Nashville-based singer/songwriter interviewed on-location in Alabama at the 41st Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival. Her song, “The Fool,” was recorded by Lee Ann Womack and reached number 1 on the country charts. She has had cuts by everyone from Sammy Kershaw to Billy Currington to Blake Shelton to Eric Church, Kenny Chesney, George Strait, and many others. She reached number 1 status two more times, with “Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo” by Tracy Byrd and “Cleaning This Gun” by Rodney Atkins. Her song “Same Devil,” which was recorded by Brandy Clark (and features Brandi Carlisle) was nominated for 2022 GRAMMY Performance American Roots Performance of the Year, and her name is also on the Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard duet album, “Django and Jimmie.”
“My dad… got his first, probably, big break when he got hired by Mel Tillis to play bass in his band.”
“At the beginning especially, there's no money. You have to figure out how to make it.”
“My band director… was a life changer for me. Him and my English teachers in school were game changers for me.”
“We never picked up the guitar… I know my chords on the guitar. I know my chords on the piano. We took piano lessons.”
“My new song plugger… called me out of the blue and he goes, ‘Hey, didn't you write that gun song, the daddy gun song with Casey Beathard?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, why?’ And he goes, ‘Rodney Atkins is fixin’ to put it out as a single’.”
“We got a call from Garth Brooks saying, ‘I want to cut this song,’ and they had to tell him that it had just gotten cut and so Garth ended up going and cutting it anyway and Tracy's label found out about it and called him and told him to back off.”
“I've gotten to hang out with Willie (Nelson), and I got to hug Merle (Haggard).”
“I never thought I would be a songwriter. It's not a job I got to do, it's a job I get to do, and I'm so grateful. It's such a gift to be able to sit down and create something so special that changes people's feelings. You can make them laugh, you can make them cry, and it's with words.”
“Every time I sit down I want to write a song that's better than the one I wrote yesterday and if you're not learning from the people you're writing with then you might as well hang up your hat… if you're not open to creating something special then you're wasting your time.
“The heart of country music has always been about the pain and getting through the pain and then finding the love part and drinking whiskey and it's been about all of it, not just one little part of it. And it delves so deep sometimes into your soul that it heals people, it hurts people, and it makes you feel good sometimes… but it makes you feel, and I think that it makes you feel more than a lot of other genres do. It delves into real emotion.”
“The Beyonce record (Cowboy Carter), I just I think it made a mockery of what I love.”
“We go out and do shows now because we need – we love to, but also – it's a necessity because streaming has invaded our space so much and songwriters are not getting paid.”
“Perfect Imperfections”
“The Fool” by Lee Ann Womack