Country Songwriters Are Not Better Off Alone
This is one of those stories I wish I'd written. It's a very in-depth look at the songwriting process from The Tennessean. And its conclusion is that songwriting is a job best done with friends. It talks about how Nashville songwriters used to work alone, but how writing sessions and collaborations have made for some of the most solid songs and the biggest hits. And there are all kinds of statistics to back up that claim. According to the article, the last time a single writer penned a song that another person took to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart was in May 2005 when Rodney Crowell's "Making Memories of Us" was a No. 1 hit for Keith Urban. Also, the average number of hit writers jumped from 1.12 in 1961 to 2.53 in 2009. Another number to think about: In 2006, none of the No. 1 country hits were written by just a single person.
There's a little bit of a history lesson, some good quotes from Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famers and then a look at some of the financial incentives for co-writes. But then the story gets into what I consider the good stuff -- quotes from Craig Wiseman, one of the most successful writers in Nashville with a list of hits too long to list here. "There are a lot of artists co-writing now with professional writers, and in some ways I applaud that," he said. "Sometimes, though, the motivations aren't quite so pristine. As the business has been decimated, money and how to get money has permeated every aspect of it. Most of the time -- not all of the time -- when you have three people or more in a room, one of them is an artist who is there to ensure the cut." Wiseman even admitted he stays away from co-writes with another pro writer and "a recording artist who isn't much on the pen-to-paper deal."
If you read nothing else in this story, scroll to the very bottom and take a look at the list of big country hits of 2009 to see how all but two were written by more than one person.
Photo of Brooks & Dunn and Craig Wiseman: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for ACMA (2006)
©2008 Country Music Television, Inc., a Viacom company. A division of
Always Right says:
I’ll take a Bob McDill song written alone anyday over a Craig Wiseman “co-write” with 2-3 other people. The more people you have writing the song, the more dumbing down and generic it will be.
The song quality of Bob McDill vs. Craig Wiseman is apples to oranges.
Shadow says:
Kind of like the McDonald’s thing, all over again. #1 seller, but I’d never say they had the best hamburgers.
merlefan49 says:
How about Harlan Howard? He and Sanger D. “Whitey” Shaffer were very prolific writers
Gregory House says:
great article, I too am a songwriter, and although I have yet to get one noticed, I am still in the process. I will produce songs for the country world that will get airplay and be recognized. I’m a songwriter, that is what I do. I’m available 24/7 and work at this 9 to 5 daily!
Robin says:
merlefan49 - Harlan isn’t writing music in 2010 (God rest his soul), so today’s trends have nothing to do with him.
merlefan49 says:
Lets see if Harlan is in today’s music trends, Did you know Faith Hill recorded on of his songs on her fireflies cd?
Blake Shelton had one of his cuts on his “Barn and Grill” cd.