Thursday 30 July 2015

Buddy Emmons steel guitar player dies aged 78.

Buddy Emmons (27 Jan 1937 - 28 July 2015) 


Buddy Emmons MONTAGE - Click to ENLARGE

(b. January 27, 1937, in Mishawaka, Indiana; d. July 28, 2015)

Buddy Emmons, one of the most important and influential steel guitar players has died aged 78.
As an American musician he played several instruments, most notably pedal steel guitar.
Mr. Emmons was called "The World's Foremost Steel Guitarist" and his talent was greatly admired by fellow steel guitarists.
His musical versatility spanned genres such as country, swing, jazz, folk, and country-rock, and he has performed or recorded with a wide variety of vocalists and musicians including Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, Ernest Tubb, John Hartford, The Everly Brothers and Ray Price (Buddy Emmons & Ray Price “Nightlife” >> YouTube)

Just some of Mr.Emmons numerous album credits include:
1962: Night Life Ray Price: Composer, Guest Artist, Guitar (Steel)
1965: Country Willie: His Own Songs Willie Nelson: Composer ("Are You Sure")
1968: Who Knows Where the Time Goes Judy Collins: Guitar (Steel),
1970: John B. Sebastian John Sebastian: Guitar (Steel), Moog Synthesizer, Pedal Steel, Performer
1971: The North Star Grassman and the Ravens Sandy Denny: Guitar (Steel; "Crazy Lady Blues")
1971: Linda Ronstadt Linda Ronstadt: Guest Artist, Guitar (Steel;"In My Reply", "I Ain't Always Been Faithful")
1973: Now & Then Carpenters: Guitar, Guitar (Steel), Slide Guitar
1973: GP Gram Parsons: Guitar (Steel; "She," "That's All ItTook," and "New Soft Shoe”)
1974: Country Gentleman Henry Mancini: Guitar (Steel)
1978: Waylon & Willie Waylon Jennings: Guitar (Steel)
1984: Friendship Ray Charles:  Guitar (Steel)
1985:  It's Just a Matter of Time Glen Campbell: Guitar (Steel)
1991: Bing Bang Boom Highway 101: Guitar (Steel)
1992: Hearts in Armor Trisha YearwoodGuitar (Steel; track 8 "For Reasons I've Forgotten")
1992: Holding My Own George Strait: Guitar (Steel; (tracks: 3, 9)
1992: Above All Hermann Lammers Meyer: Pedal Steel
2006: These Days Vince Gill: Guitar (Steel; The Country & Western Record)
2015: Pageant Material Kacey Musgraves: Composer (hidden track) #

# Nelson wrote the song with Buddy Emmons decades ago. It first appeared on his 1965 album Country Willie - His Own Songs under the title "Are You Sure." In 2013, Musgraves revealed via Facebook that she was a big fan of the song, calling it "two minutes and 13 seconds of the realest sh*t you'll ever hear. Never gets old."

About Buddy Emmons
Buddy Emmons earned a place among Nashville's elite as one of the finest steel guitar players in the business. Born in Mishawaka, IN, he first fell in love with the instrument at age 11 when he received a six-string lap steel guitar as a gift from his father who signed him up for lessons.
As a teen, he enrolled at the Hawaiian Conservatory of Music in South Bend, IN, and began playing professionally in Calumet City and Chicago at age 16. In 1956, Emmons went to Detroit to fill in for Walter Haynes during a performance with Little Jimmy Dickens; soon afterward he was invited to join Dickens' Country Boys.
He appeared with them a few times on The Grand Ole Opry and recorded with them on a few singles, including "Buddy's Boogie" (1957). He also recorded a pair of solo singles for Columbia, "Cold Rolled Steel" (1956) and "Silver Bells" (1957).

In the late '50s, Emmons began playing occasionally with Ernest Tubb's band on Midnight Jamboree. In 1963, he began a five-year stint with Ray Price & the Cherokee Cowboys, and in 1965 teamed up with fellow steel player Shot Jackson to record the LP Steel Guitar & Dobro Sound. 
This led the two to create the Sho-Bud Company, which sold an innovative steel guitar that used push-rod pedals.

Buddy Emmons performs “Four Wheel Drive” on the Bobby Lord Show (WSM-TV, a weekly syndicated half-hour program) in 1965.




In 1969, Emmons joined Roger Miller's Los Angeles-based band as a bass player. When not touring with Miller, he did session work for a variety of artists. He quit Miller's band in 1973 and signed a solo contract, releasing several albums in the late '70s.
After 1978, Emmons began playing for a number of small labels, where he and Ray Pennington occasionally collaborated with some of Nashville's finest sidemen as the Swing Shift Band.

In 1978 the 7 track set MINORS ALOUD (Flying Fish) was released, recorded August 7–8, 1978 at Pete's Place, Nashville, TN with Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau. 
Writing for Allmusic, music critic Paul Kohler wrote: “In this second meeting between pedal steel guitarist Buddy Emmons and jazz guitarist Lenny Breau, they find common ground as they venture through a session mixing jazz standards and original compositions, accompanied by keyboardist Randy Goodrum, bassist Charles Dungey, and drummer Kenny Malone. "Minors Aloud" is a mid-tempo blues jointly written by Emmons and Breau, though all of the individual solos are rather perfunctory.

In 1993, Emmons began touring with the Everly Brothers spending 10 years playing with them and was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1981.
He continued to play in recording sessions throughout the '90s and into the new millennium (with Ray Price, Willie Nelson and Johnny Bush) and also was an occasional player on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion., but was forced to stop playing around 2001 due to a repetitive motion injury. Emmons fully recovered but decided not to return to regular session work, preferring to record only with selected artists and to perform intermittently.

Mr. Emmon’s Oral History interview dated July 20, 2002:



On August 26, 2013 MPI Records released The Big E: A Salute To Steel Guitarist Buddy Emmons (16 Tracks / Time: 56:49  CD - MP3)



Buddy gave his blessing to the set, produced by steel guitarist and Grammy-winning producer Steve Fishell, a onetime member of Emmylou Harris's famous Hot Band. On it, a slew of current steel guitar masters reprise various songs from Emmons's long career. 
This was a Kickstarter crowd funded The Steve Fishell project which grossed $12,000 (136 backers $11,967 pledged of $10,000 goal. One Kickstarter pledge came from Warner Music Nashville president John Esposito, who eventually set up national distribution through Warner. Esposito at heart a music fan was well aware of Emmons’ indelible mark on American music. Mr. Emmons was not involved in the creation or promotion of the tribute album and by all accounts he remained thankful to James Cecil Dickens for bringing him into the big time.

The late Little Jimmy Dickens sang “When Your House Is Not a Home,” a song Emmons used to perform with Ray Price, and one that reminded the steel player of his late and beloved wife, Peggy. The big time remained thankful to Emmons. The 16 song set featured instrumental wizardry from steelers Fishel (Left in Facebook photo at Sound Emporium Studio "A" in Nashville, June 2013), Doug Jernigan, Greg Leisz, JayDee Maness, Paul Franklin, Tommy White, Roosevelt Collier, Mike Johnson, Randle Currie, Norm Hamlett, Gary Carter and Dan Dugmore, as well as electric guitar from Duane Eddy and Albert Lee and vocal turns from singers included Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Willie Nelson, Raul Malo, Chris Stapleton and Joanie Keller.  

Track 3 “Blue Jade” by Duane Eddy (feat. Dan Dugmore) from The Big E was a popular play on Bob Harris Country on BBC Radio 2, add to BBC Playlister 

[see MPI 535494-2 abc.net feature ; Warner Music Nashville Discogs.com]

Related POST :
Peter Cooper On Music (published by The Tennessean; Aug 25, 2013) A salute to steel guitar pioneer Buddy Emmons

Buddy Emmons MEDIA:
Listen to
* Note the application must be installed and open *
The Big E: A Salute To Steel Guitarist Buddy Emmons on SPOTIFY




Listen to Buddy accompany the late Ernest Tubb and George Jones on the song "Half a Mind".
It was track 7 drawn from the album Ernest Tubb: The Legend and the Legacy.


This 1979 Honky Tonk set featured E.T. singing with country music giants such as Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and many more. 
Available on Amazon UK and CD BABY and for streaming on SPOTIFY
Buddy Emmons Spotify - Artist Page
Buddy Emmons STEEL GUITAR compliation Amazon UK

Audio: “No One Will Ever Know” >> YouTube

Country Music Hall of Fame: The Big E: Salute to Buddy Emmons
Buddy explains how he imagined the "diatonic" strings - which
he added to the E9th tuning in 1962 (Country Music Hall of Fame)
Ford Theatre in Nashville 21st Sept 2013





















Watch the "guitar legend" Mr. Buddy Emmons, whose staggering, soulful technique set standards by which countless steel players measure themselves today being honored in this 1 hour 37 min >> program of interviews and performances (first published on 10 Jan 2014).
Watch
Buddy Emmons perform >> "Night Life" from a show in Atlanta, GA in 1980, made famous by Ray Price.

Buddy’s third wife Peggy died in 2007 his granddaughter Nikia died in 2004. Peggy, brought twin girls, Debbie and Diana, from her first marriage.
Mr. Emmons is survived by two granddaughters Crystal and Brittany, and two grandsons, Levon and Buddie III.
R.I.P
Sources and Obituaries: CMTBillboardSaving Country Music
Photos 1950 - 2000s Fun Stuff Page - Facebook Salute Page  - Steel Guitar Forum

Sunday 26 July 2015

Playlist week of July 25, 2015

2015-07-25

25th July 2015 – BBC Playlist

Marie Crichton BBC Radio Shropshire Show playlist July 25, 2015
Brand new music from Alan Jackson, Ashley Monroe, Della Mae and Don Henley.
Classics from Bobby Gentry and Trisha Yearwood and tributes to Wayne Carson and Daron Norwood who died.
Underhill Rose 


Ronnie Dunn - Ain’t No Trucks In Texas (single) NEW Single
Underhill Rose - Rest Easy | Album: Great Tomorrow CD - MP3 - UK iTunes - Amazon.com
Richard Lynch - A Better Place | Album: A Better Place MP3 - UK iTunes - Amazon.com
Laura Bell Bundy - Let's Pretend We're Married | Album: Another Piece Of Me MP3 - UK iTunes - Amazon.com
Paddy O'Brien - Forgiving You Was Easy | Album: One of These Days (2015) CD NEW
Della Mae - For The Sake Of My Heart | Album: Della Mae CD - MP3  - UK iTunes - Amazon.com 
The Diablos - Get Her Back | Album: One Degree of Separation (April 2015) MP3 - UK iTunes
Claire Lynch - Thibodaux (Moonlighter) CD
Trisha Yearwood - The Song Remembers When CD 
Wayne Carson - That's All I've Got To Say >> YouTube # Tribute (died July 20, 2015; aged 72.) SEE Tribute BLOG originally recorded by Homer & Jethro on their album "Old Hippies" YouTube 
Randy Travis - Horse Called Music You and You Alone (1998) CD #
Ash BreezeFlowers | Album: The Road's Not Easy (July 2015) NEW MP3 - UK iTunes - Amazon.com
The SteelDrivers - Hangin' Around | Album: The Muscle Shoals Recordings MP3 - UK iTunes - Amazon.com
Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell - Gentle On My Mind MP3  (Bobbie Gentry; July 27, 1944) BIRTHDAY
Stacy Dean Campbell - Poor Man's Rose | Album: Lonesome Wins Again (July 1992) CD  (July 27, 1967) BIRTHDAY
Gold Heart - Summertime | Album: Places I've Been NEW CD - UK iTunes - Amazon.com
Alan Jackson - The One You're Waiting On | Album: Angels and Alco, hol NEW CD - MP3 - Amazon.com  
Don Henley - That Old Flame feat. Martina McBride | Album: Cass Country (out Sept 25, 2015)  UK iTunes (July 22, 1947) BIRTHDAY
Good as Gone – Photographs | Album: Leave the Light On (23 March 2015) MP3 - UK iTunes - CD Baby
Neil McCoy - Shotgun Rider | Album: Xii CD (July 30, 1958) BIRTHDAY
Ashley Monroe - If The Devil Don't Want Me | Album: The Blade (Warner Bros. Records) CD - MP3 - UK iTunes - Amazon.com
Daron Norwood with Travis Tritt - Phantom Of The Opry | Album: Daron Norwood MP3  (died July 22, 2015 (aged 49) SEE: Tribute BLOG  
Tiffany Huggins Grant - When It Rains | Album: Jonquil Child MP3 - Amazon.com 
Willie Nelson - Always On My Mind MP3

New on The Show

Ash Breeze

Flowers” - Another great young family band..this is a sad song but a good one..the kind of track that stops me in my tracks, I thought that was beautiful summing up someone’s life in five minutes - Marie Crichton BBC Radio Shropshire 

Americana/ Bluegrass / Acoustic
Home Town: North Carolina
Band Members
Nellie Grace Smith - Lead Vocals (Fiddle) , Corey Smith (Harmony Vocals / Guitar), Luke Smith (Banjo), Eli Smith (Harmony Vocals / Mandolin), Aaron Ramsey (Bass)

 Ash Breeze are an up and coming band from. Fayetteville,North Carolina.
In 2013 they were signed by Mark Hodges at Mountain Fever Label. 
They performed on PBS's nationally syndicated Song of the Mountains in February at the Historic Lincoln Theatre in Marion Va., Bluegrass and Barbeque at Silver Dollar City in Branson MO and Dollywood in TN, South Carolina, Houstonfest in Galax VA, and Bluegrass Festivals in Vermont, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Canada, as well as other great venues.
Ash Breeze (2013)
 
In 2014 they performed in Branson and Dollywood again and were also selected as one of 10 Youth Showcase bands out of 49 applicants Internationally at the International Bluegrass Music Association Convention in Raleigh, NC. 

In 2015 IBMA  selected us as a Showcase Band to perform all week as part of Bluegrass Ramble at the Convention in September.

2015 found them back in Fayetteville,NC after living for years running a grassfed beef cattle ranch in the country on the Deep River in Moore County, NC. They left their pursuit of classical music and moved into bluegrass and other roots influenced music

North Carolina natives Ash Breeze (formerly known as The Smith Family) released their self-titled debut album on Mountain Fever Records. The first single from the album, "Without Love" released to radio in November 2014.
Classically trained until they switched to bluegrass in 2010, the tight knit family group and versed musicians consists of father Allen on bass, daughter and powerhouse singer Nellie on fiddle, and three sons, Corey on guitar and vocals (also Producer of Generation Bluegrass documentaries, a video bluegrass project that is drawing a great deal of attention), Luke with his steady and polished style on banjo and Cajon, and Eli on vocals and mandolin, offering up a speed and finesse that belies his years. The band’s sound is distinctive, fresh, creative and mature.
The name ash breeze has great meaning to the family and is an old sailing term referring to the ability to row the rowboat yourself when there isn’t enough breeze to fill the sails (during a time when oars were made of ash wood). Sailing by ash breeze is a major theme in the book “Carry On Mr Bowditch,” a family favorite and the source of inspiration for the band’s name change.
Daughter Nellie is gaining a name for her distinctive and soulful singing style along with her smooth, melodic, and award winning fiddle playing that has been greatly influenced by greats like Stuart Duncan and Andy Leftwich.


They released a debut, self-titled album as Ash Breeze in February 2014 which showed tremendous promise with all the members still in their teens, save dad (Allen) who plays bass with the band on stage.
2015 saw them heading back into the studio working with Mark Hodges of Mountain Fever Records, but on his new label, Travianna Records.
Their latest project, The Road’s Not Easy, delivers on that promise and demonstrates an uncanny knack for the subtleties of our music.
Nellie Grace, now nearly 18 years old, has matured into a delightful and very capable vocalist – and a fine songwriter to boot. Her I Brought You Flowers is a lovely song, structured like a pop country number, with a sweet sentiment and a real tearjerker of a final verse. She also lays down a sparkling version of Pins & Needles, another swing-grass track with strong contributions from brothers Eli (14) on mandolin and Luke (15) on banjo. Crystal Gayle’s 1978 hit Ready For The Times To Get Better gets a fine reading as well, done in an uptempo bluegrass manner....One thing is certain, though. And that’s that Nellie Grace Smith is the real deal, and so are her brothers in Ash Breeze. They and Travianna Records have every reason to be proud of The Road’s Not Easy, (Album Review: Bluegrass Today.com )
Their CD release Party was set for Sunday, July 26th at 7 pm at The Cape Fear Regional Theatre in Fayetteville.

CONNECT with Ash Breeze:
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Saturday 25 July 2015

Country Singer Daron Norwood dies aged 49

(July 22)
Daron Norwood (September 30, 1965 - July 22, 2015 (aged 49)

Previous spins on Marie Crichton's Country show include:
2005: Break The Radio  (Ready, Willing And Able) /"Workin' Elf Blues" (Country Christmas Vol 1 Label Giant)
2006: "My Girl Friday" (Ready Willing And Able)
2007: "Bad Dog, No Biscuit" (Ready, Willing & Able)
2008: "There’ll Always Be A Honky Tonk Somewhere"
2010: "Little Boy Lost" (Keith Whitley: A Tribute) 
2012: Daron Norwood & Travis Tritt "Phantom Of The Opry" (..brilliant isn’t it, lovely album - Marie Crichton)
 
Daron Norwood Montage CLICK to ENLARGE
Singer Daron Norwood Dead At 49
Daron Norwood died Wednesday July 22, 2015 following a heart attack while in TEXAS. He was 49.
The singer was found dead in the bedroom of his Texas apartment by his landlord on Wednesday afternoon according to UsWeekly.
According to police spokesman Chief Brent Harrison of the Hereford Police Department, he was discovered around 2 pm on Wednesday afternoon. Hereford is 40 miles southwest of Amarillo.
'On July 22nd, 2015, at approximately 2 p.m., officers of the Hereford Police Department, along with medical personnel were sent to the 100 block of Hereford Calle in reference to an unresponsive subject,' Harrison told Us

Norwood released three albums: self-titled DARON NORWOOD in Feb 1, 1994 (Giant Records; Amazon UKUK iTunes - Amazon.com); READY, WILLING AND ABLE on March 28, 1995 (Giant Records; UK iTunes - Amazon.com)
and the 15 track I STILL BELIEVE on Aug 3, 2012 (D10 Records; UK iTunes - Amazon.com).
Six of his singles were on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. He was twice in the country top 40.

Through years on the country music club circuit, his energetic uptempo numbers and moving ballads created a buzz that eventually led to Giant signing Mr. Norwood to Giant Records in 1993 (1990s amid the boom in the format led by artists such as Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson) and went on to release a pair of albums. His self-titled, debut effort yielded two singles which charted inside the top 40, "If It Wasn’t For Her, I Wouldn’t Have You” (#26 Hot Country Songs; >> Video shown on CMT) and "Cowboys Don't Cry" (>> Video; #24 Hot Country Songs; writers Jim Allison, Doug Gilmore, Jeff Raymond, Bob Simon). 
"If I Ever Love Again" (>> Live Performance; Russ Carlyle / Dick Reynolds / Billy Spence / Curtis Wright) reached at #48 in 1994.
Two singles released in 1995 from his album READY, WILLING and ABLE were minor chart placings: "Bad Dog, No Biscuit" (>> Video ) reached #50 and "My Girl Friday" (writers: Carl Jackson / Curtis Wright) peaked at #58 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. The sophomore album itself suffered poor sales.

About Daron Norwood:

  •  Mr. Norwood was born in Lubbock, Texas, on Sept. 30, 1965.
  • Daron grew up in Texas and then moved to Nashville in 1988. There the son of a preacher tried to launch his country music career. His idols were Johnny Cash and George Strait.
  • The star quit the music business in 1995 because of his addiction issues.
  • He told the Lubbock-Avalanche Journal that during that time period, he was taking 20 to 25 shots of Jack Daniels a night.
  • The musician founded "Keep It Straight"(>> promo video) with his wife Kim in 1997 in order to warn children about the dangers of substance abuse.
  • In 2002, he resurfaced on Nashville indie label Lofton Creek with >> “In God We Trust,” (>> Video) a song which didn't chart that made some impact at secondary radio as well as Southern Gospel stations across the United States. Performed during President Bush's election campaign it was #1 on Inspiration Country, a song about "faith in God, the freedom we have because of our brave soldiers and what they provide. Keep God First!!"
  •  Norwood released a third and final album, I Still Believe, in 2012, on the D10 label. his 2011 single "Take Me Back" failed to chart
  • In 2002 he told Country Weekly, 'I didn’t quit on life. But I quit the bus, I quit the band, I quit the record deal, quit the shows, the alcohol, the drugs. 'I quit it all with a phone call to my then-manager saying, "I’m done. And I do mean done - with it all."' He added, 'I hung up the phone. And with that, I looked at my fiancee, Kim, and with tears streaming down my face, I said, "I feel so empty. I’ll probably never sing again." I felt as low as you could go. At that moment right there, she said, "You will."'
  • After a successful recovery, he became a motivational speaker
  • On April 15, 2008, Norwood was arrested in Crestview, Florida, for allegedly battering his wife. The charges were dropped after an investigation.
  • In 2009 students at a high school in Panhandle, Texas, accused the singer of acting “crazy” and yelling during their school assembly. A teacher finally pulled the fire alarm to get students out of the gym. After that, police officers were also called to the school, and the chief says Norwood was cooperative but slow in packing up and leaving. They attributed his bizarre speech to some kind of mental problem.
  • In December 2013 he started posting new music on his Facebook page.
Tributes:
Longtime industry exec Mike Borchetta -- who ran the label -- said the singer was a pleasure to work with. “He was such a talented person and artist. It’s so sad for him to be leaving us this young. He was a lot of fun to be around,” he said, adding that it was on the suggestion of longtime radio broadcaster Lon Helton that he take a chance on the singer
I knew / worked with Daron in the beginning of his short career. A great entertainer-kind person - Ron Simpson (Concert Producer Festival & Event consultant)
No information yet on services.


>> Listen to “When Mama Cried”   

Watch Mr Norwood performing at Garcia's live (Aug 16, 2012) >> YouTube a song Daron co-wrote with one of the writers of Reba McEntire’s “Rumor Has It” (Bruce Burch, Vern Dant, Larry Shell)

In this episode, Daron Norwood stopped by to talk with 25 Hot Country Cafe and Zack & Jim
Watch from 6 minutes >> YouTube

Daron Norwood performs "If I Ever Love Again" (Band Members: Joel Bouchillon - Keys, Scott King - Bass, Doug Bennett - Drums, Tom Head - Fiddle, Ron Blakley - Steel, Mike Carraway - Ele Gtr,



Listen to Daron Norwood’s songs on Reverbnation (below) or Spotify

Songwriter Wayne Carson dies aged 72

(July 21, BBC News)

Wayne Carson (born Wayne Carson Head; May 31, 1943 – July 20, 2015) has died aged 72.
It never takes me long to write a song. It's just out there. All you got to do is reach out and gather it up and put it together.


Wayne Carson Montage - click to Enlarge

Carson suffered numerous health issues including diabetes and heart and gallstone problems, his wife, Wyndi Harp Head, told the Springfield News-Leader newspaper in Missouri, where they lived.
"Our music community has lost an immense talent much too soon," said Recording Academy
Sometimes credited as Wayne Carson Thompson, was an American country musician, songwriter, and record producer.
Mr Carson played percussion, piano, guitar, and bass.
His most famous songs as a writer include "Neon Rainbow", "The Letter" (Joe Cocker), >> "Soul Deep" (a hit for the Box Tops in 1969) and "Always on My Mind" (written with Mark James and Johnny Christopher). Brenda Lee recorded it in 1972 and Elvis Presley recorded his version of "Always on My Mind" (#20 US Hot 100' #9 UK Single) on March 29, 1972, a few weeks after his February separation from wife Priscilla. 
It was also a #1 Hot Country Song for Willie Nelson in 1982 and a UK #1 Pop Song in 1987 for The Pet Shop Boys.

Carson along with Johnny Christopher and Mark James accepted the trophy for winning Song of the Year for "Always on My Mind" during the CMA Awards show on Oct. 11, 1982. (Photo)



The two-time Grammy winner said he had written "Always on My Mind" in 10 minutes at his kitchen table in Missouri.
>> Watch Mr. Carson talking about "Always on my Mind" for a new songwriter book (published March 21, 2011)
The song gained two further writers, Johnny Christopher and Mark James, when Carson was asked to write an additional bridge section in the recording studio.

Born Wayne Carson Thompson in Denver, the writer's parents Odie and Olivia Head, who performed country, pop, were professional musicians who played under the name Shorty and Sue Thompson.

Carson picked up a guitar when he was about 14 after hearing a recording by Merle Travis, and soon began composing his own songs. One of those compositions, >>"Somebody Like Me", found its way to producer Chet Atkins who played it to country star Eddy Arnold. Arnold liked the song, but thought it was too short - and phoned Carson to ask him to write another verse. Arnold took the song to #1 on the US country charts in 1966, after which Carson became a sought-after writer in Nashville.
He wrote "The Letter" (>> Video), "Soul Deep" and "Neon Rainbow" for The Box Tops; >> "No Love At All" (>> Video) for BJ Thomas (#18 US Hot 100), "You Got What You Wanted" for Ike & Tina Turner and title cut "A Horse Called Music" for Willie Nelson.

By the early ’70s, he’d built enough of a reputation to secure a record contract in his own right and during the 1970s and '80s, Mr. Carson released a handful of his own records, including "Barstool Mountain" and >> "1 Year, 2 Months, 11 Days." (>> YouTube). Then he slowly withdrew from a full-time presence in the business due to an increasing disenchantment with what he saw as growing corporate control.

Among the other artists to record Carson's songs were:
Alabama - "Hollywood" from 1981 debut LP, FEELS SO RIGHT >> YouTube
Johnny Paycheck - "Slide Off of Your Satin Sheets" (#22 Hot Country Songs: 1977; >> YouTube)
Conway Twitty - "The Clown" (Wayne Carson, Brenda Barnett, Charlie Chalmers, Sandra Rhodes; >> YouTube) from the album SOUTHERN COMFORT
Randy Travis - "Horse Called Music" from the album YOU AND YOU ALONE >> YouTube
Moe Bandy - "Barstool Mountain" title cut (#9 Hot Country Songs; 1979; >> YouTube)
Waylon Jennings - "(Don't Let The Sun Set On You In) Tulsa" (>> YouTube) from the 1971 album The Taker/Tulsa and "Something's Wrong in California" (Wayne Carson/Rodney Lay; #19 Hot Country Songs, 1969; >> YouTube)
Mel Tillis - "Who's Julie" title cut (#10 Hot Country Songs, 1968; >> YouTube)
Gary Stewart - "Drinkin' Thing" (#10 Hot Country Songs, 1974; >> YouTube) the lead single from the album, Out of Hand. and >> "She's Acting Single (I'm Drinking Doubles)" (#1 Hot Country Songs, 1975; >> YouTube) the final single from the same album.
Shelby Lynne - "Dog Day Afternoon" (>> YouTube) from the album BEST OF THE EPIC YEARS

BJ Thomas who recorded "Sandman" on his album Everybody's Out Of Town was among the musicians paying tribute, writing on Twitter: "RIP Wayne Carson. My close friend and brother. One of the great writers. Was loved by all and will be missed."
Fellow Nashville composer Casey Kelly wrote on Facebook: "I doubt the world will ever know another of his calibre, and I am beyond saddened for our loss."
Mr. Carson was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1997 alongside Roger Cook and Hank Thompson.
In 2011, Mr Carson was honored by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, who made him part of their Poets and Prophets Series (published Dec 3, 2011).
The audience in the museum’s Ford Theater included several previous Poets and Prophets, including Jerry Foster, John Loudermilk, Dan Penn, and Norro Wilson. Chips Moman, Carson’s longtime supporter, traveled from Georgia to sit in the front row. The Box Tops’ guitarist, Gary Talley, also was in attendance, as was keyboardist, producer, and music publisher David Briggs.
Watch it here:


Watch live streaming video from countryhall at livestream.com

Even though he spoke at a number of songwriting seminars later in his career, Carson always maintained that writing a song wasn’t something that could be taught — that it was more like discovering a story that was already there, waiting to be told. “To me, a good song tells a story that everyone would like to say,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “A song that leads people to say, ‘God, that song’s me.”

He is survived by his wife Wyndi Harp Head and their son Christian.
A funeral service is to be held at Harpeth Hills Funeral Home in Nashville.