Author: Irene Kelley

Irene Kelley’s signature mix of Bluegrass, Country and Americana appeals to music lovers across all genres. A native of Latrobe, PA, Irene Kelley discovered her flair for songwriting as a teenager and soon found her way to Nashville, TN where her songs were quickly noticed and recorded by Carl Jackson, Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White. While recording an album for MCA and independently releasing 3 more critically acclaimed records and touring worldwide. Her new bluegrass album, These Hills was released on Mountain Fever Records in May of 2016 to critical acclaim. Irene raised two daughters and scored cuts with Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Loretta Lynn, Pat Green, Brother Phelps, Rhonda Vincent, Claire Lynch, Darrell Scott, The Whites, the Osborne Brothers and others.

Songwriters Back Story #8 – A heads up to my fellow artists

We all know it’s true. Bluegrass fans are some of the best people in the world, and they really look out for the artists and their music. Where would we be without the support of our unofficial “street team”? An example of one of these vital team members would be Paul from Pinehurst, NC. Paul contacted my manager Mary Sack last week to report his suspicions of an Amazon order he placed for two of my albums, Pennsylvania Coal and Thunderbird. The CDs arrived in Paul’s mailbox in old plastic jewel cases with poorly printed front covers and plain white type printed on the inserts. Strangely enough, they also had barcodes printed on the inside j-card and “CD Baby” written beside that. Although they were two separate albums, the front covers were identical photos (from Thunderbird), only with different song titles listed on the inside. Paul went the extra step to take photos and send those to us. My first reaction was, “PIRATES!” These CDs looked poorly bootlegged, and I was sure that the sound quality would be even worse. See for yourself in the photos from Paul below.

It was a pretty upsetting event, considering that this was not the way I wanted the music to be presented. I can’t imagine any artist would. After I calmed down, I called CD Baby. Mary made a few calls as well. Long story short, we discovered that somehow, back when I signed up for CD Baby, I checked all the boxes – because, you know, I wanted to make sure the music would get to as many people as possible. Somewhere in the fine print, I missed the part about “if we run out of physical copies, Amazon will rip some and send out to purchaser” or something along those lines. All that time, I wondered why it had been over a year since Amazon had re-ordered these two albums. I was getting paid for digital sales, but had NOT been paid for physical sales in a good while. I guess I wasn’t paying attention. Good thing Paul was.

In addition to writing an email to CD Baby, I got a rep on the phone and asked him to “opt me out” of the “disc on demand burn copies.” I also let him know that I thought CD Baby ought to notify their subscribers that they too may have over-checked the boxes at sign up. When you are an indie artist, or even signed to a label (as my last album, These Hills, which is currently signed to Mountain Fever Records), you are wearing so many hats, and the minutia can slip past you pretty easily. Some transparency from CD Baby on these small details wouldn’t be a bad idea. So I’m writing to let my fellow artists and labels know about this. Below is the email I received from CD Baby confirming my “opt out” of the “disc on demand” feature. You all may want to check your CD Baby/Amazon subscriptions as well, because after all, so much is out of our control in this crazy music business, but we should be able to choose on how our music is being presented.

As for my hero, that knight in shining armor, Paul, I personally sent him FREE CDs with my signature along with a note of my sincere gratitude.

Hello Irene,

Greetings of the day. Hope you are doing well.

I do understand that your fans are receiving incorrectly burned “Amazon Services” physical CDs rather than the official CD’s provided by you.

I would like to inform you that orders for inventory are automatically generated based on current and anticipated customer demand and inventory storage availability. Amazon’s ordering and inventory management systems are dynamic and predictive. Many factors are considered, including inventory management, lead time, forecasting and publicity events.

Please note that we do not place manual orders. Orders are placed by our system based on demand for your respective title(s).

However, I would also like to inform you that the product is set up correctly for ordering and I have made the necessary changes and you will be receiving orders for these 2 titles (Pennsylvania Coal & Thunderbird) in the next few ordering cycles based on current and forecasted customer demand.

I hope I was able to assist you with your query. It has been a pleasure helping you.

Thank you for being a valuable amazon vendor. Do take care and have a wonderful day ahead!

Songwriter’s Backstory – Trains I Missed

Walt Wilkins, Gilles Godard and Nicole Witt

This month’s column features the song, Trains I Missed, written by Walt Wilkins, Gilles Godard and Nicole Witt in 2005. It was recorded by Balsam Range for their 2010 album by the same name and became the 2011 IBMA song of the year.

A diverse and accomplished team of co-writers is responsible for the existence of this wonderful song. As they each spoke of their individual contribution, all three writers seemed taken by surprise at the speed and flow with which the song was completed. The authors are also very vocal about their gratitude for the finished piece.

The title of the song was a great place to start, and Gilles Godard, a French-Canadian writer, had been saving this one for a good while. He said, “Just thinking about opportunities…getting ready to take them. You can’t reverse the river. It’s like if it’s meant to be, that’s life.” After some thought, Walt was the voice and co-writer Gilles sought out to bring the song into being: “Walt is sort of a world traveler; a free spirit. Nothing holds him down. Anything is possible, that’s why we all admire Walt. And it’s really a French saying: ‘les trains que j’ai manqué’.” It sounds so poetic in French that one can almost imagine what the translation actually means. “I kept that thought for a while,” Gilles said.

Recording artist and Texas-born traveling troubadour, Walt Wilkins, had just moved back to his hometown of Austin, TX from Nashville, TN and was back in Nashville for a short time to play a show. Gilles stopped Walt just after he came off stage at Douglas Corner Cafe. Walt recalls their conversation: “Gilles came up to me after my set and said, ‘Man I really want to write with you.’ He said, ‘I can see how happy you are in Texas. It looks great on you. I’ve got this idea, ‘Trains I Missed.’ You’re happy, and it just kinda radiates off you.’” Gilles reconfirmed with Walt that they would get together to write on Walt’s next Nashville trip.

A few months later, and still under contract with Curb, Walt made another co-writing trip to Nashville. It was the last day of his trip, and Gilles had also been writing that same morning with Springfield, MO native, recording artist and fellow Curb writer, Nicole Witt. Gilles and Nicole had a good groove going that morning, so it made sense for her to join Gilles and Walt’s afternoon writing session. Though Gilles and Nicole are both accomplished musicians, they let Walt play the guitar and ‘drive the train’, as they described it. Walt had some time to think on the title, since Gilles had mentioned it a few months earlier. After writing all day every day for two weeks, Walt says his brain was primed and working. Giles recalls the creation of the first verse: “Walt started to play and sing a piece of music. I said, ‘Is that what you wrote this morning?’ Walt said, ‘No that’s where your idea is taking me’.” Gilles continues, “It just fell out. And the words just fell into place. It was meant to be. A memorable day.”

Walt also calls it a memorable day of creating an unforgettable song: “I had a guitar that day and drove it. I had the music in my head. When it was over in an hour, I knew, ‘I’m going to sing this song for the rest of my life’!” Walt went on to record Trains I Missed on his 2007 Palo Duro Records album, Diamonds In The Sun. Walt Wilkins is known all over the US and abroad as a gifted writer and touring artist, and it’s a given that he’ll pack the house at any show that he performs in Texas. With over 200 songs recorded by other artists, his song, Somewhere Tonight (Wilkins/Raines), was a hit for Kelly Pickler and later recorded by Kenny Rogers. You can keep up with Walt online.

Nicole Witt recalls the day in a similar way, though some of the details have slightly faded since the song came about so quickly and some time had passed. “It just fell out!” she exclaims. An expression now quoted by all three writers about this special day and remarkable piece of work. “I do remember the three of us jiving on this idea and knowing there would be a lot of people that could identify with this. And as time has gone on, I know Walt sings it every night in his shows. When I’m doing a solo show, I also sing it. There are people in the audience that come to tears. And you just don’t know exactly why, what their personal story is.” I asked Nicole for some details on the writing session itself. As with Walt’s and Gilles’s recollections, it’s about the big picture and not so much the details. She reflected, “I can’t remember specific details line per line. But I do remember thinking that, as we were writing it, it progressed.”

Trains I Missed

Here’s to the trains I missed, the loves I lost
The bridges I burned the rivers I never crossed
Here’s to the call I didn’t hear, the signs I didn’t heed
The roads I couldn’t take the map that I just wouldn’t read

CHORUS
It’s a big ole world but I found my way
From the hell and the hurt that led me straight to this
Here’s to the trains I missed

I’ve been a clown I’ve been a fool and I pushed on every chance
 I searched far and wide tried to crawl out of God’s hand
But there’s stones I didn’t throw and hearts I didn’t break
 And the little hope I held onto with a silver shining thread of faith

CHORUS
It’s a big ole world but I found my way
From the hell and the hurt that led me straight to this
Here’s to the trains I missed

Here’s to the place I found, the love I know
The earth and the sky that I call home
And here’s to the things I believe, bigger than me
And the moment I find myself right where I’m supposed to be

LAST CHORUS
 It’s a big ole world but I found my way
From the hell and the hurt that led me straight to this
Yeah, it’s a big ole world but I found my way
From the hell and the hurt that led me straight to this
Here’s to the trains I missed

I caught up with Balsam Range lead singer, Buddy Melton, to ask how he and the band got their hands on the song:

“Years back, Milan Miller and I were in a band called Jubal Foster which included Mark Winchester, Mark Baumgartner and Jeff Smith. We were playing a lot in Nashville, and we were on a label with Walt Wilkins.” That would be the now retired Palo Duro Records label. He continues, “We did several shows together. At the time, Walt had the album out with the song on it. I was just always a fan of the lyrics of that song and a fan of Walt’s as well. I always thought that the lyrics were impacting, and it would be a great song to do again at some point. Kept thinking about it. I had it in my back pocket for years. I pitched it to [Balsam Range] several times, and the timing was right for us to do it on what turned out to be the album title, Trains I Missed.”

He shared with me a very current story of the song’s ongoing impact, “We still get a lot of requests. It’s amazing how many people come up and say that song has been a big impact to their life. There was a girl the other night, as a matter of fact, she had it tattooed on her the inside of her arm: Here’s to the Trains I Missed. That’s pretty impacting when somebody’s tattooing a phrase on their body. Sometimes songs like that can be as impacting as a really great Gospel song for people in that it helps them through tough times. And that’s been the case right there, time and time again. It’s just great to have a song that helps people down the path and that can be one for us. And I’m grateful for Walt [and Gilles and Nicole].”

Buddy’s tenacity paid off. Trains I Missed turned out to be a huge record for Balsam Range, and garnered the 2011 IBMA Song of the Year Award. Two of the three co-writers, Walt Wilkins and Nicole Witt, were able to attend the 2011 IBMA award show that was held in Nashville at the famed Ryman Auditorium. Gilles was having dinner with family when the surprise text appeared on his phone that he was one of the recipients of this distinguished honor.

All three songwriters express their delight in the Balsam Range version of their song. Walt says, “When they sent me the recording, my [wife] Tina just started crying. It was so beautiful to us. It’s one of my favorite records. We just couldn’t believe what they did with that song. It’s so beautiful. I feel like we have a connection forever because of that song.”

In the country genre, Nicole Witt has had her songs recorded by artists such as Zac Brown, George Strait and Diamond Rio. Trains I Missed was also recorded on a solo EP that she sells at her shows. New Opry members, Dailey and Vincent, recorded Nicole’s song, Brothers of the Highway, and they, along with Nicole, are all signed to the newly formed Keith Steagall label, Dreamline. Nicole comes from a musical family as her grandparents, Timothy and Evelyn Morse, were bluegrass musicians on the Ozark Jubilee television program, and her dad performed in the square dance group on the show. She never got the chance to meet her grandparents, but she was gifted her grandfather’s fiddle. This fiddle is very special to her, and she plays it every night on tour with her band, Farewell Angelina. She recalls receiving her IBMA award in 2011: “I was thrilled and honored to be there. I felt like my grandparents were with us that night.” You can also keep up with Nicole online.

Gilles Godard came from a musical family and started out as pedal steel player. In order to catch up with his touring then-girlfriend, Susan, he had to join her band, The Candy Lynn’s. It worked out in the end because not only did they get to tour together, they later married and raised a family in Cornwall, Ontario. Around 1983, Ronald Reagan granted Gilles his green card, making it possible for him to move to Nashville with his family. Gilles is an award-winning author as well as a successful songwriter, with over 400 songs recorded by artists such as Ricky Skaggs, Tracy Byrd, Dan Seals and more. Gilles now serves on the administrative side of the music business as chief executive officer at the Olé Music Publishing office in Nashville.

Some exciting news: Both new and loyal fans can look forward to upcoming Texas and Southwest tour dates with Walt Wilkins and Balsam Range. Late summer shows are in the works for these performers as co-headliners.

As for the song, it continues to touch and inspire audiences all over the globe. That is simply the nature of a great song: to describe the indescribable and to explore the human condition of contemplative regret turned to hopeful optimism. Here’s to the trains I missed.

Songwriter’s Backstory Vol. 6 – All Dressed Up (With Somewhere To Go)

This month’s column features the #1 Gospel-themed song, All Dressed Up With Somewhere To Go, recorded by Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers on their Sacred Memories album for Rebel Records.

Music Row songwriting veteran and Grammy-Award nominated songwriter, Jerry Salley, shares his story of the song’s creation. The now immortal real-life Ruben Potter character in the song truly did exist in Jerry’s family. A childhood memory of Ruben made a huge and lasting impression on the young and impressionable Salley. The description of Ruben the family man, farmer and Beech Nut tobacco chewer portrays a vivid image that comes to life in the song.

I met with Jerry at his Music Row writing office to talk about it.

“Like most writers, I keep pads that I keep song titles on, and of course the old saying is, ‘all dressed up with nowhere to go’, and I thought man, being a Christian and believing with the faith that I have… you know they dress you up when you die and you have a funeral. They put you in a suit and tie and the ladies are dressed to the nines. And I thought when you die you’re all dressed up with somewhere to go – if you believe in heaven.

So anyway, I had the idea for a while. I messed around with it for a while by myself, and there is a lady that I write with named Dianne Wilkinson. Dianne has had incredible success in the southern Gospel world, and she has never had another song recorded outside the southern Gospel genre in her life until this one, so we get together.

She loves bluegrass. I shared the idea with her, and she loved the title. We started working on it. We probably got together 4 or 5 times before I was comfortable with it. I wanted it to be something special that would move people. And Ruben Potter, by the way, was my grandmother’s brother. My granny, Goldie Potter, was one of 13 kids. And she was one of the youngest ones.

I only met Ruben one time. When I was a little bitty boy, we went down to Kentucky and we took my granny with us cause she wanted to see him. He was dying.”

I asked Jerry if he had a melody for the song going into the writing session. He indicated that the words, not the music, were in the forefront of his mind:

“I wanted to paint a picture of an old farmer. I told [Dianne] the story. When you see him – when you think of him – you see him in bibbed overalls. I had that whole thing down, but I didn’t have the lines. And then I said I want to twist it somehow, that it’s really emotional on that last verse about how he wants to look his best for his wife. That was my idea. When he goes on.”

I spoke with Dianne Wilkinson from her home in Dyersburg, TN, and she filled me in on her backstory from the first day she and Jerry got together to write.

“Jerry and I had a writing date at Daywind some time ago, and I arrived first. My publisher at Daywind, Rick Shelton, complimented something I was wearing, and my reply was, ‘guess I’m all dressed up…with somewhere to go’! When Jerry came in, I told him about it, and he had had that same idea long before but had never written it. We started work on the song that day and finished it up a couple of sessions later. I love to write story songs, and Ruben Potter’s is one of my favorites!”

Dianne credits her co-writer for presenting and expressing the song in a way that made the artist want to record it. They have an obvious mutual respect for one another as Dianne tells of the first time she heard Jerry’s voice on the song, “He sings like an angel. When Jerry sang it, I cried. He is so dear to me and a huge talent.” She was also pleased with Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers’ recorded version, “True to the way Jerry sang it, their cut is just gorgeous. I was just thrilled. It was my first #1.”

And that is saying a lot, since Dianne has been writing great songs for many years. She has two Fan Awards for Song of the Year – He Has Risen in 1995 by the Cathedral Quartet, and What Salvation’s Done for Me in 2009, co-written with Rusty Golden, and recorded by the Booth Brothers. She is a top 10 nominee for the overall Songwriter fan award for 2016. Dianne was nominated for a Dove award for Songwriter of the Year in 2015… the only woman among the five nominees.

It was total happenstance that brought All Dressed Up into being. The synchronicity of the same title visiting two different writers, and a simple conversation, was the spark that got them off and running. Both writers are extremely devoted to their Christian faith and to the craft of songwriting. They each enjoy impressive and extensive discographies of original songs that have made it to radio waves and beyond.

Jerry’s family history and experiences brought about much of the imagery of Ruben Potter’s devotion on his way to his final resting place. Like the songwriters themselves, Ruben’s spirituality and strong Christian faith are clearly present here. Faith in God and gratitude for His gifts were very much a part of my conversations with both Jerry and Dianne. They openly credit God the Creator as giving a profound and welcomed “tap on the shoulder.”

Joe Mullins also shared his love and enthusiasm for this wonderful song…

 “Jerry and I became friends a few years ago. He liked our delivery on story songs like “Some Kind of War” and “The Last Parade.” The band was on the way to an Opry appearance about two years ago and Jerry called. He and Diane had just finished the song, and he said we were the first band he thought of. I was so grateful. I think everyone can think back on some gentlemen in their life from a previous generation who really made a difference. Whether it be a dad, a grandfather or a special friend who walked tall and with integrity and godliness, we all have memories of someone who loved us and lived life well. We’ve gotten emails and Facebook posts from folks telling us how much the song touches them and lets them recall fond memories. Great job, Jerry and Diane!”

Getting the song to Joe

Jerry considers himself a writer first, though he is also well known as a recording artist and performer. He recorded All Dressed Up for his own album, Gospel From My Grassroots, in October 2015. Jerry knew that Joe Mullins was considering recording the song, so out of respect and courtesy, he called Joe to ask if he would be OK with Jerry recording it as well. Joe told him that he was going to record it no matter what, and that he had no problem with Jerry including it on his record too. That really reveals Joe Mullins’ love and commitment for the song, and in October 2016, his version won the IBMA Gospel Recorded Song of the Year. In true bluegrass fashion, Joe graciously thanked the writers from the stage.

No doubt the two men’s versions are very different. When I asked Jerry his impression upon hearing Joe’s version for the first time, he said, “Oh my gosh, our two recordings are just so different. The first time I heard Joe’s cut, it brought tears to my eyes. They owned it, and Duane sang it great! It was grassier the way they did it. Anyway, I’m just grateful to Joe. I’ve loved Joe’s music for years; the first time he recorded a Bill Anderson song called Some Kind of War, and it is a great song. When I heard that, I thought ‘man that dude loves story songs’ – and this is a story song.”

All Dressed Up With Somewhere To Go
Jerry Salley/Dianne Wilkinson

Ruben Potter farmed 60 acres for 50 years worked the bottom land
He wore his faith out on his sleeve and Beechnut was his brand
This afternoon he packed the church house there’s not a seat left in this place
His trademark was bibbed overalls at least until today

Chorus
Now he’s all dressed up with somewhere to go
As the people pass him by he wants them all to know
This ain’t goodbye, it’s not the end
It’s just so long until we meet again
You may not recognize him in these clothes
But, he’s all dressed up with somewhere to go

Chorus

Today he wears the same blue suit and tie that he got married in
And when he said goodbye to his one true love he put them on again
He knew where she was going we all knew his last request
He said when I go to meet my sweetheart I wanna look my very best

Chorus

If you knew the man without a doubt you’ll know
Today he’s all dressed up with somewhere to go

As songwriters, Jerry and Diane have garnered many awards and accolades. Jerry won SESAC writer of the year in 2003, was nominated for IBMA 2016 songwriter of the year, and has had over 450 of his songs recorded by country music legends, including Loretta Lynn and The Oak Ridge Boys, Grammy Award-Winner Chris Stapleton, Reba McEntire (I’m Gonna Take That Mountain), Toby Keith and Brad Paisley. Jerry’s long list of accomplishments speaks for itself.

You can find more on Jerry Sally’s work and extensive tour schedule online.

Dianne has been writing southern Gospel music since the 1970s. She won SGMA Songwriter of the Year in 2000. The first woman to win this prestigious award, I might add! Her first recorded song was Behold the Lamb by the Song Masters in 1976, which was recorded by many groups including the recent 2001 cut by the Dove Brothers. Dianne started performing at the age of 12 in a Gospel trio with her mother and aunt. She has written over 1,000 songs with 48 making it to radio, 14 of which went #1 on the southern Gospel chart.

Dianne Wilkinson’s list of recorded southern Gospel songs reads like a “Who’s Who” of the genre. Too many to list here, really. Though her early writing career was strictly solo, she just recently started to co-write. She says the Lord has put some great writers into her life.

You can find more on Diane Wilkinson’s work online as well.

So when Ruben Potter broke from the norm of work boots and overalls, little did he know he would be inspiring legendary songwriters, a beloved bluegrass recording artist, fans, and the world alike. He knew where he was going because he clearly had somewhere to go.

Songwriter’s Backstory Vol. 5 – ‘Tis Sweet

This month’s Songwriter’s Backstory features the bluegrass and country standard, ‘Tis Sweet To Be Remembered, by American bluegrass star, Mac Wiseman. Internationally referred to as ‘the voice with a heart’, Wiseman is one of the original architects of the bluegrass music genre. Much has been written about this iconic artist who is also an award-winning writer, recording artist, polio survivor, Grand Ole Opry Star, Country Music Hall of Famer and original member of The Foggy Mountain Boys. Though the list goes on and on, this particular article is about Mac Wiseman the songwriter and, more specifically, the creation of his timeless masterpiece, ‘Tis Sweet To Be Remembered.

I caught up with Mac from his home in Nashville to get a little insight on how this song came to be. I found the most compelling part of the story to be not so much about Mac’s composition of the song, but about his belief in the integrity and uniqueness of it. The song features a time signature change from 4/4 in the verse to a 3/4 waltz time in the chorus. This is an unconventional yet remarkable structure for mainstream music, and one that really emphasizes the lyric’s sentimentality, as the author intended. For five years, Mac performed the song as the closing theme song on the WCYB radio Farm & Fun Time show in Bristol, Tennessee. A particular recurring situation confirmed to him the strength and universal appeal of the song: “I’d get in a cab and the cab driver would be humming the song.”

He described the journey in his own words: “I wrote the song in 1946. I was living in Knoxville, Tennessee. I was recording with Molly O’Day in Chicago in the late fall of 1946. Then in the spring of 1947, WCYB Bristol had a noontime 2-hour show. I organized a band and went up there. I was one of three acts on the show. I performed the song in my radio show for five years. It was the closing theme.” Mac played with Molly O’Day for seven or eight months, performing five days a week on the 2-hour radio show, Merry Go Round, and on the Saturday night show, Tennessee Barn Dance in Knoxville. His time on the road was as a musician in her band, opening act, and occasional featured performer.

“In the [Farm and Fun Time] show we alternated. Took 15 minutes each time. The Stanley Brothers, myself and a local fellow named Curly King who sang like Eddie Arnold. I was sweating blood for fear someone was gonna record the song. In 1951 while I was performing on the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, Louisiana, I was approached by Randy Wood of Dot Records to record for them.” Mac says with a hearty laugh, “I didn’t know who was doing who a favor. Their biggest distributor was the back seat of their car. I was glad to be doing a record and [Dot] said, ‘What do you want to record?’ I pitched, ‘Tis Sweet To Be Remembered first. He said, ‘Oh no we can’t record that’. I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ He said, ‘Well the big part of our sales is juke boxes. We’ll never get that with different tempos on the juke box’. And I don’t know why I was brave enough to do it and stood up and said, ‘Well then forget it.’” Of course, the record executive thought better than to pass up the talent of Mac Wiseman. Dot Records went on to record and release the song with huge success to follow. Mac confirmed: “It wasn’t any length of time before Dot called and said, ‘From now on, you pick the material.’”

It was on his birthday, May 21st, 1951 that Mac Wiseman first recorded ‘Tis Sweet To Be Remembered. He proudly states that four artists have re-recorded the song since his original release. Jimmy Skinner had it out on Capitol, Flatt & Scruggs on Columbia, Cowboy Copas on Dot Records (#8 on the charts) and a country act from California.

“I have my life story in book form. And just recently Peter Cooper from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Thomm Jutz, who owns a studio here, we’ve written several things together. They came to my house a number of times and we wrote 10 songs. And it’s my life story in song. That’s very unusual I thought.” These 10 songs were recorded on the upcoming and much-anticipated Mountain Fever Records album, I Sang The Song, produced by Jutz and Cooper. Alison Krauss lends her voice to Mac’s newest rendition of ‘Tis Sweet To Be Remembered (bringing the total of other artists who have covered the song to five.) This 10-song collection hits both stores and iTunes on January 20, 2017, though the first single, Going Back to Bristol, has already topped the Bluegrass Today charts in December 2016.

Mac also touched on his writing process: “A lot of time, it was while I was driving down the road. I’d get an idea and write it down, and then come back to it later. A lot of my ideas are about memories back home and Christmas songs.”

I asked Mac what he is working on right now, and if he is still writing songs. “I have three or four that are very unique right now. I’d rather write those on my own. I’m still working on them.”

So what came first, the melody or the lyric for ‘Tis Sweet To Be Remembered? He replied, “I wrote the melody first then the lyric. I liked that changing tempo. It depicts the spice of life.” And indeed, ‘tis sweet to hear and to cherish for all time.

Tis Sweet To Be Remembered
Written by Malcolm B. Wiseman

As I travel all this world
Just to soothe my movin’ mind
And the messages I get
From a dear one left behind

They were filled with sweetest words
That so touched me when I heard
Dear oh dear can I forget
These are some things that she’d say

‘Tis sweet to be remembered on a bright or gloomy day
‘Tis sweet to be remembered by a dear one far away
‘Tis sweet to be remembered remembered remembered
‘Tis sweet to be remembered when you are far away

Songwriter’s Back Story – Around the Corner

This month’s Songwriter’s Back Story features the song, Around The Corner, written by Milan Miller and Thomm Jutz and recorded by banjo great, Terry Baucom and the Dukes of Drive. This is Baucom’s follow-up to the first single, The Rock, from the same project.

The Miller/Jutz songwriting team, in particular, hits close to home for me as an artist and a writer. I have known both of these incredibly talented musicians as band mates and two of my favorite “go to” co-writers. I count these gents among my good friends as well. No surprise there, since the bluegrass community tends to be a uniquely tight-knit group.

I caught up with Milan and Thomm at Thomm’s home studio in Mt. Juliet, TN to talk about Around The Corner and how it came to be. Like much of their catalog of songs, it stemmed from a great idea followed by focus and hard work. This is how these two create. It is a fairly new partnership, a little over two years in the making, but both members are dedicated to the craft and to the rare but precious times when both are in town. Milan offered up the idea and structure to Thomm by email before one of their scheduled Saturday morning writes. Thomm was in.

I asked Milan what inspired the song. He replied: “It was an idea I had for a while, but I couldn’t get it fully developed the way that I wanted to. I had a rough melody. Watching life in general…walking down the aisle in the grocery store and you see something really funny happen, or you turn on the news and what starts out as a bright sunshiny day, then something awful happens. You just never know what’s going to happen but if you get bogged down with those thoughts then you’ll become a recluse and you’ll never leave your house.”

Milan describes how he sort of simmered on it for a time: “I knew I didn’t want it to be a dark song like ‘what’s around the corner is some bad stuff,’ sometimes you will go through rough patches but you gotta keep plugging away. Hopefully the math will come out in your favor. But certainly the ultimate point being, ‘you must be present to win,’ ’cause if you lock yourself in the house and never get out and don’t keep plugging away well then it’s never gonna happen. I got enough of the idea to pitch to Thomm [to co-write]. He was really helpful.”

Thomm and Milan completed the song in a few short hours. With a little bit of distance, Milan reflects on the completed work, “When I hear the song and see the lyrics now, to me it’s one of those songs depending on what kind of day I’ve had or what kind of mood I’m in, I hear different things in it, which is a good thing. It’s not a ‘hey everything is great’ song but it has a happy melody. If you’re dreaming and your dreams are going good, you may hear the motivation to just keep going. If you’re having a not-so-good-of-a day, there’s hopefully some comfort.” Though they didn’t set out to write a ‘self-help, preachy’ song, it speaks for itself through its uplifting lyrics and whimsical melody.

Thomm describes their approach to songwriting from two perspectives: his own and the collective team’s. He explains that he and Milan do not necessarily need to experience a situation in order to write about it. The ability to not take themselves too seriously is another key factor in their working relationship, and the trust factor between the two is high. Someone has to be able to say, “That’s not working let’s move on” without being offended or shutting down the other writer. Thomm shared this personal insight: “If I have a good idea, what’s more important is an accurate emotion rather than an accurate situation. That’s how I approach [song] writing overall.”

As a co-writer, I can attest to this duo’s innate songwriting sense and sensitivity. Their uncanny ability to key into the soul and voice of an artist shines through. While writing for my latest record, These Hills, each idea they brought to the table resonated with me, and each song we wrote inspired me enough for it make the cut. “When I saw that coal train downtown, I would not have connected that to my life. But I connected it to your life, [Irene]. The image was compelling first.” Thomm is referring to track #2: Coal Train. Perfect fit on every level

There is an obvious ease about these two wordsmiths, as Thomm utters a blunt and candid comment: “Young writers sometimes feel like they have something really important to say…I don’t.” Milan adds, chuckling, “I can’t wait around for song ideas, my life is boring enough, and I’m ok with that. I have to look around and that’s where I find my ideas.” Thomm adds, self-effacingly: “We are NOT poets, we just write.” That’s some pretty honest dialogue! And while I don’t discount the value of those who observe and report the world around, I have to disagree with Thomm. These men are also, and indeed, poets. Sorry guys!

“With Around The Corner, we thought it was more contemporary in terms of chord progression. But it’s one of those songs that, when you hear the cut [final recorded version], it freaks you out how good it is,” Thomm says, becoming more animated as he reveals his reverence for the artist that recorded their song, “They changed some phrasing things that we never would have thought about. The arrangement is GREAT. The singer sings it as if it’s his own song. It is, of course, an honor to have an artist like Terry Baucom record one of my songs. Terry is one of my favorite players and the lead singer, Joey Lemons, is one of the best voices in bluegrass.” Milan echoes the sentiment: “it went from what I thought was just a good song, after hearing their version…well, it just made it 100 times better.”

The person responsible for matching the song with the artist is Terry’s wife and award-winning broadcast personality and musician, Cindy Baucom. Cindy’s brother and Milan were roommates at Appalachian State back in their home state of North Carolina, so the history between the families is long and strong. Milan has also written two other songs on Terry Baucom albums. After Cindy brought Around The Corner to Terry, it was just a matter of listening and arranging.

Despite strong personal and family relationships, the song still had to pass muster. Fledgling songwriter’s be warned! There’s no substitute for a strong song that resonates with an artist.

Terry said, “I knew from the first time I heard the demo that it was a great song. I had to decide if it fit me and the band – since this was the first recording featuring all the members of my touring band. I knew this would be a big song for somebody. Cindy loved it. The band loved it…and we did get a recording we were proud of. Then you always hope the listening audience will like it—but most of all, we hoped we had captured what Milan and Thomm had envisioned for it. It’s doing well and I appreciate them sharing the demo with us.”

It doesn’t hurt that the writing team of Thomm Jutz and Milan Miller is quickly becoming a known source for great songs. Bluegrass artists in search of repertoire are taking notice of the integrity and prolific body of work they produce. Their past work is worth seeking out as well.

Thomm Jutz’s moved to Nashville from the black forest of Germany in 2004. He quickly found himself as a sought after session player and sideman on the road for Americana artists, Mary Gauthier and Maura O’Connor. As a songwriter and producer, he is credited with creating and releasing 4 volumes of critically acclaimed original American Civil War songs titled, The 1861 Project. Each volume is unique in itself and backed by an all-star cast of performers and songwriters. Nancy Griffith and Kim Richey have recorded Thomm’s songs on their records as well. Thomm has a surprise project that he is working on with journalist/singer-songwriter, Peter Cooper, coming out on my favorite label Mountain Fever Records. To be announced soon.

Multi-instrumentalist Milan Miller’s songwriting credits are close to the 100 mark. Some notables would include, What’ll I Do and Carry Me Back to Carolina by Terry Baucom, 40 Acre Blues by Darrell Webb, Every Pilgrim Needs A Highway by Kenny and Amanda Smith, and 5 songs to date by Balsam Range. Milan released a project with Balsam Range lead singer and longtime friend, Buddy Melton, in spring of 2016 titled, Secrets, Dreams and Pretty Things. The album is star-studded and getting a lot of play on bluegrass stations. He is currently nominated for the 2016 IBMA Songwriter of the Year Award.

The songwriting team can be credited for the following collaborations: Walkin’ In the Blueridge Mountains by Junior Sisk, Joseph by Buddy Melton, and two coming out this fall with Balsam Range.

You can keep up with Thomm and Milan by checking out their web sites ’cause, “You never know what’s waiting ‘round the corner, but don’t let that slow you down.”

Songwriter’s Back Story – Wilma Walker

This month’s Songwriter’s Back Story features the song Wilma Walker, written by husband and wife writing and recording duo, Donna Ulisse and Rick Stanley, recorded by the legendary Doyle Lawson and Quick Silver on their 2015 Mountain Home Music Company album, In Session.

I caught up with Donna and Rick at their home in Nashville to talk about their journey through the creative process on this catchy number of professed love and an endearing marriage proposal.

As touring musicians, Donna and Rick, along with their band, The Poor Mountain Boys, often find themselves on Interstate 81 going to and from gigs. So often that they’ve nicknamed the route, the “81-bluegrass highway.” Somewhere near Knoxville, along the 81, a sign advertising fireworks is standing tall. On it reads, “Wild Wilma Walker’s Fireworks.” Rick said he had been seeing that for years and was convinced there was a song in that colorful alliteration and unlimited imagery.

While at his turn as tour bus driver, Rick began giving the song idea real consideration. Donna was in the shotgun seat and wondering what was keeping Rick so deep in thought. He is a quiet man by nature, so that in itself would not be so unusual. Perhaps the look on his face and the fact that Donna can read him after all of these years, she knew something was “going on up there.”

She could not stay silent any longer and when they arrived home, Donna asked Rick what was up. She says with a good natured laugh, “Come to find out, he was thinking of that woman, Wilma Walker. When Rick said ‘I got a song idea. It’s Wild Wilma Walker,’ I said ‘honey, we can’t write ‘Wild Wilma Walker’ I can’t even say it.’

Rick got insulted and left the room. He said, ‘I was just giving you an idea!’ We went on to sleep that night and I laid there and thought about it, cause I liked the idea…I liked the 3 W’s. So I changed it to: “Wilma Walker will you marry me” and the “will” is easier to say on the W than the “wild” on the beginning. I put in “hey” instead of “wild,” and woke him up at midnight.”

Rick says he was thinking of Wilma as this wild, crafty mountain woman. Donna knew this already in the back of her mind, but was considering whether the alliterations and cadence would flow or not. “Working this out loud I kept repeating, ‘stalker’, ‘chalker’, ‘talker’… then I got onto the soft rhymes like ‘daughter’ and ‘offer’.” When she woke Rick up, she had the fully edited lines: “Hey Wilma Walker Will you marry me, I don’t have much to offer thank God love is free.” Bam! This would set the meter for the melody to come and verse lyrics.

Rick said this is pretty much how they collaborate on songs. Donna sets up the melody and meter, and Rick wood sheds on it a bit. I had to ask Rick if he was OK to be awakened at midnight. He said, “Well, I’m never happy about that!” He is, however, pleased with the finished results and Donna’s tenacity getting it to the finish line.

Donna said she had plenty of characters to model the lyric from. The men in her life like her brother whom she calls “the bubba romantic,” and how he might approach a marriage proposal. Also, her father-in-law and the stories of his shyness she heard told to her by her mother-in-law. “I’ve got a front porch needing flowers” image came straight from the image of their cabin. Another stand out line,” I promised your daddy I’ll take care of you”…what girl could resist?! Real life images personified.

Doyle Lawson was equally charmed by the song and its story and had this to say: “The thing that drew me to Wilma Walker was the positive message encased in somewhat humorous tones, and yet it’s all about a boy and girl, and also a world away from pick-up trucks, six packs and scantily clothed lasses!”

Doyle omitted the last verse and instead returned to the first verse on his recording. But here are the lyrics as the writers originally created them:

Wilma Walker

written by Rick Stanley and Donna Ulisse

Let’s have us a talk
Sit down Wilma Walker

I’ve got some land
And a cabin with a front yard needing’ flowers
I’m a good man
I’ll give you everything within my power
It don’t sound like very much but I own it all
And I’ll share it all with you, Darlin, it’s your call

Hey Wilma Walker, will you marry me?
I ain’t got much to offer, thank God love is free
Wilma Walker, will you marry me?

I’ll work hard
But I tell you there is more to life than money
Here’s my heart
Could that be enough for you honey?
I promised your daddy I’ll take care of you
And I’ll swear it on a Bible if you want me to

Hey Wilma Walker, will you marry me?
Let’s have some sons and daughters, start a family
Wilma Walker, will you marry me?

We can help each other get around in our old age
But it all depends on how you answer me today

Hey Wilma Walker, will you marry me?
I ain’t no fancy talker but I’m on my knee
I love you and you ought answer yes indeed
Wilma Walker, will you marry me?

As it turns out, Donna’s mother-in-law’s front porch was a host for many a famous jam session and gathering. Since Rick’s late-father, Richard, was a 2^nd cousin to Ralph and Carter Stanley, bluegrass music was just a part of the fabric of their lives, as anyone can imagine. Richard was a fiddle player. Rick was just 15 years old when he wrote the bluegrass standard, Home In the Mountains, all by himself. This song appears on many recordings and not the least of which is The Stanley Tradition that was nominated for a Grammy in 1996 with Charlie Sizemore on lead vocals. It was also recorded by Keith Whitely on the Ralph Stanley Old Home Place album in ’76.

Donna Ulisse-Stanley had a very different path to bluegrass. While she had a prominent songwriter as kin, Uncle Curly Gene Butler (I Hope You Have Learned), she got her start in western swing and later traditional country. After moving from Hampton, Virginia to Nashville, Tennessee, Donna signed a record deal with Atlantic in 1991 and released Trouble At the Door to country radio, which produced two charted singles.

The album was critically acclaimed but not the commercial success she had hoped for. This was the time Donna got some great advice from industry heavy weights and did some soul searching. She found she had a talent and passion for songwriting. In addition to being sought out as a demo singer and background vocalist, she was creating songs and loving it. She signed to Hadley Music Group 1998 and enjoys a great partnership and support from them to present day.

When Donna and Rick married in 1983, it was those trips to visit his family and the front porch picking sessions that really got to her and put the bluegrass chops and songs in her wheelhouse. She has since recorded 6 bluegrass/Gospel albums for Hadley Music Group and been nominated for the prestigious Songwriter of the Year IBMA award for two years running. Donna has had her songs recorded by Claire Lynch, Del McCoury, and Darin and Brooke Aldridge, and co-wrote the new single Drifter with Marc Rossi for Volume Five on Mountain Fever Records.

Rick and Donna as a writing team also co-wrote Come To Jesus, recorded by Larry Stephenson. This creative couple gets to spend a lot of time together touring and just doing life, and that affords quality co-writing time on a regular basis. The results are stunning, be they playing a show with the Donna Ulisse & the Poor Mountain Boys band, hearing Rick’s boyhood stories about Ralph and Carter, or hearing a bluegrass legend cover something they have penned.

There is a lot to discover with these folks. And we look forward to what else they come up with. So if you see Rick Stanley driving the tour bus with a serious look on his face, he’s probably simmering a new song idea, and rest assured Donna will be there to help him bring it to fruition.

Songwriter’s Back Story – Herb Pedersen

This month’s Songwriter’s Back Story features the song Old Train, written by Herb Pedersen and the late, Nikki Pedersen (plus as a bonus, Wait A Minute, also by Herb). It was recorded first by The Seldom Scene in 1973 as the title track on the album Old Train on Rebel Records, and then again by Tony Rice in 1979 as the blistering kick off song on his Manzanita LP for Rounder.

The American railroad has a long history that began even before President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill that Congress had authorized for funds to begin construction of the transcontinental railroad. That was in 1863, and the project was completed in 1869. Prior to this, the northern railways were credited in part for giving the union army a leg up on their civil war victory as northern railways were more intact, allowing union soldiers to travel more freely and in large groups. After the civil war, displaced civil war vets found employment building lines and laying timber from coast to coast. A substantial, remarkable part of history and the American story.

Bluegrass music fans and really most Americans have a real and passionate romance and fascination with trains. The sound of their mournful whistle is hard to ignore and the mystery of the destination can bring out the wanderlust and yearning for travel in even the most steadfast couch potato.

I caught up with Herb Pedersen by phone from his home in California to talk about his experience with trains, the inspiration for the song, and his writing process.

Herb, how were you inspired to write, Old Train?

“It was just an idea I had about the old Sacramento-Northern line that runs up the Northern California Railroad line. I was just thinking about that because my uncle Lee was a chief of police in Dunsmuir, CA up there by Mt. Shasta. As a kid, I would go up there to visit with my parents to see him. The trains would be close to his home. So I would sit and watch them for hours. So I always had a fascination for trains. And so I got the idea for the song. The co-author was my late ex-wife, Nikki Pederson. She had some input on the direction. She and I did the lyrics together and them I put the melody to it. I played around on the guitar with a chord progression that’s how I came up with it. That’s how I write. It’s not anything that’s very cut and dry. I just have to go with what hits me in the head at the time. And if I’m lucky enough to be around an instrument when I get an idea, I can put together a chord change thing and go from there”.

Of course I had to ask if Herb had a Lionel train as a boy.

“No, I had an American Flyer. It wasn’t a big set but plenty for me and I had a blast with it.” Santa left this on Christmas morning for Herb when he was 8 years old.

Old Train

Old Train, I can hear your whistle blow
And I want to be jumping on again
Old Train, I’ve been everywhere you go
And I know what lies beyond each bend

Old Train, each time you pass
You’re older than the last
And it seems I’m too old for running
I hear your rusty wheels grate against the rails
They cry with every mile
And I think I’ll stay awhile

Old Train, I grow weary at the miles
And I miss the freedom that was mine
Old Train, just to think about those times
I’ll smile when you’re highballing by

Old Train, each time you pass
You’re older than the last
And It seems I’m too old for running
I hear your rusty wheels grate against the rails
They cry with every mile
And I think I’ll stay awhile

Here’s Herb singing the song with The John Jorgensen Bluegrass Band.

And it seems the writing process can be like water from a mountain stream. When it flows prolific, you just let it go.

“Same situation with Wait A Minute. (Written in the same week as Old Train.) Although that stemmed from me coming off the road from a long tour, then within a week I got a call from another guy who wanted me to go out for another 9 weeks.”

Most touring musicians understand how time away from home can be a source of discontent for even the most understanding spouse left behind. The flip side of that particular heated discussion was turned into a timeless love song that Herb penned alone. Wait A Minute was the result and also appears on the Seldom Scene Old Train album.

Grammy nominated performing duo, Peter Cooper and Eric Brace recorded a sweet rendition of Wait A Minute that is also important to note from their Master Session record on the Red Beet label. It also features the late, Mike Auldridge, an original Seldom Scene alum and Dobro master.

I asked Herb how these 2 songs got into the hands of The Seldom Scene.

“John Duffy called me and asked if I had anything, and I said I have a couple of ideas here that you might like. So I put them on a cassette… we all remember cassettes. I sent them down to John and he listened to them and wanted to do both of them.”

Original lead singer for the group, John Starling had this to say: “I got a demo from Herb while in L.A. a long time ago with both Old Train and Wait a Minute on it – a priceless time in my life. I was out there for a medical meeting – right brain ruled.” John was and is a full time physician as well as bluegrass super star.

Tom Gray, legendary bassist from the group contributed this about Herbs 2 works: “John Starling selected two songs from Herb for that album – Old Train and Wait a Minute. They were among the best received songs the Scene ever did.”

For a songwriter, there can hardly be a greater honor than to have a revered artist such as Seldom Scene record something you have authored. So lightning strikes twice for Pedersen, and Tony Rice records, Old Train for his Manzanita album. I asked Herb how this came about.

“He heard the Scene’s version then I got a call from David Grisman who was involved in the production of that album. He said, ‘Hey man, did you write Old Train?’ And I said, ‘yeah.’ ‘OK, well Tony wants to cut it.’ GREAT! So that was the last I heard of that and the next thing I know the album came out and there is was.”

Every writer has their own way and process. Herb describes and compares his creative process in this way:

“I’m not fastidious about every word and every line as a lot of writers are. Don Henley and Glen Frey wrote some amazing lyrics for the Eagles. Don told me one time they argued about an ‘and’ and a ‘but’ for a couple of weeks. I don’t dwell on it that much. I’m more of a ‘feel’ writer. I try to get the story out as quickly as I can.”

Indeed Herb gets the story out and has created a memorable soundtrack for many folks. He has enjoyed a successful solo artist career as well as serving as a founding member of,The Desert Rose Band from 1985 to 1994. The band’s core members were Chris Hillman, John Jorgenson and Herb. They released several albums and hit singles for MCA/Curb to mainstream country radio and enjoyed much success.

The list of artists Herb has backed as a musician and singer is truly a who’s who of American pop music. From John Denver to Emmy Lou Harris to Linda Ronstadt, and the list goes on. Herb presently lives with his wife, Libby, in Woodland Hills, CA right at the mouth of Topanga Canyon. These days he spends a lot of his time writing for movie soundtracks and TV spots, and is producing 2 new artists’ projects. He is still very active touring with The John Jorgenson Band featuring John Jorgenson, John Randall and Mark Fain. Herb was delighted to just recently be asked to join Tom Petty and his band, Mudcrutch for their upcoming tour.

Hey Herb, well it seems…we’ll smile when you’re high balling by.

Songwriter’s Back Story – Fox On the Run

Greetings bluegrass friends and fellow fans. If you are reading this, I’m betting you are a fan of bluegrass music, probably have an impressive music collection and more than likely enjoy live music at festivals and concerts. No matter how or where you listen to music, one thing rings loud and true: It all begins with a song! Even Happy Birthday had to be created by someone along the way. And though it seems like it’s always been there, like the air we breathe, someone did in fact create that song from nothing. It’s what legal eagles call, “intellectual property.” Sort of like real estate, except you CAN’T touch or see it. Songs have the universal ability to touch people from all walks of life, cross every boundary and reach straight into the heart and soul. Music changes lives. Words or no words, it transcends.

It is my great pleasure to introduce this monthly column, “Songwriter’s Backstory,” that will feature some of your favorite bluegrass songs, plus the writers and the story behind the song as only the writers themselves can tell it. As a touring and recording singer/songwriter myself, one of the best compliments I receive is when an audience member tells me they enjoyed the story I shared while introducing a song. With that in mind, I thought it would be nice to share with our readers here at Bluegrass Today some of these back-stories in my monthly column. I hope you enjoy.

This month’s featured song is the bluegrass standard, Fox On the Run, written by Tony Hazzard in 1968. I caught up with Tony via Skype from his home in Cornwall, UK where he lives with his family on a 4-acre farm near a river. He described his present home to be a converted, renovated barn from 1821. Having been raised in the country on the outskirts of Liverpool as a young boy, Tony had a lot of inspiration to draw from for the imagery in the song.

I asked Tony what inspired him to write the song:

“The main source was an imagined scene, described in the chorus, of a hot summer’s day, a field of wheat sloping down to a river in the sunshine, and a blonde woman walking through the wheat field towards the river. Many years later, someone drove me ‘round the corner of a little country road in Cornwall and there below me was a field of reeds leading down to the River Tamar, and I said, ‘That’s just like the scene in my head when I wrote Fox On the Run.’ The second source was really just the feel of the music. I was a fan of The Band in the late 60’s, and their style was running through me at the time.”

Tony describes the writing of this song as ‘purely from his imagination.’ He did say that he actually imagined ‘wheat fields’ in place of the ‘corn’ mentioned, but he left it as is because it sang better.

Tony played the song for British rockers, Manfred Mann, and in 1968, Fox on the Run became a hit song for them in the UK. Manfred Mann changed some of the words and modulated to a different key from verse to chorus. It comes off as more of a ballad than the quick bluegrass tempo we are so used to hearing. Somehow, the Manfred Mann pop version was heard by Bill Emerson, who first recorded the song with Cliff Waldron. This brought it to the attention of The Country Gentleman. I asked Tony which version he had heard first, The Country Gentlemen’s or Tom T. Hall’s:

“I discovered much later, via the internet, that The Country Gentlemen got there first. I didn’t know anything about it until long after I’d received an invitation by The Country Music Association (I think, or BMI) to an awards banquet in Nashville in 1977. I didn’t know why I’d been invited. I was moving house anyway so didn’t give it a second thought.

A few years ago, I was watching TV and saw Kris Kristofferson accepting an award at the same awards presentation to which I’d been invited all those years ago! My publishers should really have known about it and sent me over, but they didn’t. Of course, that was for the Tom T. Hall version. I wasn’t aware of him at the time, but with hindsight I realized it was a real honor for such a great songwriter as himself to have covered my song.

In 1978 in Nashville, I bumped into a guitarist who’d played on the Tom T. Hall version. Sitting at my desk on my iMac having read on a bluegrass website that their version was the first bluegrass version. Can’t remember the name of the website, but the responder to a question about Fox On the Run knew more about its life in the US than I did!”

CBS Records released a solo artist LP of Tony’s music in 1969. The album went largely unnoticed but his songwriting continued to thrive. He found it very satisfying to continue as a songwriter and indie artist from that time until the present.

In 1976, Tom T. Hall took Fox On the Run to #9 on the US Billboard Charts and to #12 in Canada. The song went on to be recorded many more times by bluegrass and country bands all over the US. You can hardly walk past a festival jam without hearing a version of this beloved chestnut.

Since Fox on the Run is now pretty much considered to be a bluegrass standard, a high and deserving distinction in a very exclusive genre of music, I went on to ask Tony: “Were you familiar with bluegrass music when you first authored the song, or did you later discover it as you became aware of other renditions?”

Tony’s reply:

“Yes, my musical tastes were pretty broad when I was growing up. As a child, I was hearing ’50s singers, like Guy Mitchell, Rosemary Clooney and Perry Como, and UK Music Hall performers from the ’40s. Then it was folk/blues, like Blind Gary Davis, Woody Guthrie, Rambling Jack Elliot, Big Bill Broonzy, then The Everly’s, Little Richard, etc., but also Jimmy Reed and Ray Charles. In the ’50s in the UK, we had Johnny Duncan and his Bluegrass Boys, which I guess was a kind of crossover, smoothed-out bluegrass.

After many years, I realized that my tastes had a foundation in what I would call ‘celtic’ (Scottish and Irish) music which had been taken over to the US a long time ago to form Appalachian, bluegrass, and country music. There was often an emphasis on 4ths and 5ths with the 3rd missing, and I often use that feel when I play now.

There was a series of programs on BBC called The Transatlantic Sessions, in which folk, country, and bluegrass musicians from the US would come over to the UK and meet UK musicians. They would all stay in a hotel in Scotland and be filmed and recorded playing together; artists like Alison Krauss would play with Gaelic singers like Jule Fowlis. Not entirely bluegrass but with the origins clearly visible.

I had heard plenty of bluegrass music, but it wasn’t in my mind when I wrote Fox On the Run.

Manfred Mann never liked to copy a demo. He always liked to change things up. So some of the words have been changed (by Mike D’Abo, the singer), and Manfred relocated the verses into the subdominant key. Some years after his version and the bluegrass versions came out, I wrote another verse, which I sing live. I mentioned this on a bluegrass website after a bluegrass band had posted their version of FOTR. They then asked me if they could use the extra verse, to which I agreed, and they then posted a video of their new version!

These days I play it quite slowly and thoughtfully, and that works too.”

Below is the original lyric for the song with extra verse (*) that Tony wrote years after the song had already been a hit for so many:

FOX ON THE RUN

Now everybody knows the reason for The Fall,
When woman tempted man in Paradise’s hall.
This woman, she tempted me and she took me for a ride,
And, like the weary fox, I need a place to hide.

CHORUS

She walked through the corn leading down to the river,
Her hair shone like gold in the hot morning sun.
She took all the love that a poor man could give her
And left him to die like a fox on the run.

*It was many years ago, but it feels like yesterday,
When she led me through the corn on that fateful summer day.
I saw the sunlight in her hair; I saw the promise in her eyes;
And I didn’t even care that her words of love were lies.

CHORUS

Come raise your glass of wine and fortify your soul;
We’ll talk about the world and the friends we used to know.
I’ll illustrate a girl who wandered through my past.
She didn’t care to stay; the picture cannot last.

CHORUS

I asked Tony: “When you perform the song now, what is the story you tell your audience to set it up with?”

In Tony’s words:

“Most (older!) people in the UK know the Manfred version, so I ask them to join in the chorus. I also ask them to make sure they have a drink in their hands (for the last verse). Sometimes I tell the story of receiving the invitation to the awards banquet, not knowing why, and shrugging it off because I was moving house anyway. I always let them know about the bluegrass versions.”

And of course, we’re all wondering about the girl. Did he get ‘the girl’?:

“Haha! I suppose I must have…until she abandoned me! No, this was one purely from my imagination.”

In parting, I asked Tony if he had any idea what an iconic piece of work he had created back in 1968? He replied:

“I eventually realized it had become a standard, and I’m very proud of that fact; the song will remain long after I’m gone, and if people think it’s an old folk song, that’s fine by me!”

Oh how life imitates art and art imitates life, and it sure makes for great songs and material! And all turned out well. Tony Hazzard continues to write music and perform in and around his home town of Cornwall, London and across the UK. Here’s hoping we Bluegrass fans can get him to cross the pond to the US and share his music with us in person soon! Tony has recorded 7 solo records and has a brand new one about to be self-released. These songwriter treasures can be purchased through his website: www.TonyHazzard.com