He has been a writer on songs for artists from Tim McGraw to Blake Shelton to Garth Brooks, Jimmy Buffet, Hank Williams, Jr., Martina McBride, Lee Brice, George Jones, Faith Hill, Thomas Rhett, and more. Along the way, he has been a writer on songs that did everything from go to number 1 and/or earn nominations for some of the highest awards in country music. He is also prominently featured in the documentary about the fabled Bluebird Café in Nashville. This interview was recorded on location out west, where he was performing as part of the 2nd Las Vegas Songwriters Festival.
“We pitched ‘Here in the Real World’ to George Jones and to other folks before Alan (Jackson) recorded it himself and they passed on it, George included. And then it was a big ol' hit for Alan.”
“I was writing for a publishing company… and the owner of that company… called me to let me know that. And it was a real thrill because, as everybody knows, George Jones, as far as I'm concerned, is the GOAT when it comes to a country male vocalist… it was a real thrill.”
“I was also playing in cover bands and kind of fancied myself a songwriter. And I was writing as much as possible. And I was going into New York, Greenwich Village, quite a bit, playing at open mics.”
“I think I had $1,500 in the bank. And I had my old Ford Escort. And I just came down (to Nashville) without a name in my pocket just to investigate. I didn't know if I was going to be staying or anything. And my story, I just lucked out.”
“I give the Bluebird, Amy Kurland and the Bluebird Cafe back then, a lot of credit for me getting my career off the ground.”
“I was lucky that I was a little bit, had a bit of a personality and I was able to talk to people. And I met some folks who I still have relationships with today, 39 years later.”
“Don Schlitz, who wrote The Gambler… he's a hero of mine. And I mean, we became buddies my first week in town because of the Bluebird. And he's, throughout my whole career, he was really good to me. I mean, if I had a mentor, if I’d call anybody a mentor, it would be Don and I met him there at the Bluebird and he was just really open to learning about me, learning my story, and a few years later, he was open enough to like, ‘Hey, let's, why don’t we write a song’.”
“I think networking is a big part of the music business, especially in Nashville. I think that's how you hear a lot of things that are going on, like which artists might be looking for material at the time.”
“I'm kind of chameleon-like, so, if this is what we're going for, it's kind of my job to help them try to get to their vision.”
“Yeah, Randy (Travis) was the guy at the time. That was big, I mean, that was big news. That was like, today, that was like getting a Morgan Wallen cut, so I was thrilled. I mean, that was exciting as hell… that was just the biggest thrill of my life.”
“Barry was starting to manage this young blonde-haired singer from Georgia, Alan Jackson, trying to get him a record deal, and everybody said no, at least once, maybe twice, but he … asked me if I would be interested in writing with him. And so, he took us out to dinner one night … and … said, ‘Why don't you guys come to the office and write one tomorrow?’ And we did, and that day we wrote two songs, one (was) ‘Here in the Real World’… Alan… has been good to me over the years.”
“Once a career takes off, boy, they are busy… you have your whole life to write your first album, and then you have about six months to write your second album.”
“We're lucky that we have these (songwriters festival) opportunities, 'cause it's great, we call them streams of income. It's a great way to make up some money that, I mean, it's nothing like having a hit song, but … it can be pretty lucrative getting out and playing so much. I'm out on the road once a month at least, and then doing a lot of in-town shows as well.”
“If you have this image of, like, it's all a party, it's really not; a lot of hard work, a lot of tedious work, long hours.”
“She was out having drinks with Lee Bryce because she was trying to play him the song, and they went into his truck and played it, the CD player, and he goes, ‘It’s a great song. I don't think it's for me, but my buddy Tyler is looking. Would you mind if we play it for him?’ And she goes, ‘Yes, sure.’ And he heard it and related to it for whatever reason, and he cut it like a week later, and it was his first number one.”
“A lot of these young writers coming to town… I just see them, they're coming to town, business-wise, probably at the worst possible time, to have a career as a songwriter, but their love for writing songs and country music is so strong, they don't care or they're not thinking about it, and I find that kind of inspiring, it's just pure love for the music.”
“Here in the Real World” (George Jones)
“Highway Don’t Care” (demo)