Songwriters
I write songs. I wrote songs long before I wrote books or short stories. Long before I told stories ( without the music.) The first song I ever wrote was at the age of five. The melody is a soft country swing. The lyrics are as follows.
Out on the range on a cold winter’s night
Some writers were around
They roped the steers and brought them in
At the meat counter they were found.
I was five, people.
So we were in Key West two weeks ago and the Hog’s Breath 13th annual Key West Songwriters’ Festival was going on. Over one hundred songwriters from Nashville decended on the tiny island, and BMI and ASCAP…the two powerhouse publishing houses in the country, paid for the writers to come down, network, hang out and sing their songs.
The songwriters were all guitar players, almost all very young, and all had great voices. Most of them could have been stars themselves. Writers like the lovely Leah Crutchfield, who signed a publishing contract at the tender age of 17. ( How do you have enough life experience to write stories/songs at that age?) She wrote a song last year for Taylor Hicks’ album ( American Idol) that sold over a million copies.
Scotty Emerick writes with Toby Kieth and is responsible for ‘Beer For My Horses’, and ‘I Love This Bar’ among other great tunes.
The very young, very sexy Molly Reed was there, who has just written a song called ‘Louise’. She and a co-writer sang it poolside at out bed and breakfast. You can check it out on My Space.
John Oats ( of Hall and Oats), Jerod Nieman (Good Ride Cowboy for Garth Brooks), Wil Nance (She’s Everything for Brad Paisly), David Lee ( I Need You for Faith Hill), Robert Earl Keen ( The Road Goes On Forever And The Party Never Ends).
Josh Kear was there. He wrote ‘Before He Cheats’, the extremely popular Carrie Underwood song. And the list goes on forever…and the party never ended. From early morning and the sound of guitar music drifting throught the open windows to 4 a.m. when some of the weary musicians/singers/songwriters would straggle back to their hotels and houses…it was a truly memorable week. Jamming, sharing musical ideas, over one hundred of the finest writers I’ve ever met…and heard, got a chance to show off. And a good time was had by all.
