting hit was "Y'all Come Back Saloon" by The Oak Ridge Boys in 1977. Since then she has worked with country artists such as Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Tanya Tucker and Kenny Rogers. Vaughn has been nominated for the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame three times, and was inducted in 2019. Vaughn has during the last couple of years had over 100 cuts with European artists and four number ones in Japan. She has worked with several Swedish Idol artists including the winner Jay Smith (2010) and a number one hit for Ola. She has also worked with many Scandinavian songwriters and artists including Agnes, Mutt Lange, Tony Nilsson, Vendela, Anders Hanson and Emilia. In 2009, her co-written song Release Me by Swedish pop artist Agnes reached #1 on the U.S Billboard Dance Club Songs Chart.[8] In 2013, Vaughn received a JASRAC Award as #1 of the Top 10 Foreign Works for her 2011 co-written song "Rising Sun" by the Japanese pop band EXILE. During 2014, Vaughn competed as the songwriter of three songs in Melodifestivalen. Vaughn has also co-written songs with Ian Dench[11] and Carl Falk. In 2018, Vaughn was registered as having emigrated from Sweden. Links: Nashville Songwriters Foundation Hall of Fame Waylon Jennings My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys – Waylon Jennings My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys – Willie Nelson Wikipedia - My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys   

On this Mac McAnally Interview: Getting his start singing & playing piano in the Baptist Church in small town Mississippi, and then suddenly playing honky-tonks... at age 13! The serendipity of how his first record got made, at age 17 because the studio artist booked for the day never showed up. His affinity for Muscle Shoals, music as “joyful noise” & why “joy records as well as sharps & flats”... Playing with Jimmy Buffet (GREAT story), Levon Helm, Roy Orbison, George Straight, Hank Jr., Keith Whitley… Living in his “bonus round,” a horrible business contract story, the backstory of tracks on Once In A Lifetime, food, friends, family, music and more. AWESOME convo! Mac McAnally, is a singer, songwriter, session musician & producer closely affiliated with the Muscle Shoals scene. Mac’s been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, he’s won Musician of the Year for the Country Music Association (10x), and he just released his 15th LP, Once in A Lifetime. He has written or co-written several #1 Billboard Country Hits and dozens of other very successful hit songs. As a sideman he has played on HUNDREDS of records for major artists, and has produced numerous records. He’s a long time member of Jimmy Buffett's band, The Coral Reefer Band.  Support this Show: http://www.everyonelovesguitar.com/support  Subscribe https://www.everyonelovesguitar.com/subscribe/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EveryoneLovesGuitar/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everyonelovesguitar/ 

Gretchen Peters joins us once again on the show to talk about her new album... For two decades, Gretchen Peters has been one of Nashville’s most beloved and respected artists. “If Peters never delivers another tune as achingly beautiful as ‘On A Bus To St. Cloud,'” People Magazine wrote, “she has already earned herself a spot among country’s upper echelon of contemporary composers.” Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in October 2014 by singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell, who called her “both a songwriter and a poet (who) sings as beautifully as she writes,” and said her song “The Matador”, “moved me so greatly, I cried from the soles of my feet”, Peters has accumulated accolades as a songwriter for artists as diverse as Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, The Neville Brothers, Patty Loveless, George Strait, Bryan Adams and Faith Hill. Her song “Independence Day”, recorded by Martina McBride, won a CMA Song of the Year award in 1995. She has been nominated for 2 Grammys (“Independence Day/Martina McBride, “You Don’t Even Know Who I Am”/Patty Loveless), a Golden Globe (“Here I Am”/Bryan Adams), and numerous other awards. Her 2015 album, ‘Blackbirds’ was awarded International Album of the Year and Song of the Year by the UK Americana Association. In 2015, The Telegraph named her one of the greatest 60 female singer-songwriters of all time. Her latest album, The Night You Wrote That Song: The Songs of Mickey Newbury, is a loving tribute to another Hall of Fame songwriter and a profound influence on Peters’ own writing. https://www.gretchenpeters.com

Country music star Larry Gatlin joins Tim to talk about a life in country music, as a songwriter, as a performer and as a member of one of the most famous vocal groups in the history of country music. Larry is the oldest of the three Gatlin Brothers who hale from West Texas. He is an award-winner, a chart-topper and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Larry_Gatlin_auphonic.mp3 Larry Gatlin was born in Seminole, Texas, the son of a driller in the oil field. He’s the oldest of three musical brothers – Larry, Steve and Rudy would later become known to millions simply as The Gatlin Brothers. The three brothers started singing young. Larry was only seven when he and his younger brothers would sing at family and church events. Larry played football on scholarship at the University of Houston, where he didn’t study music, but instead, he majored in English. He said that at college he developed a love affair with the English language, a passion that would serve him well as a songwriter. After college, Larry started to make a name for himself as a songwriter and performer in Nashville. His brothers would join him later and by 1976, the group had arrived on the national stage. They toured the United States and around the world. They saw their songs rise in the charts and have enjoyed a career that anyone who aspires to be a country music star would want. Larry wrote every Gatlin Brothers hit and more. He wrote songs that were recorded by others, like Elvis Presley, Glen Campbell, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Cash and many others. He’s written an autobiography called “All the Gold in California,” a nod to the title of one of his hit songs. He’s won numerous awards and has seen success on and off of the stage. Last October, Larry was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Special Thanks to... Larry Gatlin for his time and for the use of some of his music in this episode. Kay Waggoner of Absolute Publicity in Nashville, Tennessee for arranging this interview. Bonnie Brozik Teague, Larry's assistant who made sure the interview went off without a hitch. Links The Gatlin Brothers, Grand Ole Opry The Gatlin Brothers website Larry Gatlin Bio, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame All the Gold in California, by Larry Gatlin (autobiography at Amazon) Dottie West, Country Music Hall of Fame Mickey Newbury was Country Music Royalty, CMT About this Episode’s Guest Larry Gatlin Country star Larry Gatlin was born in 1948 in Seminole, Texas, the son of a driller in the oil field. The oldest of the three Gatlin brothers, by age six, he was already accompanying younger brothers, Steve and Rudy in singing at family and church events. After high school, Larry went to the University of Houston on a football scholarship. Larry majored in English and developed "a love affair with the English Language" that later served him well in his songwriting. On the strength of his songwriting talents, Larry Gatlin became known throughout the Nashville music industry. While Steve and Rudy were finishing college, Larry was already touring the small club and listening room circuit as a solo act, looking forward to the time when he could afford to expand his live show to include his brothers. From 1976 to 1992, the brothers toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada and overseas. They racked up hit after hit and banked some of the most prestigious awards in the industry. Larry penned every Gatlin Brothers hit you’ve ever heard. He has written songs that were later recorded by Elvis Presley, Glen Campbell, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Barry Gibb, Ray Price, Tom Jones, Roy Orbison, Johnny Mathis, Dottie West and many more. December of 1992 marked a farewell to concert touring for the Gatlin Brothers as they completed their ADIOS TOUR with a CD of the same name.

This week on Thinkin’ & Drinkin’ we have one of Nashville’s top songwriters, Craig Wiseman. He is a top songwriter receiving many major songwriting awards and be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and he started a publishing company that has grown into a publishing, management and record company. Join us for Part 1 of our interview with Craig for a great conversation and lots of laughs.In this episode, you’ll hearMoving from Hattiesburg, MS to Nashville and living in his car while trying to make it as a drummer, but ending up as one of Nashville’s top songwritersHow Craig’s faith has played a huge role in his songwritingCheck out today’s sponsor Paul Reed Smith >> https://www.prsguitars.comFor the full show notes visit >> http://www.thinkinanddrinkin.com/podcast/craig-wiseman-part-1 Screenshot the show and tag us on social media @thinkinanddrinkinpod See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame member, Gretchen Peters talk to the New York Artists Collective ahead of her New York show at Rockwood Music Hall Dec 8th about one of her songs, The Boy From Rye and how it's the heart of her latest album, Dancing With The Beast. Gretchen also kindly gave the NYAC an exclusive unreleased track for your ears only which you can find here: https://bit.ly/2qOI0Qf For two decades, Gretchen Peters has been one of Nashville's most beloved and respected artists. "If Peters never delivers another tune as achingly beautiful as 'On A Bus To St. Cloud,'" People Magazine wrote, "she has already earned herself a spot among country's upper echelon of contemporary composers.” Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in October 2014 by singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell, who called her "both a songwriter and a poet (who) sings as beautifully as she writes,” and said her song “The Matador”, "moved me so greatly, I cried from the soles of my feet”, Peters has accumulated accolades as a songwriter for artists as diverse as Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, The Neville Brothers, Patty Loveless, George Strait, Bryan Adams and Faith Hill. Her 2015 album, ‘Blackbirds’, debuted at #1 on the UK Country chart and in the top 40 UK pop chart, and was awarded International Album of the Year and Song of the Year. In 2015, The Telegraph named her one of the greatest 60 female singer-songwriters of all time. Her latest album, Dancing With The Beast, was released on May 18, 2018. https://gretchenpeters.com Tickets for Gretchen's show at Rockwood are available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gretchen-peters-tickets-73006314853

About This Episode One of the most popular singers in modern country music, Vince Gill is famous for his top-notch songwriting, world-class guitar playing and warm, soaring tenor, all wrapped up in a quick and easy wit. Gill achieved his big breakthrough in 1990 with "When I Call Your Name," which won both the Country Music Association's Single and Song of the Year awards as well as a Grammy. Gill has won 18 CMA Awards, including Song of the Year four times – making him the most awarded artist in that category in CMA history. Since 1990, Gill has won 21 GRAMMY Awards. A wide-ranging songwriter, his compositions earned him entry into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005. The Academy of Country Music has conferred on Gill eight awards, including its prestigious Home Depot Humanitarian Award and the 2011 Career Achievement Award. Gill was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007. He is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry. In August 2012, Gill was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is a member of the four-time Grammy-winning band The Time Jumpers. Gill has produced albums for LeAnn Rimes, Amy Grant and Ashley Monroe and has made guest appearances on more than 500 albums including on those by Barbra Streisand, Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, George Jones and others. About Michael Perry Michael Perry is a New York Times bestselling author, humorist and radio show host from New Auburn, Wisconsin. Perry's bestselling memoirs include Population 485, Truck: A Love Story, Coop, and Visiting Tom, and his latest, Montaigne in Barn Boots: An Amateur Ambles Through Philosophy. His first book for young readers, The Scavengers, was published in 2014 and first novel for adult readers, The Jesus Cow, was published in May of 2015. Raised on a small Midwestern dairy farm, Perry put himself through nursing school while working on a ranch in Wyoming, then wandered into writing. He lives with his wife and two daughters in rural Wisconsin, where he serves on the local volunteer fire and rescue service and is an intermittent pig farmer. He hosts the nationally-syndicated "Tent Show Radio," performs widely as a humorist, and tours with his band the Long Beds (currently recording their third album for Amble Down Records). He has recorded three live humor albums including Never Stand Behind A Sneezing Cow and The Clodhopper Monologues. Learn more about Michael and where to get his publications at www.sneezingcow.com. Follow Michael Perry www.sneezingcow.com Twitter Facebook Instagram Other Ways to Stream Public Radio Exchange: www.prx.org/tentshowradio Podcast: www.libsyn.com/tentshowradio iTunes: www.itunes/tentshowradio Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/tentshowradio Player.FM: www.player.FM/tentshowradio iHeart Radio: www.iheart.com

Vapes, teeth falling out, and music with songwriter Jessie Jo Dillon and The Ballroom Thieves' Martin Earley. Martin shares some political views and new music, "Love Is Easy". Jessie is the writer behind Dan+Shay's, "10,000 Hours", Cole Swindell's, "Break Up In The End", and Maren Morris', "Rich".   The Ballroom Thieves are Callie Peters (vocals, cello), Martin Earley (guitar, vocals), and Devin Mauch (percussion, vocals). Mixed with lush reverbs, strings and melodic harmonies you can easily go down the rabbit hole and forget that there are bigger themes in their music. In our conversation, we tap into the transition from Paper Crown to their latest music, "Tenebrist" and "Love Is Easy". But tap most importantly why it's important to point out the obvious and some times the not so obvious light vs. the dark of humanity. For tour dates and updates visit and follow them @ballroomthieves.    Jessie Jo Dillon is a songwriter from Nashville that writes exclusively with Big Machine Publishing. Dillon earned a Grammy nomination in 2011 in the Best Song Category for her first-ever cut, George Strait’s “The Breath You Take,” a song she co-wrote with Casey Beathard and her father, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, Dean Dillon. Jessie co-wrote “Girl Next Door,” “Daughter” and “You Can Come Over” with Brandy Clark for her latest album as well as “Rich” with Maren Morris for her album Hero. She also has broken records with penning Cole Swindell's "Break Up In The End" and the Dan+Shay, Justin Bieber, Poo Bear hit, "10,000 Hours". George Strait, LeAnn Rimes, Luke Bryan, Jennifer Nettles and more. In our talk, we cover growing up in a family with a legendary songwriting father and feeling that looming shadow of a career. How when to and not to be so hard on yourself when comparing yourself. Choosing your path and taking the leap, changing life up, discovering yourself are a couple of other themes. We also tap into her writing style and how much she loves words. Even her discovery process to some of your favorite songs as a life exercise. To follow Jessie give her a follow @jessiejodillon.

Alice Randall, a Harvard-educated novelist, professor, and songwriter, is the only African-American woman to have written a #1 country hit. She joins us to talk about her career as a songwriter and so much more EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE  The guys chat about why Paul has been M.I.A. and announce a new contest for a personalized signed copy of Lamont Dozier's new autobiography. PART TWO - 7:13 mark Scott gets together with Alice Randall in Nashville to find out why her dad was so driven to highlight women's contributions to music; how she concluded that country lyrics are the modern day equivalent of metaphysical poetry and 17th Century Puritan sermons; the encouragement she received from Hal David; why she spent hours studying lyrics in the basement of the Country Music Hall of Fame; the reason that Steve Earle cussed her out; why it's harder to be a woman in country music than to be black; and her theory that country music should be defined as three chords and four specific truths. ABOUT ALICE RANDALL Alice Randall is a Harvard-educated African-American novelist who lives in Nashville and writes country songs. Along with Matraca Berg, Alice co-wrote Trisha Yearwood’s chart-topping single “XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl),” making her the first—and, so far, only—African-American woman to write a #1 country hit. Additionally, she co-wrote Mo Bandy’s Top 40 hit “Many Mansions,” as well as Judy Rodman’s “Girls Ride Horses, Too,” which was the first Top 10 written by either Alice or her co-writer, future Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Mark D. Sanders. After forming an early songwriting partnership with Steve Earle, Alice went on to have her songs recorded by a long list of artists, including Holly Dunn, Marie Osmond, Glen Campbell, Jo-El Sonnier, Walter Hyatt, Pat Alger, Matraca Berg, Radney Foster, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Crystal Gayle, and Hank Thompson. Along with Mark O’Connor and Harry Stinson she wrote the groundbreaking “Ballad of Sally Anne.” Alice is a New York Times Bestselling novelist who has authored The Wind Done Gone, Pushkin and the Queen of Spades, Rebel Yell, Ada's Rules, and the forthcoming Black Bottom Saints, which is partially inspired by her formative years in Detroit. In addition to her fiction writing, Alice teamed with her daughter, Caroline Randall Williams, to write Soul Food Love: Healthy Recipes Inspired by One Hundred Years of Cooking in a Black Family. She is currently a Writer-in-Residence at Vanderbilt University where she teaches a number of courses, including Country Lyric in American Culture. She was featured in Ken Burns’ acclaimed Country Music documentary spotlighting the often-overlooked contributions of African Americans to the genre’s development. Not only does she write songs, but Randall thinks deeply about, and is deeply moved by, the literary value of song lyrics.   

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Rodney Crowell joins Scott to chat about a remarkable career that has yielded classic songs such as “Til I Gain Control Again,” “I Ain’t Living Long Like This,” “Ashes By Now,” “After All This Time,” and “Shame on the Moon.” EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE  Scott and Paul chat about their friends at Pearl Snap Studios, Paul's recent ASCAP award, the Ken Burns Country Music documentary, a sad loss in the songwriting community, and how an encounter with Rodney Crowell made an impression on Paul when he was in fifth grade.  PART TWO - 12:03 mark Scott gets together with Rodney Crowell to hear why Townes Van Zandt stealing his girlfriend led to his first cut as a songwriter; how he went from making $7 a night and living in his car to landing a publishing deal; why he told his wife to take her time bailing him out of jail so he could write one of his now-classic songs; how getting rejected by Anne Murray led to getting discovered by Emmylou Harris; the song he realized he inadvertently ripped off when writing “Ashes By Now;” the reason he decided to re-write one of his most classic songs years after it had become a hit; the song he and Rosanne Cash wrote that he still wishes she’d record; how he co-wrote a song with Roy Orbison from beyond the grave; why he now regrets speaking out about covers of his songs he didn’t particularly like; which of his recent compositions he calls one of the best songs he’s ever written; and why he feels like he didn’t find his voice and become a real recording artist until his tenth album.   ABOUT RODNEY CROWELL Emmylou Harris—who once employed Rodney Crowell as the guitarist, harmony singer, and arranger in her legendary Hot Band—introduced many listeners to Crowell’s songs, which then went on to become hits for other artists. “Til I Gain Control Again” was covered by Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Bobby Bare before Crystal Gaye took it to the top of the country charts. “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight” and “I Ain’t Living Long Like This” became number one hits for The Oak Ridge Boys and Waylon Jennings, respectively. “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” went on to become a hit for both Lynn Anderson and the duo of Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, while “Ashes By Now” became a Top 5 single for Lee Ann Womack before going on to be covered by Etta James.     While it was Harris who first shone the spotlight on Crowell, he soon established his own successful artist career, becoming the first country singer to earn five number-one hits from a single album. His biggest self-penned singles as an artist include “It’s Such a Small World,” “She’s Crazy for Leaving,” “Many a Long and Lonesome Highway,” “If Looks Could Kill,” “Lovin’ All Night,” “What Kind of Love,” “I Couldn’t Leave You If I Tried,” which was nominated for a Best Country Song Grammy, and “After All This Time,” which was nominated for both CMA and ACM Song of the Year and won a Grammy for Best Country Song. Crowell songs that have become number one hits for other artists include Bob Seger’s recording of “Shame on the Moon,” The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper’s Dream),” “Somewhere Tonight” by Highway 101, Tim McGraw’s recording of “Please Remember Me” and Keith Urban’s cover of “Making Memories of Us.” Additional highlights of his catalog include Vince Gill’s Top 10 recording of “Oklahoma Borderline”; “Stars on the Water,” which has been recorded by Jimmy Buffett and George Strait; “Voila an American Dream,” which has been recorded by Guy Clark and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; and “Song for the Life,” which was recorded by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kathy Mattea, and Alison Krauss before becoming a Top 10 hit for Alan Jackson. As a producer, Crowell was behind a string of hits for then-wife Rosanne Cash, including “Seven Year Ache,” “Ain’t No Money,” which he wrote, and “I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me,” which he and Rosanne co-wrote and which earned him his first of sixteen Grammy nominations. Crowell has since been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Songwriting from the Americana Music Association, the prestigious ASCAP Founder’s Award, the Academy of Country Music’s Poet’s Award, and induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame   In recent years Crowell has become an Americana darling with critically-acclaimed albums such as The Houston Kid, Fate’s Right Hand, The Outsider, Sex and Gasoline, and a pair of duet albums with Emmylou Harris, Old Yellow Moon and The Traveling Kind. His latest album is called Texas.

Pulled from deep in our archives, we present the long-lost final interview with two-time Grammy nominee and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Curly Putman, who wrote "Green, Green Grass of Home," "He Stopped Loving Her Today," "My Elusive Dreams," "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," and many others.  EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE  Scott and Paul chat about how the long-lost final interview with Curly Putman went missing and how they finally recovered it. Plus, they discuss the new Ken Burns documentary, Country Music. PART TWO - 9:24 mark Scott heads over to the now-departed songwriting legend's house to chat about the unusual instrument Curly began on; what Roger Miller said that encouraged him when he was a struggling shoe salesman; why Dottie West being late for a recording session opened a door for “Green, Green Grass of Home;” how Curly became known for killing off the characters in his songs; the reason he didn’t want to rent his house to Paul McCartney; why he thinks “He Stopped Loving Her Today” appeals to so many listeners; which of his songs he’d like to be remembered for in the distant future; and the secret to his sixty year marriage. ABOUT CURLY PUTMAN The late Claude “Curly” Putman, Jr. enjoyed a streak of more than 30 years of consistent country chart success. Many of his songs have become iconic country recordings, including “Green Green Grass of Home” by Porter Wagoner, “Dumb Blonde” by Dolly Parton, “My Elusive Dreams” by Tammy Wynette and David Houston, “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” by Tammy Wynette, “Blood Red and Going Down” by Tanya Tucker, and “He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones, which won CMA Song of the Year for two years in a row. Transcending country music’s classic era, Curly continued to enjoy Top 10 hits with a new generation of artists that included “I Meant Every Word He Said” by Ricky Van Shelton and “Made For Lovin’ You” by Doug Stone. Curly became one of the few songwriters to have a song written in tribute to him when Paul McCartney composed “Junior’s Farm” following a six week stay at Putman’s ranch when Wings was recording in Nashville. Curly, a two-time Grammy nominee, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Twenty-three of his songs have earned BMI performance awards, and his music has been recorded by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Wanda Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Marty Robbins, Charley Pride, Johnny Paycheck, Ray Price, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Joe Tex, Esther Phillips, Tom Jones, Dean Martin, Keith Whitley, George Strait, Randy Travis, Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Blake Shelton, Gram Parsons, The Grateful Dead, and literally hundreds of others.

We'll take a sneak peek inside the new Brooks & Dunn exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Find out what other country legend will be getting their own museum in Music City USA! Plus we talk about the songwriters going into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame!

About This Episode A master songwriter, John Hiatt's songs have been recorded by Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, and many more. He received a star on Nashville’s Walk of Fame, the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting, and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The 2018 show heard on this episode marked the 30th Anniversary of his album, "Slow Turning". The band performed “Slow Turning” in full followed by a final set of all his hits. About Michael Perry Michael Perry is a New York Times bestselling author, humorist and radio show host from New Auburn, Wisconsin. Perry’s bestselling memoirs include Population 485, Truck: A Love Story, Coop, and Visiting Tom, and his latest, Montaigne in Barn Boots: An Amateur Ambles Through Philosophy. His first book for young readers, The Scavengers, was published in 2014 and first novel for adult readers, The Jesus Cow, was published in May of 2015. Raised on a small Midwestern dairy farm, Perry put himself through nursing school while working on a ranch in Wyoming, then wandered into writing. He lives with his wife and two daughters in rural Wisconsin, where he serves on the local volunteer fire and rescue service and is an intermittent pig farmer. He hosts the nationally-syndicated “Tent Show Radio,” performs widely as a humorist, and tours with his band the Long Beds (currently recording their third album for Amble Down Records). He has recorded three live humor albums including Never Stand Behind A Sneezing Cow and The Clodhopper Monologues. Learn more about Michael and where to get his publications at www.sneezingcow.com. Follow Michael Perry www.sneezingcow.com Twitter Facebook Instagram Other Ways to Stream Public Radio Exchange: www.prx.org/tentshowradio Podcast: www.libsyn.com/tentshowradio iTunes: www.itunes/tentshowradio Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/tentshowradio Player.FM: www.player.FM/tentshowradio iHeart Radio: www.iheart.com  

The Grammy nominee and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer joins us to talk about “Rub It In” (Billy "Crash" Craddock), "Way Down" (Elvis Presley), “The Greatest Man I Never Knew” (Reba McEntire), and his new memoir, Permission to Fly. EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE Scott and Paul call up Tommy Smith, one of their top tier Patreon subscribers to chat about Songcraft, life, and his budding recording studio. PART TWO - 9:52 mark The guys invite anyone who has recorded demos at Pearl Snap Studios to send in their recordings and then they chat about the songs that have become permanently linked to ad campaigns. PART THREE - 13:49 mark Scott and Paul catch up with Layng via phone to get the story on the song he heard as a young adult that inspired him to start writing his own material; Why trying to get to Elvis lead to his first publishing deal; how he wrote songs without playing an instrument; why he preferred being his own song plugger; how he made magic in a broom closet;  why saying goodbye to Ray Stevens was the hardest day of his life; how his first Nashville co-writing session led to a Grammy nomination; and why an act of terrorism derailed a would-be hit. ABOUT LAYNG MARTINE, JR. A versatile songwriter who has found success as both a pop and country hit maker, Layng Martine has penned more than 20 songs that have reached the Top 40 on the Billboard charts. His breakthrough came with “Rub It In,” a charting single for Layng as an artist that was later revived as a #1 country hit and Top 20 pop hit for Billy “Crash” Craddock. Years later it was altered to become “Plug it In,” the long-running jingle for the Glade Plug-ins television commercials. A half dozen of Layng’s songs have earned BMI awards, including “Everybody Needs a Rainbow,” made popular by Ray Stevens, “I Should Do It,” which was a hit for The Pointer Sisters, “I Wanna Go Too Far,” which became a Top 10 single for Trisha Yearwood, and “Way Down,” the last new song ever recorded by Elvis Presley. “Way Down” reached #1 on the Billboard chart within days of Elvis’s passing. Additionally, Layng wrote charting hits for Freddy Weller, Mel Street, Jerry Lee Lewis, Cristy Lane, Dickie Lee, Tanya Tucker, Kathy Mattea, Pam Tillis, John Anderson, and others. He wrote Reba McEntire’s first charting single, and co-wrote “The Greatest Man I Never Knew,” which became a chart-topping hit for Reba several years later and earned Layng a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song.     The list of other artists who’ve recorded Layng’s songs includes Bo Diddley, Carl Perkins, The Drifters, Barry Manilow, Don Williams and Billy Dean. Layng was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013, but has since set music aside to focus on narrative writing. He recently published his first book, Permission to Fly: A Memoir of Love, Crushing Loss, and Triumphs, available June 11th via FieldPoint Press.

About This Episode One of the most popular singers in modern country music, Vince Gill is famous for his top-notch songwriting, world-class guitar playing and warm, soaring tenor, all wrapped up in a quick and easy wit. Gill achieved his big breakthrough in 1990 with "When I Call Your Name," which won both the Country Music Association's Single and Song of the Year awards as well as a Grammy. Gill has won 18 CMA Awards, including Song of the Year four times – making him the mostawarded artist in that category in CMA history. Since 1990, Gill has won 21 GRAMMY Awards. A wide-ranging songwriter, his compositions earned him entry into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005. The Academy of Country Music has conferred on Gill eight awards, including its prestigious Home Depot Humanitarian Award and the 2011 Career Achievement Award. Gill was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007. He is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry. In August 2012, Gill was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is a member of the four-time Grammy-winning band The Time Jumpers. Gill has produced albums for LeAnn Rimes, Amy Grant and Ashley Monroe and has made guest appearances on more than 500 albums including on those by Barbra Streisand, Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, George Jones and others. About Michael Perry Michael Perry is a New York Times bestselling author, humorist and radio show host from New Auburn, Wisconsin. Perry's bestselling memoirs include Population 485, Truck: A Love Story, Coop, and Visiting Tom, and his latest, Montaigne in Barn Boots: An Amateur Ambles Through Philosophy. His first book for young readers, The Scavengers, was published in 2014 and first novel for adult readers, The Jesus Cow, was published in May of 2015. Raised on a small Midwestern dairy farm, Perry put himself through nursing school while working on a ranch in Wyoming, then wandered into writing. He lives with his wife and two daughters in rural Wisconsin, where he serves on the local volunteer fire and rescue service and is an intermittent pig farmer. He hosts the nationally-syndicated "Tent Show Radio," performs widely as a humorist, and tours with his band the Long Beds (currently recording their third album for Amble Down Records). He has recorded three live humor albums including Never Stand Behind A Sneezing Cow and The Clodhopper Monologues. Learn more about Michael and where to get his publications at www.sneezingcow.com. Follow Michael Perry www.sneezingcow.com Twitter Facebook Instagram Other Ways to Stream Public Radio Exchange: www.prx.org/tentshowradio Podcast: www.libsyn.com/tentshowradio iTunes: www.itunes/tentshowradio Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/tentshowradio Player.FM: www.player.FM/tentshowradio iHeart Radio: www.iheart.com

With over a dozen Top 5 singles on the Billboard country chart, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Tim Nichols has been a hit machine for years with songs such as “Heads Carolina, Tails California,” “The Man I Want to Be,” and "Live Like You Were Dying." EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE Scott and Paul talk about their earliest concert experiences. PART TWO -  8:09 mark Scott and Paul get on the phone with Tim to find out how he went to a bunch of free country shows when he was a kid; why he says the story of his career is a cross between Forest Gump and Lemony Snicket; how Mike Wallace and 60 Minutes led to his big break; why he had to wear a Daniel Boone cap on his way to becoming a successful songwriter; what he was feeling when his first hit came from a non-living artist; how an audiobook gave him the idea for one of his biggest hits; and how he looks back now on the day that he wrote THAT classic song. ABOUT TIM NICHOLS Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Tim Nichols has written more than a dozen Top 5 country hits, including “I’m Over You” by Keith Whitley, “Heads Carolina, Tails California” by Jo Dee Messina, “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing” by Trace Adkins, “I’d Rather Ride Around with You” by Reba McEntire, “I’ll Think of a Reason Later” by Lee Ann Womack,” “That’d Be Alright” by Alan Jackson, “Girls Lie Too” by Terri Clark, “I Still Miss You” by Keith Anderson, “The Man I Want to Be” by Chris Young, and “Cowboys and Angels” by Dustin Lynch.    Nichols is perhaps best known as the co-writer of Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying,” which stayed at #1 for seven weeks, won a Grammy for Best Country Song, and was named Song of the Year by the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music, BMI, ASCAP, Billboard magazine, and the Nashville Songwriters Association International. It remains the only song to have won every major song award presented for country music.   The list of other artists who’ve recorded Nichols’ songs includes Blake Shelton, Faith Hill, Jason Aldean, Patty Loveless, Vince Gill, Montgomery Gentry, Kenny Chesney, Lonestar, Rascal Flats, Brad Paisley, Kenny Rogers, Tracy Byrd, Gretchen Wilson, Ronnie Milsap, and many more.  

About This Episode A master songwriter, John Hiatt's songs have been recorded by Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, and many more. He received a star on Nashville’s Walk of Fame, the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting, and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The 2018 show heard on this episode marked the 30th Anniversary of his album, "Slow Turning". The band performed “Slow Turning” in full followed by a final set of all his hits. About Michael Perry Michael Perry is a New York Times bestselling author, humorist and radio show host from New Auburn, Wisconsin. Perry’s bestselling memoirs include Population 485, Truck: A Love Story, Coop, and Visiting Tom, and his latest, Montaigne in Barn Boots: An Amateur Ambles Through Philosophy. His first book for young readers, The Scavengers, was published in 2014 and first novel for adult readers, The Jesus Cow, was published in May of 2015. Raised on a small Midwestern dairy farm, Perry put himself through nursing school while working on a ranch in Wyoming, then wandered into writing. He lives with his wife and two daughters in rural Wisconsin, where he serves on the local volunteer fire and rescue service and is an intermittent pig farmer. He hosts the nationally-syndicated “Tent Show Radio,” performs widely as a humorist, and tours with his band the Long Beds (currently recording their third album for Amble Down Records). He has recorded three live humor albums including Never Stand Behind A Sneezing Cow and The Clodhopper Monologues. Learn more about Michael and where to get his publications at www.sneezingcow.com. Follow Michael Perry www.sneezingcow.com Twitter Facebook Instagram Other Ways to Stream Public Radio Exchange: www.prx.org/tentshowradio Podcast: www.libsyn.com/tentshowradio iTunes: www.itunes/tentshowradio Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/tentshowradio Player.FM: www.player.FM/tentshowradio iHeart Radio: www.iheart.com

Rosanne Cash has been called one of the best songwriters of her generation.The Country musician has won four Grammy's, received 11 Grammy nominations, had 11 number one country singles, 21 top 40 country singles and two gold records.Rosanne is, of course, the daughter of country music legend Johnny Cash and her stepmother, June Carter Cash was from the first family of country music, The Carter Family.In 2015, she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame and is known for being an outspoken activist, especially about gun control.Rosanne Cash joined Saturday Mornings with Jack Tame to discuss her music career, being the daughter of such a country music legend, and an issue very close to her heart, combating gun violence in the USALISTEN ABOVE AS ROSANNE CASH SPEAKS TO JACK TAME

Mary Chapin Carpenter is a five-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter. Her latest album, Sometimes Just The Sky, celebrates her acclaimed 30-year recording career, and features reimagined versions of one song from each of Carpenter’s twelve albums, plus one newly penned track. Over the course of her career, she has sold 14 million records, won two Country Music Association Awards, two Academy of Country Music Awards and is one of only 15 female members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

PART ONE Scott and Paul go down the rabbit hole of why it's just not the same when certain famous musicians aren't accompanied by their indispensable musical compatriots. PART TWO - 8:15 mark Scott and Paul call up Matraca to get the lowdown on why she wanted to marry songwriter Red Lane when she was four years old; how she ended up with her first hit after crashing Bobby Braddock's party and sneaking into his music room; why she begged Deana Carter NOT to release "Strawberry Wine" as her first single; which of her songs she believes was partially inspired by Harlan Howard from beyond the grave; and why she doesn't want to be in the room with the producer or artist the first time she hears their version of one of her songs. ABOUT MATRACA BERG Matraca Berg landed her first #1 country single as a songwriter when she was just 18 years old. She went on to earn well over a dozen more Top 10 hits by artists such as Patty Loveless (who found success with “I’m That Kind of Girl” and “You Can Feel Better”), Trisha Yearwood (who scored with “Wrong Side of Memphis,” “XXX’s and OOO’s,” and “Everybody Knows”), and Deana Carter (who hit #1 with “We Danced Anyway” and “Strawberry Wine,” the latter earning the award for CMA Song of the Year). Other hits from the Matraca Berg songbook include Reba McEntire’s “The Last One to Know,” Martina McBride’s “Wild Angels,” The Dixie Chicks’ “If I Fall You’re Going Down with Me,” and Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter’s hit duet, “You and Tequila.” The list of others who’ve recorded Matraca’s songs includes Linda Ronstadt, Dusty Springfield, Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn, Ray Price, and Randy Travis. In addition to her success on the mainstream country charts, Berg is what All Music calls “an unclassifiable but utterly classy singer/songwriter and recording artist.” Her debut album, Lying to the Moon, spawned two Top 40 singles and earned her an ACM nomination for Top New Female Vocalist. Her Sunday Morning to Saturday Night album was named one of the Top 10 albums of the year by Time magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and USA Today, while The Dreaming Fields has earned rave reviews from Rolling Stone, NPR, The New York Times, and others. Berg has received three Grammy nominations for Best Country Song, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008, and received the prestigious ACM Poet’s Award in 2017. 

PART ONE Scott and Paul give a shout-out to their latest Patreon supporter before revealing their respective Top 5 favorite live albums of all time - a topic suggested by Songcraft listener Bob Hunt! PART TWO - 15:17 mark Scott and Paul call up Gary (with a slightly wonky phone connection) to get the lowdown on how a chance meeting at a French castle led to writing more than two dozen songs with a Beatle; why he thinks growing up on show tunes made him a better country writer; how attending the Woodstock festival changed his life; the poignant true story of his father's death that unexpectedly became a hit song; how he accidentally got Faith Hill a record deal; the Tim McGraw hit he wrote that got shelved for 7 years because his publisher hated it; why he says all songs are love songs; and how he went from country hitmaker to collaborating with Carole King, Kenny Loggins, Richard Marx, Desmond Child, and the American Idol team. ABOUT GARY BURR Gary Burr first found songwriting success when Juice Newton scored a Top 10 pop hit with “Love’s Been a Little Bit Hard on Me.” The floodgates soon opened on a remarkable string of Top 5 country hits, including “That’s My Job” for Conway Twitty, “Watch Me” for Lorrie Morgan, “Sure Love” for Hal Ketchum, “One Night a Day” for Garth Brooks, “I Try to Think About Elvis” for Patty Loveless, “Till You Love Me” for Reba McEntire, “Can’t Be Really Gone” for Tim McGraw, “To Be Loved By You” for Wynonna, “On the Side of Angels” for LeeAnn Rimes, “Out of My Bones” for Randy Travis, and many others. Burr eventually returned to his early pop success, scoring a hit with “Nobody Wants to Be Lonely,” which Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera took to the top of the Latin charts. Additionally, he wrote Kelly Clarkson’s first hit, “Before Your Love,” which was the best-selling single the year it was released. He also wrote Clay Aiken’s “This is the Night,” which hit #1 the following year. Burr has collaborated with Carole King, both as a songwriter and as a member of her touring band. Similarly, he has worked as a backing musician with Ringo Starr and has co-written more than two dozen songs with Ringo that have appeared on the former Beatle’s albums in recent years. Burr and his wife, singer/songwriter Georgia Middleman, are currently in a band with Kenny Loggins called Blue Sky Riders. In addition to those mentioned, Burr’s songs have been recorded by Neil Diamond, Billy Ray Cyrus, Don Williams, Ricky Skaggs, Faith Hill, Lisa Loeb, Keith Urban, Kenny Rogers, Night Ranger, George Jones, Joe Cocker, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lady Antebellum, and others. Gary was twice named Songwriter of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association, has been named ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year, and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. 

IN THIS EPISODE: PART ONE Scott and Paul catch up on the latest Songcraft news and chat about some of their favorite songs about Nashville. PART TWO - 16:06 mark  Wanna learn how to be like Mark D. Sanders? You can start with Patreon. The guys tell you where to check it out. PART THREE - 18:13 mark Scott heads over to Mark's house in Nashville to get the inside scoop on how music helped him survive a troubled home life growing up; why he had trouble co-writing with people who had more success than he had; the co-writer who taught him he could have fun and write a song at the same time; his battles with severe depression; the demo singer he credits with boosting his career; the famous song that inspired the chord progression of "I Hope You Dance;" and the ethical reason he decided to walk away from commercial country music culture after decades of success. ABOUT MARK D. SANDERS Southern California native Mark D. Sanders moved to Nashville just before turning 30 and began building a career as a professional songwriter that eventually spawned 25 Top 10 hits, including more than a dozen #1 singles. His list of chart-topping hits includes “Mirror Mirror” by Diamond Rio, “Money in the Bank” by John Anderson, “Daddy’s Money” by Ricochet, “It Matters to Me” by Faith Hill, “No News” by Lonestar, “Heads Carolina, Tails California” by Jo Dee Messina, “Blue Clear Sky” by George Strait, “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing” by Trace Adkins, and “That’d Be Alright” by Alan Jackson. Other artists who’ve recorded Mark’s songs include Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Martina McBride, Tracey Lawrence, Trisha Yearwood, and Guy Clark.   Sanders was named Songwriter of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association in 1995 and 1996, and ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year in 1997. Lee Ann Womack’s recording of “I Hope You Dance” earned him Song of the Year honors from NSAI, ASCAP, the ACM and the CMA, as well as a Grammy for Best Country Song and a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year across all categories. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.

PART ONE Scott and Paul pay tribute to a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member who recently passed away. PART TWO - 02:55 mark Like it or not, tax day is upon us! The guys each pick three of their favorite songs about money or taxes. PART THREE - 10:55 mark Scott and Paul's in-depth conversation with Bruce Sudano Bruce comes over to hang out with Scott and Paul at Songcraft world headquarters, where he explains how he hounded Tommy James into giving him a shot; why he says he became a "cocky self-assured arrogant jerk" before he figured out how to be a good songwriter; the reason "Bad Girls" was almost a Cher song; the controversy that erupted when Michael Jackson recorded his song; why Donna Summer went on "The Tonight Show" to help save Bruce's parents' marriage; how his 30 year love story with the disco queen influenced his songwriting; and why he thinks he might be at the end of a creative streak. Bruce Sudano is a Brooklyn-born songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist who first hit the scene when Tommy James and the Shondells recorded his “Ball of Fire” in 1969. He spent the better part of the next decade focusing on his own bands, Alive N Kickin’ and Brooklyn Dreams. The latter group collaborated with Donna Summer on “Bad Girls” and other songs, which led to a personal relationship between Bruce and Donna. The pair married in 1980 and remained together for 32 years until her untimely passing in 2012. The team of Sudano and Summer wrote “Starting Over Again,” which became a #1 country hit and Top 40 pop hit for Dolly Parton. In addition to his multiple Donna Summer cuts, Bruce has also had charting singles recorded by Jermaine and Michael Jackson, Robert Palmer, and Reba McEntire. Others who’ve recorded his songs include Tammy Wynette, Steve Wariner, Point of Grace, and Snoop Dogg. Bruce has released a half dozen solo albums, including his critically acclaimed 21st Century World in 2017.   

James Fron “Sonny” Throckmorton is an American country music singer songwriter who grew up in Texas.  When he came to Nashville and signed with Tree Publishing (Sony ATV), he was fired after none of his songs became hits. He returned to Texas, leaving his catalog of songs and demos behind, but within 9 months, 170 of this songs were recorded, were hits and he was rehired by Tree.  Sonny has more than 1,000 of his songs recorded by various country singers.  He’s a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and was awarded Songwriter of the Year for 3 consecutive years. He credits Don Gant, who left Tree Publishing with creating an atmosphere where he and other songwriters could flourish. Sonny tells us about growing up an evangelist’s son, riding from one revival to another.  He remembers his first song and how it help show him how to write to touch the heart.

PART ONE Scott and Paul have some fun talking about artists who look just like they sound - and those who don't! PART TWO - 11:23 mark The guys talk about their Patreon page, Billy Edd Wheeler's new book, and how five lucky listeners can score a free signed copy for themselves. PART THREE - 18:00 mark Scott and Paul's in-depth conversation with Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Billy Edd Wheeler Scott & Paul chat with the Yale-educated "hillbilly poet" about how Pat Boone covering his song gave him a crash course in music business shenanigans; why he wishes Richie Havens hadn't covered "High Flyin' Bird" at Woodstock; the reason legendary songwriter Norman Gimbel said he'd never make any money; the advice Jerry Leiber gave him about how to write lyrics; why he felt like a "man without a country" while appealing to both commercial country audiences and playing at the Newport Folk Festival; the time he picked up the phone to discover Elvis on the other end of the line; and a big revelation about which "Jackson" the iconic song actually refers to. Billy Edd Wheeler’s early chart successes were collaborations with the legendary songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who worked with Wheeler more than they did any other outside writer. The team of Leiber & Stoller & Wheeler’s first significant hit came with The Kingston Trio’s Top 10 pop recording of “The Reverend Mr. Black” in 1963. The trio then found success on the country charts that same year, scoring a Top 10 hit with Hank Snow’s version of “The Woman Who Loved the Man Who Robbed the Bank at Santa Fe And Got Away.” Wheeler is best known for writing “Jackson,” a major hit for Johnny Cash and June Carter in 1967, and “Blistered,” which was a Top 5 hit for Cash shortly after. Other artists who reached the Top 20 with Wheeler’s compositions include Hank Williams, Jr., Johnny Duncan, Jerry Reed, Elvis Presley, and Kenny Rogers, who took “Coward of the County” to #1 on the country chart, and #3 on the pop rankings. Additionally, Wheeler’s songs have been recorded by Judy Collins, Jim Croce, Richie Havens, Bobby Darin, Neil Young, Gram Parsons, Jefferson Airplane, Jerry Lee Lewis, Flatt & Scruggs, Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn, Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood, Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, John Denver, Jimmy Buffett, Wanda Jackson, Chet Atkins, George Strait, Warren Haynes, and others. As an artist, Billy Edd has released nearly 20 albums, and has placed seven singles on the Billboard country chart. His first, “Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back,” became a Top 5 hit in 1965. He has earned multiple ASCAP awards, and is a member of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame and the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001. Wheeler, who pursued his graduate studies at the Yale School of Drama, is also an accomplished playwright, painter, and author, most notably of a revealing new memoir, Hotter Than a Pepper Sprout: A Hillbilly Poet's Journey From Appalachia to Yale to Writing Hits for Elvis, Johnny Cash & More.

Bob DiPiero has written 15 #1 hits, including “Southern Voice” for Tim McGraw, “If You Ever Stop Loving Me” for Montgomery Gentry, “Blue Clear Sky” for George Strait, “Daddy’s Money” for Ricochet, “The Church on Cumberland Road” for Shenandoah, “Money in the Bank” for John Anderson, “Little Rock” for Reba McEntire, and “American Made” for The Oak Ridge Boys. Neal McCoy’s recording of his song “Wink” stayed at #1 for 4 weeks in 1994 and was named BMI’s most performed country song of the year. Other highlights from DiPiero’s catalog include Faith Hill’s “Take Me As I Am,” Reba McEntire’s “Till You Love Me,” George Strait’s  "Cowboys Like Us" and Vince Gill’s “Worlds Apart, which was named Song of the Year at the Country Radio Music Awards in 1997. Other artists who’ve recorded Bob’s songs include Garth Brooks, Toby Keith, Travis Tritt, Rhett Akins, Billy Ray Cyrus, Patty Loveless, The Mavericks, Marty Stuart, Darius Rucker, Etta James, Martina McBride, Neil Diamond, Trace Adkins, Steve Wariner, Lonestar, Tracy Byrd, Sunny Sweeney, Easton Corbin, Toby Keith, and Little Feat with Bob Seger. Bob received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for his song “Coming Home,” which Gwyneth Paltrow performed for the film Country Strong. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007, was named Songwriter of the Year at the Nashville Music Awards in 1998, and received the prestigious BMI Icon award in 2017.  

As the daughter of country music icon Johnny Cash and a musician parent herself, Rosanne is the perfect fit for this podcast. She’s won multiple Grammys, she’s had two gold records, and in 2015 she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. She’s also a great writer. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Mother Jones and Rolling Stone, and she wrote a beautiful memoir which I read and loved. She's also the mother of four children. In this episode we discuss how growing up as a child of a touring musician affected her career choices, how she structured her time when her kids were young, touring with the Carter Family, how to deal with maternal guilt, and gun control activism as an extension of mothering. I spoke with Rosanne in my home studio in Portland, OR in November of 2017.

Though he is now a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer, the British-born Roger Cook began his career in the UK, first making a splash on the US charts with The Fortunes’ Top 10 hit recording of “You’ve Got Your Troubles.” Additional US singles in that era included the Top 10 hits “Green Grass” by Gary Lewis & The Playboys, “I Was Kaiser Bill’s Batman,” by Whistling Jack Smith, and “Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again” by The Fortunes.  In 1972 Cook scored with two different versions of “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing,” an international hit that began as a groundbreaking commercial jingle for Coca-Cola before becoming a successful single for The Hillside Singers and then The New Seekers. Later that year he topped the charts with The Hollies’ “Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress).” He and longtime songwriting partner Roger Greenaway were named British Songwriters of the Year two years in a row for 1971 and 1972 at the Ivor Novello awards in the the UK. In the mid-1970s, Cook moved to Nashville, where he found success with a string of #1 hits, including BMI Country Song of the Year “Talking in Your Sleep” for Crystal Gayle, “I Believe in You” for Don Williams, and “Love is on a Roll,” a song co-written with John Prine that became another #1 for Williams. Additional chart-topping hits include ASCAP Country Song of the Year “One Night at a Time” and “I Just Want to Dance With You,” both #1 singles for George Strait. Roger’s songs have been recorded by The Drifters, Frankie Valli, Neil Diamond, Johnny Cash, John Prine, Sonny & Cher, Chet Atkins, Nancy Wilson, Bette Midler, Petula Clark, Brenda Lee, Clint Black, Amy Grant, Reba McEntire, and others. He is a Grammy nominee, ACM nominee, three-time CMA Song of the Year nominee, and the only British inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Additionally, he and Roger Greenaway were inducted into the national Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.  

Dickey Lee is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame with many number one songs to his credit. His signature song “She Thinks I Still Care” has been recorded hundreds of times including classic recordings by George Jones, Elvis Presley, Anne Murray and Leon Russell. As an artist, Dickey had a string of rock & roll hits in the 50’s including “Patches” and “I Saw Linda Yesterday” before having success as a country artist in Nashville. This episode was recorded at Buzz Cason’s Creative Workshop recording studio in Nashville. The theme song is performed by Jimmy Hall & Funky Chester and written by Andreas Werner (Crazy Chester Music, BMI). Used with permission.

As an artist, Mel Tillis scored 36 Top 10 country hits between 1968 and 1984, including six #1s. But Tillis was writing hit songs long before he found success as an artist  As a songwriter he hit the Top 20 an astounding 49 times, most often as the creator behind songs made famous by iconic artists such as Carl Smith, Kitty Wells, Ernest Tubb, Brenda Lee, Faron Young, Ricky Skaggs, and many others. His long list of songwriting successes includes "Burning Memories" and "Heart Over Mind" by Ray Price, "Detroit City" by Bobby Bare, "Honky Tonk Song" and "I Ain't Never" by Webb Pierce, "Mental Revenge" by Waylon Jennings, "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, and Mel's own recording of "Sawmill." He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1976, the same year he was named the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year. He was named Comedian of the Year by the CMA six different times in the 1970s. In 1999 BMI named him the Country Songwriter of the Decade - for two decades! He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007 and became an official member of The Grand Ole Opry that same year. In 2012 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama for his contributions to country music.

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Bob DiPiero joins us for our Songwriter Spotlight at the end of Weekly Podcast #179

After establishing himself as a college football star in Mississippi, Jim Weatherly moved to Los Angeles to pursue a music career. He eventually found success as a songwriter, and is best known for penning “Midnight Train to Georgia,” a #1 pop and R&B hit for Gladys Knight and the Pips that would go on to be named one of Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and earn induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Gladys and her Pips recorded a dozen of Weatherly’s songs, including the Top 10 hits “Neither One of Us (Wants to be the First to Say Goodbye)”  “Where Peaceful Waters Flow,” “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me,” and “Love Finds Its Own Way.” It wasn’t uncommon for Jim to appear on both the pop and country charts simultaneously with different versions of the same song. Bob Luman scored a Top 10 country hit with “Neither One of Us (Wants to be the First to Say Goodbye)” while Ray Price hit the top of the country chart with his version of “You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me.” Price would record nearly 40 Jim Weatherly songs, including the Top 5 hits “Like Old Times Again” and “Roses and Love Songs.” Thanks, in part, to Ray Price’s success, Jim was named ASCAP’s Country Songwriter of the Year in 1974. Additional hits from the Weatherly songbook include Charley Pride’s #1 single “Where Do I Put Her Memory,” Ed Bruce’s Top 5 hit “You Turn Me On (Like a Radio),” Glen Campbell’s Top 5, “A Lady Like You,” and Bryan White’s #1 single “Someone Else’s Star.” Other artists who’ve recorded Jim’s songs include Eddy Arnold, Reba McEntire, Dean Martin, Vince Gill, Etta James, Neil Diamond, Bill Anderson, Kenny Rogers, Hall & Oates, The Temptations, Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Peter Cetera, and Angie Stone. As an artist, Jim earned a Top 10 pop hit with “Need to Be” and a Top 10 country hit with “I’ll Still Love You.” The Grammy nominee and Dove award winner was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014.  

Before he retired in the early 2000s, Bob McDill landed 152 hits on the Billboard country chart, more than any other songwriter in history. He hit theBillboard Top 10 an astounding 55 times, and 23 of those singles climbed all the way to #1. Many artists returned to the McDill songbook repeatedly, including Don Williams, who scored with the #1 hits “(Turn Out the Light And) Love Me Tonight,” “Say It Again,” “She Never Knew Me,” “Rake and Ramblin’ Man,” “It Must Be Love,” “Good Ole Boys Like Me,” and “If Hollywood Don’t Need You.” Mel McDaniel enjoyed four Top 10 hits written by Bob, including “Louisiana Saturday Night” and the #1 “Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On.” Those who hit #1 at least twice with McDill compositions include Ronnie Milsap, with “Nobody Likes Sad Songs” and “Why Don’t You Spend the Night;” Doug Stone, with “In a Different Light” and “Why Didn’t I Think of That;” Alan Jackson, with “Gone Country” and his revival of “It Must Be Love;” and Dan Seals, who co-wrote several of his own hits with McDill, including the #1 songs “My Baby’s Got Good Timing,” “Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold),” and “Big Wheels in the Moonlight.” Additionally, Bob wrote or co-wrote #1 singles such as “The Door is Always Open” by Dave and Sugar, “You Never Miss a Real Good Thing (Till He Says Goodbye)” by Crystal Gayle, “Amanda” by Waylon Jennings, “We Believe in Happy Endings” by Earl Thomas Conley and Emmylou Harris, “Don’t Close Your Eyes” by Keith Whitley, “Song of the South” by Alabama, and “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful” by Sammy Kershaw. In addition to multiple Top 5 singles such as Johnny Russell’s “Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer,” Ed Bruce’s “You Turn Me On (Like a Radio)," and Pam Tillis’s “All The Good Ones Are Gone,” Bob has penned Top 10 hits for Johnny Cash, George Jones, Conway Twitty, Bobby Bare, Mac Davis, Johnny Rodriguez, John Anderson, Mickey Gilley, Anne Murray, and Lee Roy Parnell. He has also written charting singles for Jerry Lee Lewis, Charley Pride, Tammy Wynette, and both Duke Boys, Tom Wopat and John Schneider, with the latter taking Bob’s “I’ve Been Around Enough to Know” to #1. McDill was named Country Songwriter of the Year seven times between 1976 and 1994: three times each by the Nashville Songwriters Association and BMI, and once by ASCAP. Nine of his songs were nominated for Song of the Year by the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music, or both organizations. The four time Grammy nominee earned ASCAP’s Golden Note Award, received the Academy of Country Music’s prestigious Poet’s Award, and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. 

Hugh Prestwood has written twenty charting singles on the Billboard rankings, including eight Top 10 hits. He began his professional career as a folk singer/songwriter in Greenwich Village in the 1970s before finding commercial success as a writer when Judy Collins began recording his songs toward the end of the decade. In the 1980s he appeared on the country charts with the #1 singles “The Sound of Goodbye” by Crystal Gayle and “The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder” by Michael Johnson. By the following decade Prestwood was regularly topping the charts with titles such as Randy Travis’ “Hard Rock Bottom Of Your Heart,” which earned him the BMI Country Song of the Year Award. Similarly, Trisha Yearwood’s recording of “The Song Remembers When” earned him NSAI’s Song of the Year honors and an Emmy award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics. Other artists who’ve recording his songs include Alison Krauss, Anne Murray, Conway Twitty, Shelby Lynne, John Conlee, Barbara Mandrell, Gene Watson, The Judds, Lee Greenwood, Tanya Tucker, Alison Krauss, Jimmy Buffet, Sammy Kershaw, Don Williams, Kristin Chenoweth, Vern Gosdin, Kathy Mattea, and Collin Raye, who took the song “On the Verge” to the top of the charts in 1997. Hugh recently released his first full-length album as an artist, I Used to Be the Real Me, on Judy Collins’ Wildflower Records. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. 

Tom T. Hall was named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. Known as “The Storyteller,” the Grammy winner landed 35 songs in the Top 10 on Billboard’s country chart between 1965 and 1996. Many of those featured Hall as both writer and artist, including “Homecoming,” “Me and Jesus,” “Ravishing Ruby,” “That Song is Driving Me Crazy,” “I Like Beer,” and the #1 hits “A Week in a County Jail,” “The Year That Clayton Delaney Died,” “(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine,” “Country Is,” “I Care,” “Faster Horses (The Cowboy and the Poet),” and “I Love,” which also became a hit on the pop chart.   Tom T. Hall songs that hit the Top 5 for other artists include “Hello Vietnam” by Johnny Wright, “How I Got to Memphis” and “(Margie’s at) The Lincoln Park Inn” by Bobby Bare, “If I Ever Fall in Love (With a Honky Tonk Girl)” by Faron Young, “Pool Shark” by Dave Dudley, “You Always Come Back (To Hurting Me)” by Johnny Rodriguez, “I’m Not Ready Yet” by George Jones, “Little Bitty” by Alan Jackson, and “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” which Jeannie C. Riley took to the #1 spot on both the country and pop chart, making her the first woman to achieve that feat.    Hall was named NSAI Songwriter of the Year in 1972, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1978, joined the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008, was honored with the Academy of Country Music’s Poet’s Award in 2010, and earned the prestigious BMI Icon award in 2012. 

Legendary songwriter Mark James is best known for writing the perennial standards “Always On My Mind” and “Suspicious Minds,” the latter earning induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame and named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the Greatest Songs of All Time. Both compositions were originally hits for Elvis Presley, who recorded additional charting singles by James, including “Moody Blue,” “Raised on Rock,” and “It’s Only Love.” Mark’s initial success came with B.J. Thomas, who hit the charts with his songs “The Eyes of a New York Woman,” “Everybody Loves a Rain Song,” and the Top 5 single “Hooked on a Feeling,” which was revived as a #1 hit by Blue Swede in 1974 and was prominently featured in the 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy. Additional hits from the Mark James songbook include Brenda Lee’s Top 10 country single “Sunday Sunrise” and previous Songcraft guest Mac Davis’s Top 10 pop single, “One Hell of a Woman.” Mark found his greatest success with Willie Nelson’s revival of “Always On My Mind” in 1982. The record hit #1 on the country chart, became a Top 5 pop single, won BMI Song of the Year, earned CMA Song of the Year two years in a row, and was awarded a Grammy for both Best Country Song and Song of the Year. Other artists who’ve recorded Mark’s material include The Box Tops, Percy Sledge, Lou Rawls, Pet Shop Boys, Julio Iglesias, Helen Reddy, Waylon Jennings, Fine Young Cannibals, Dwight Yoakam, Phish, and Martina McBride. In 2000, BMI named Mark one of the top Songwriters of the Century. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015.

Dickey Lee’s early artist career found him scoring pop and R&B hits in the 1960s with songs such as “Patches” and the self-penned single “I Saw Linda Yesterday.” He went on to record seventeen Top 40 country singles, including the major hits “9,999,999 Tears” and “Rocky,” which hit #1 in 1975. Lee is best known, however, for writing “She Thinks I Still Care,” which George Jones took to the #1 spot on the Billboard country chart in 1962. The song has since been covered by artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Little Willie John, Connie Francis, Merle Haggard, James Taylor, Harry Connick, Jr., Cher, Anne Murray, and Garth Brooks. Dickey has written an additional half dozen #1 country hits, including “I’ll Be Leaving Alone” for Charley Pride, “You’re The First Time I’ve Thought About Leaving” for Reba McEntire, “Let’s Fall to Pieces Together” for George Strait, and “In a Different Light” for Doug Stone. His long list of additional hits includes Emmylou Harris’ “Someone Like You” and Tracy Byrd’s “Keeper of the Stars,” which won the Academy of Country Music’s Song of the Year award. Other artists who’ve recorded his songs include Ernest Tubb, Eddy Arnold, Marty Robbins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Conway Twitty, Don Williams, Glen Campbell, John Fogerty, Waylon Jennings, Joe Cocker, Vince Gill, Patty Loveless, Jamey Johnson, and Keb’ Mo’. Ten of Dickey’s songs have earned BMI Performance Awards, and he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1995.

Multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Vince Gill launched his solo career in the mid-1980s, hitting the Top 10 on Billboard’s country singles chart a remarkable 25 times. All but one of those hits was written or co-written by Gill, and a dozen of his compositions have been nominated for either CMA Song of the Year, ACM Song of the Year, or the Best Country Song Grammy. These include “When I Call Your Name,” “Look At Us,” “Pocket Full of Gold,” “When Love Finds You,” “High Lonesome Sound,” “If You Have Forever in Mind,” “Feels Like Love,” and “Threaten Me With Heaven.” “Go Rest High on That Mountain” won both the CMA Song of the Year and the Best Country Song Grammy, while “I Still Believe in You” won the Best Country Song Grammy, as well as both the CMA and the ACM’s Song of the Year awards. Though he’s won four in total, Vince is the only songwriter to ever win three consecutive Song of the Year awards from the CMA. He has won more Grammy awards, with over 20 trophies, than any male country performer in history. These include two Best Country Song wins, as well as a 2017 win for Best American Roots Song for “Kid Sister,” which was recorded by Gill’s band, The Time Jumpers. He has won eight ACM awards and 18 CMA awards, including Vocalist of the Year five years in a row and Entertainer of the Year two years in a row. Other highlights from his long list of hit singles include the #1 hits “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away,” “One More Last Chance,” and “Tryin’ to Get Over You.” In addition to writing his own material, Vince’s songs have been recorded by Loretta Lynn, Bob Seger, John Denver, Mary Chapin Carpenter, John Prine, Willie Nelson, Michael McDonald, LeAnn Rimes, and Alabama, who topped the country charts with his “Here We Are.” Vince was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2014, he was named a BMI Icon, one of only twelve country writers ever honored with the prestigious award.

Ozark Highlands Radio is a weekly radio program that features live music and interviews recorded at Ozark Folk Center State Park’s beautiful 1,000-seat auditorium in Mountain View, Arkansas. In addition to the music, our “Feature Host” segments take listeners through the Ozark hills with historians, authors, and personalities who explore the people, stories, and history of the Ozark region. This week, guitar legend Merle Travis performs live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas. A performance by Merle’s son, Grammy award winning songwriter, guitarist, and actor Tom Bresh. Also, performances from two thumbpicking guitar champions, Danny Dozier & Randy Buckner. In 1979, the Ozark Folk Center State Park created an event to honor thumbpicking legend Merle Travis. In the early days the weekend featured a thumpicking contest and performances from the late Merle Travis and other popular guitarists. Over the years the event has continued on, and now hosts Merle’s son, Thom Bresh, as the feature performer each year. The event has grown to include traditional thumbpicking and contemporary fingerstyle guitar contests as well as workshops and jam sessions. This week, we feature performances from Thom Bresh, Danny Dozier, Randy Buckner, and an archival recording of Merle Travis himself, performing at the very first Ozark Folk Center Merle Travis Thumbpicking Weekend. Merle Robert Travis was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky. His song's lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic exploitation of American coal miners. Among his many well-known songs are "Sixteen Tons," "I am a Pilgrim," and "Dark as a Dungeon." However, it is his unique guitar style, still called “Travis Picking” by guitarists, as well as his interpretations of the rich musical traditions of his native Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, for which he is best known today. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1977. Thom Bresh has led an incredible, multi-faceted life in the entertainment business. To start, his birth father is guitar royalty, Merle Travis. Thom was raised in California during the golden age of television and worked as a stuntman/actor during his youth. He went on to become one of the premier practitioners of his fathers “thumbpicking” style of guitar. Harnessing a quick wit and an equally quick set of ten fingers, there is nothing like a Thom Bresh performance. Danny Dozier is an Arkansas native and proud of it. He is one of the area’s premier guitar players, well versed in the Merle Travis “thumbpicking” style. Danny has worked with a wide variety of performers over the years including; Grandpa and Ramona Jones, Omar and the Howlers and regional favorite, The Leatherwoods. Randy Buckner also plays the Merle Travis style of thumbpicking, as well as teaching guitar, banjo, ukulele, and mandolin in Springfield, Mo. A Springfield native, Randy has been playing guitar since 1973. He studied Jazz at Middle Tennessee State University, and has shared the stage with many great musicians including the legend himself, Merle Travis. In this week’s “From the Vault” segment, musician, educator, and country music legacy Mark Jones offers an archival recording of Ozark originals Dean Hinesley & Andre Cannard performing the classic song “I Don’t Love Nobody,” from the Ozark Folk Center State Park archives.

Jimmy Webb emerged as a superstar songwriter and arranger in 1967 when two of his songs – The 5th Dimension’s “Up, Up and Away” and Glen Campbell’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” - were among the five nominees for the Grammy’s Song of the Year award. He went on to write a string of major hits for Campbell, including “Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston,” "Where’s the Playground Susie,” “Honey Come Back,” and many others. Additionally, he penned “MacArthur Park,” which was a hit for a diverse range of artists, including Richard Harris, Waylon Jennings, Tony Bennett, Andy Williams, and Donna Summer; “The Worst That Could Happen,” which was a Top 5 hit for The Brooklyn Bridge; “Didn’t We,” which was recorded by Thelma Houston, Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, and Barbra Streisand; “All I Know,” which became a Top 10 hit for Art Garfunkel; “The Moon’s a Harsh Mistress,” which has been recorded by Joe Cocker, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, and Josh Groban; and “If These Walls Could Speak,” which was recorded by Glen Campbell, Amy Grant, Nanci Griffith, and Shawn Colvin. Others who’ve covered material from the Jimmy Webb songbook include Diana Ross, Dusty Springfield, Nina Simone, The Four Tops, Roberta Flack, The Temptations, The Association, Tom Jones, Dionne Warwick, Cass Elliot, Harry Nilsson, Nancy Wilson, Cher, Bob Dylan, The Everly Brothers, Nick Cave, John Denver, Kenny Rogers, Sheena Easton, David Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Michael Feinstein, R.E.M., Aimee Mann, America, Aretha Franklin, Isaac Hayes, Peggy Lee, Bette Midler, James Taylor, Carrie Underwood, Dwight Yoakam, and The Highwaymen (consisting of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson), who took Jimmy’s song “Highwayman” to #1, earning him a Grammy for Country Song of the Year. As an artist, he has released more than a dozen albums, most recently 2013’s Still Within the Sound of My Voice, which features duets with guest artists such as Lyle Lovett, Carly Simon, Keith Urban, and Brian Wilson. One of the most celebrated songwriters on the planet, Jimmy is the only individual to win Grammy awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Great American Songbook Hall of Fame. Additionally, he has received ASCAP’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Influential Songwriter Award from the National Music Publishers Association, and the Academy of Country Music’s prestigious Poets Award. In 2015 he was named among Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. Jimmy’s new memoir, The Cake and the Rain, details his formative years and early career through 1973. It’s available now from St. Martin’s Press. 

MERLE TRAVIS is a Kentucky guitar hero and an American music icon. Born in Rosewood, Ky his lyrics often discussed the life and exploitation of coal miners. Among his many well-known songs are “Sixteen Tons,� “Re-Enlistment Blues,� “I am a Pilgrim� and “Dark as a Dungeon�. However, it is his masterly guitar playing and his interpretations of the rich musical traditions of his native Muhlenberg County, Kentucky for which he is best known today. “Travis picking�, a syncopated style of finger-picking, is named after him. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1977. THOM BRESH is the son of Merle Travis and a world-class guitar master in his own right. Bresh did not begin his music career until his adult years. From age 3 to age 17, he worked as an actor and one of the youngest stuntman in TV and movies, where such programs as The Lone Ranger and the Billy the Kidd trilogy were filmed. Ever since he was old enough to hold a guitar pick, he�s followed the unique fingerpicking style his father made famous, bringing it to new audiences. Travis� trademark style incorporated elements of ragtime, blues, boogie, and Western swing, and was marked by rich chord progressions, harmonics, slides, and bends, with rapid changes in key. EDDIE PENNINGTON is one of the true guitar legends from Kentucky in the same tradition popularized by Merle Travis and Chet Atkins. PARKER HASTINGS is only 15 years old and already one of Kentucky�s premier thumbpicking champions in the tradition of Merle Travis, Eddie Pennington and Tommy Emmanuel. KATELYN PRIEBOY is 19 and from Tampa, Florida. She was recently crowned grand champion at Legends Thumbpicking Competition in Muhlenberg County, Ky., in late September.

The legendary Jerry Chesnut has written more than three dozen Top 40 singles, including Top 10 classics such as Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Another Place, Another Time,” Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton’s “Holding On to Nothing,” George Jones’s “A Good Year For the Roses,” Faron Young’s “It’s Four in the Morning,” Loretta Lynn’s “They Don’t Make ‘Em Like My Daddy Anymore,” and  Johnny Cash’s “Oney.” Additionally, he wrote five songs that were recorded by Elvis Presley, including the Top 10 "It's Midnight," and “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” which would later become a hit single for Travis Tritt. Chesnut also penned charting singles for Tammy Wynette, Dave Dudley, Bobby Goldsboro, Bill Anderson, Hank Williams Jr., Mel Tillis, Tom Jones, and Alan Jackson. His songs have additionally been recorded by Waylon Jennings, Kitty Wells, Ernest Tubb, Eddy Arnold, Ray Price, Marty Robbins, Conway Twitty, Hank Thompson, Willie Nelson, Mark Chesnutt, Johnny Paycheck, George Strait, Elvis Costello, the Counting Crows, and many others. The two-time Grammy nominee was named Billboard’s Country Songwriter of the Year in 1972, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1996, and became a member of the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame in 2004.

Sonny Curtis began his music career in Lubbock, Texas, playing lead guitar in Buddy Holly’s pre-Crickets band, The Three Tunes. He landed his first hit as a songwriter when Webb Pierce took his song “Someday” to #12 on the Billboard country chart in 1957. He went on to his own performing career, both as a solo artist and as the longtime guitarist and vocalist for the post-Buddy Holly Crickets, while continuing to write songs that became hits for others. These include The Everly Brothers’ “Walk Right Back,” Andy Williams’ “A Fool Never Learns,” The Bobby Fuller Four’s “I Fought the Law,” Bobby Goldsboro’s “The Straight Life,” Leo Sayer’s “More Than I Can Say,” and Keith Whitley’s #1 country hit, “I’m No Stranger to the Rain.” In addition, Curtis wrote and performed “Love is All Around,” the theme song to The Mary Tyler Moore Show. His music has been covered by Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, The Grateful Dead, The Stray Cats, Bryan Adams, John Cougar Mellencamp, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Jr., Joan Jett, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Chet Atkins, Johnny Rivers, Green Day, Harry Nilsson, Glen Campbell, and many others.  He’s a member of the Musician’s Hall of Fame and the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1991. In 2012 he and his fellow Crickets were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which also counted Sonny’s “I Fought the Law” as one of the 500 “Songs That Shaped Rock.” Similarly, “I Fought the Law” is on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

Multi-Grammy award winner Loretta Lynn is an American music legend. The Kentucky native married as a young teenager, moved to Washington State, and had four children by age 20. She poured her energies into life as a homemaker before teaching herself to play guitar and write songs. Her life experiences informed her writing style, which gave voice to the concerns of everyday working class women. She landed a record contract with a regional label and tirelessly promoted her first single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” to radio stations across the country. The record climbed to #14 on the Billboard country chart, leading to a move to Nashville. After appearing on the Grand Ole Opry and signing a songwriting deal with the Wilburn Brothers’ publishing company she was recruited to Decca Records by legendary producer Owen Bradley. Loretta went on to place more than 75 singles on the Billboard country chart as either a solo artist or as a duet partner with Ernest Tubb or Conway Twitty. More than 50 of those singles hit the Top 10, including 15 #1 hits. Many of her classic songs were self-penned, including “Dear Uncle Sam,” “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind),” “Fist City,” “Your Squaw Is on the Warpath,” “Rated X,” “The Pill,” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” which NPR named one of the “100 Most Significant Songs of the Century.” She has received a combined 21 awards from the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music, including the ACM’s Artist of the Decade Award in 1979, the Pioneer Award in 1994, and the Crystal Milestone Award in 2014. She became the first female to win CMA Entertainer of the Year honors in 1972 and became the first female ACM Entertainer of the Year in 1975. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983, the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. She received Kennedy Center Honors in 2003, earned the prestigious BMI Icon award in 2004, took home a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2010, and was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013. She has sold more than 45 million records worldwide, was the first woman in country music to receive a certified Gold album, and has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry for nearly 55 years.  

Arkansas native spent his formative years playing in a jazz band with future President Bill Clinton, before going on to write a ton of #1 pop and adult contemporary hits, including Michael Johnson’s “Bluer Than Blue,” Steve Perry’s “Foolish Heart,” Toto’s “I’ll Be Over You,” El DeBarge’s “Who’s Holdin’ Donna Now,” and Anne Murray’s “You Needed Me,” which earned Goodrum a Grammy nomination and became the ACM Song of the Year.   Additionally, he wrote Chicago’s “If She Would Have Been Faithful,” Steve Perry’s “Oh Sherrie,” and “A Lesson in Leavin’,” which was a #1 country hit for both Dottie West and Jo Dee Messina. In 1981 Randy won six ASCAP awards in a single year and was named ASCAP country songwriter of the year. His music has been recorded by Gladys Knight, Reba McEntire, Ray Charles, Michael McDonald, Al Jarreau, Chet Atkins, Natalie Cole, The Commodores, Kansas, Dusty Springfield, Vince Gill, Trisha Yearwood, Michael Bolton, Isaac Hayes, Tammy Wynette, and many others. Goodrum was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000.

After a successful career in commercial real estate, Tom Douglas scored his first charting single as a songwriter when Collin Raye took "Little Rock" to the top of the charts in 1994. "Little Rock" earned Tom a CMA Song of the Year nomination and marked the start of a long string of Top 10 singles that has stretched for more than two decades. His catalog of hits includes "The Gift" for Jim Brickman; "Love's the Only House" and "God's Will" for Martina McBride; "Grown Men Don't Cry," "My Little Girl," "Let it Go," "Southern Voice," and "Meanwhile Back at Mama's" for Tim McGraw; "Something Worth Leaving Behind" for Lee Ann Womack; "I Run to You" and "Hello World" for Lady Antebellum; "I Got a Car" for George Strait; "Raise 'Em Up" for Keith Urban and Eric Church; and Miranda Lambert's recording of "The House That Built Me," which was nominated for two Grammy awards, and won Song of the Year honors from the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music, and the Nashville Songwriters Association International. Additionally, his songs have been recorded by Alabama, Garth Brooks, Bucky Covington, Blake Shelton, Randy Travis, Brooks & Dunn, Trisha Yearwood, Kenny Chesney, Brett Eldredge, Luke Bryan, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, and many others. Nearly a dozen of Tom's songs have won BMI performance awards; he is a Golden Globe and Oscar nominee; he has been nominated for four Grammy awards; and he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014.  

Part 2 of 2: Hailing from Lubbock, Texas, Mac Davis began his music career working for Vee Jay Records and Liberty Records in Atlanta. Relocating to Los Angeles in the late 1960s, he became a staff songwriter for Nancy Sinatra’s music publishing company. His early songwriting success came when Elvis Presley recorded several of his songs, including “A Little Less Conversation,” “Memories,” “Clean Up Your Own Backyard,” “Don’t Cry Daddy,” and “In the Ghetto.” Soon his songs were being recorded by O.C. Smith, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, Glen Campbell, Ray Price, and Bobby Goldsboro, who enjoyed a major hit with Mac’s “Watching Scotty Grow” in 1971. Thanks to his success as a songwriter, Davis signed an artist deal with Columbia Records, and later Casablanca Records, scoring thirty-three charting singles between 1970 and 1986. Most of those hits were written by Davis himself, including “I Believe in Music,” “One Hell of a Woman,” “Stop and Smell the Roses,” “It’s Hard to be Humble,” “Texas in My Rearview,” “Hooked on Music,” “You’re My Bestest Friend,” and the Grammy-nominated #1 pop hit, “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me.” He was named both the the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year in 1974, hosted his own NBC variety show from 1974 through 1976, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000, and joined the national Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. He’s a three-time Grammy nominee with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he continues to write, most recently collaborating with - and having his songs recorded by - Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, Bruno Mars, and Avicii. 

Part 1 of 2: Hailing from Lubbock, Texas, Mac Davis began his music career working for Vee Jay Records and Liberty Records in Atlanta. Relocating to Los Angeles in the late 1960s, he became a staff songwriter for Nancy Sinatra’s music publishing company. His early songwriting success came when Elvis Presley recorded several of his songs, including “A Little Less Conversation,” “Memories,” “Clean Up Your Own Backyard,” “Don’t Cry Daddy,” and “In the Ghetto.” Soon his songs were being recorded by O.C. Smith, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, Glen Campbell, Ray Price, and Bobby Goldsboro, who enjoyed a major hit with Mac’s “Watching Scotty Grow” in 1971. Thanks to his success as a songwriter, Davis signed an artist deal with Columbia Records, and later Casablanca Records, scoring thirty-three charting singles between 1970 and 1986. Most of those hits were written by Davis himself, including “I Believe in Music,” “One Hell of a Woman,” “Stop and Smell the Roses,” “It’s Hard to be Humble,” “Texas in My Rearview,” “Hooked on Music,” “You’re My Bestest Friend,” and the Grammy-nominated #1 pop hit, “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me.” He was named both the the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year in 1974, hosted his own NBC variety show from 1974 through 1976, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000, and joined the national Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. He’s a three-time Grammy nominee with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he continues to write, most recently collaborating with - and having his songs recorded by - Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, Bruno Mars, and Avicii. 

Bobby Braddock has written more than a dozen #1 country hits, including standards such as Tammy Wynette’s “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” and George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” which is frequently ranked as the greatest country song of all time. George Jones began finding success with Braddock’s songs in the 1970s with hits such as “Nothing Ever Hurt Me (Half As Bad As Losing You)” and “Her Name Is…” Jones and his then-wife, Tammy Wynette, also scored with Bobby’s “We’re Not the Jet Set” and “Golden Ring,” while Tammy found solo success with “Womanhood” and “They Call It Making Love.” Other Braddock-penned hits from the 1970s include “I Believe the South is Gonna Rise Again,” which Tanya Tucker took to the Top 20, “Something to Brag About,” which Mary Kay Place and Willie Nelson took to the Top 10, and “Come On In,” which was a hit for Jerry Lee Lewis in 1978. Bobby continued to reach the #1 position in the 1980s (“I Feel Like Loving You Again” and “Faking Love” by T.G. Shepard), the 1990s (“Texas Tornado” and “Time Marches On” by Tracy Lawrence), and the 2000s (“I Wanna Talk About Me” by Toby Keith and “People Are Crazy” by Billy Currington). He earned the CMA's Song of the Year award in both 1980 and 1981. He was, at the time, the youngest person inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1981, and he was honored with the BMI Icon award in 2011. Additionally, he discovered Blake Shelton and produced or co-produced Shelton's first five albums. Braddock was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2011, and was just inducted into the national Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015. He is the only living person to have written #1 country songs in five consecutive decades. His second memoir, entitled Bobby Braddock: A Life on Music Row will be released in the fall of 2015.

Dallas Frazier first appeared as a recording artist on Capitol Records in 1954. He moved from California to Nashville in 1963, eventually placing 42 songs in the Top 20 on Billboard’s country singles chart. Ten of those songs climbed to the #1 position. His music has been recorded by George Jones, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Emmylou Harris, Charley Pride, Ferlin Husky, Dolly Parton, Randy Travis, Ricky Skaggs, Patty Loveless, and countless others. He wrote "There Goes My Everything," the Country Music Association single of the year in 1967, and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1976. But there was more to Dallas Frazier than country music. His first hit was the #1 pop smash “Alley-Oop” in 1960, and he appeared on the Billboard country, pop, and R&B charts an astounding 152 times. In addition to his country recordings, Dallas’ songs have been covered by Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Beach Boys, Keith Richards, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Percy Sledge, Slim Harpo, Peggy Lee, Englebert Humperdinck, Gram Parsons, Lucinda Williams, and even Bob Dylan. He has won BMI performance awards for more than twenty of his songs including “All I Have to Offer You Is Me,” “Fourteen Carat Mind,” “If My Heart Had Windows,” “What’s Your Mama’s Name Child,” “Son of Hickory Holler’s Tramp," and “Elvira.”  

July 2010: Gretchen Peters turns found objects into songs I chatted with Getchen after her performance at the #CambridgeFolkFestival about song-writing and performing just before she was nominated for induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The stage next door was rockin' but Gretchen was so terribly interesting I wanted to share it. #GretchenPeters #country #interview

We kick off another Inside Music Row with the mention of Kellie Pickler as she continues to stand up to cancer.  She has now teamed up with Tru Protection to promote a limited edition iphone case benefitting the American Cancer Society.  Also in the new is the Rascal Flatts - they plan to extend about 20 tour dates early next year to their successful "Changed" tour with special guest The Band Perry.  Trace Adkins is up next as he will return to the board room with Donald Trump in the first "All-Star Celebrity Apprentice" competition.   Look for the program to air in arch on NBC.  Country superstar and new "American Idol" judge Keith Urban will receive the Nashville Symphony's 2012 Harmony Award in  December.  The Oak Ridge Boys are up next as they are set to celebrate their 40-year-long musical journey with an anniversary tour beginning in January.  Also, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame will have a permanent exhibit accessible to millions of visitors when the new Music City Center opens next Spring - this will be the first physical home in the organizations 42-year history.  Finally, we go Inside The Song with Shawna Russell to hear about a song written with family called "Waitin' On Sunrise."

Kenny Loggins enters a new chapter in his life, starting over again with a band called Blue Sky Riders. Loggins tells host Robin Milling it's been an exciting time after being solo for 30 years to have a songwriting trio that gets the creative juices flowing again, and to write about life after 40! Joining the conversation is Gary Burr, a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer who's penned 14 number one hits to date for such artists as Michael Bolton, Ricky Martin and Kelly Clarkson to name a few.  Rounding out the threesome is Georgia Middleman from San Antonio who's penned a few number ones herself including Keith Urban's I'm In. The song Dream became something of a theme song for Blue Sky Riders when Kenny was told by a friend that he was 'too old to start over again.'  You're never too old to dream and BSR have proved that with brand new music, blending country and pop with a little bit of retro. Listen to Dream at the end of the show and stay tuned for their album coming out in January. For more information visit Blueskyridersband.com, and Twitter @blueskyriders

We begin the show with news of Carrie Underwood and her recent volunteer work with her Checotah Animal, Town, and School Foundation (C.A.T.S.) and KaBoom!  The two non-profit organizations teamed up to help improve an elementary school in Oklahoma.  We also discuss the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame as Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, and Taylor Swift were some of whom where recently honored.  Justin Moore is the next topic as he recently teamed up with NASCAR driver Carl Edwards in his latest music video "Bait A Hook."  The International Festival of Country Music is back!  The tour starts in London with Reba McEntite, Ticky Skaggs, Lonestar, Little Big Town, and many more incredible artists.  Bailey talks about the tour and its start on February 26th at Wembley Arena.  The tour will then travel to Belfast, Zurich, and Germany.  We wrap up the news segment with Randy Houser as we go Inside The Song.

Bill Cody with Matraca Berg, recorded May 23, 2011 at WSM radio in Nashville.  Matraca, a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, had just releaesd a new cd "The Dreaming Fields" and would treat us to several live in studio acoustic performances.  For more on Matraca please visit:  http://www.matracaberg.com/

Nashville and Country Music News that includes Tracy Lawrence, Buddy Jewell, St. Jude, Darryl Worley Cancer Treatment Center, John Rich, Donald Trump Celebrity Apprentice, The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductees, Pat Alger, Steve Cropper, Pat Davis, Stephen Foster, Garth Brooks, T. Graham Brown, Jimmy Wayne, Jim Lauderdale, We go inside the song with Ben Hayslip as he talks about Joe Nichols song "The Shape I'm In."

 Nashville and Country Music news that includes: Garth Brooks, Dailey & Vincent, Charlie Daniels, Christmas for Kids. Wynonna Judd, The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, we go inside the song with Luke Bryan as he talks about his hit "Do I"

clickhere Visit the Radio America Store web site.Buy your 50 mp3 for &5.00 Affordable Web Hosting & Podcasting $5.99 A month Classic Radio Pictures Enjoy The Blues Visit The Uncleshag Gospel Round Up wlso 24 hour steaming radio Orvon Gene Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998) was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television. Discovered by film producer Nat Levine in 1934, he and Burnette made their film debut for Mascot Pictures Corp. in In Old Santa Fe as part of a singing cowboy quartet; he was then given the starring role by Levine in 1935 in the 12-part serial The Phantom Empire. Shortly thereafter, Mascot was absorbed by the formation of Republic Pictures Corp. and Autry went along to make a further 44 films up to 1940, all B westerns in which he played under his own name, rode his horse Champion, had Burnette as his regular sidekick and had many opportunities to sing in each film. He became the top Western star at the box-office by 1937, reaching his national peak of popularity from 1940 to 1942. He was the first of the singing cowboys, succeeded as the top star by Roy Rogers when Autry served as a flier with the Air Transport command during World War II. From 1940 to 1956, Autry also had a weekly radio show on CBS, Gene Autry's Melody Ranch. Another money-spinner was his Gene Autry Flying "A" Ranch Rodeo show which debuted in 1940. He briefly returned to Republic after the war, to finish out his contract, which had been suspended for the duration of his military service and which he had tried to have declared void after his discharge. Thereafter, he formed his own production company to make westerns under his own control, which were distributed by Columbia Pictures, beginning in 1947. He also starred and produced his own television show on CBS beginning in 1950. He retired from show business in 1964, having made almost a hundred films up to 1955 and over 600 records. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1969 and to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

clickhere Visit the Radio America Store web site.Buy your 50 mp3 for &5.00