Nashville Songwriter The Inside Stories Behind Country Music’s Greatest Hits By Jake Brown BenBella Books Dallas, TX 1 Copyright © 2014 by Jake Brown All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. BenBella Books, Inc. 10300 N. Central Expressway Suite #530 Dallas, TX 75231 www.benbellabooks.com Send feedback to
[email protected] Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: TK Editor: Shannon Kelly Copy Editor: Shannon Kelly Proofreader: TK Cover designer: TK Text design and composition by TK Printed by TK Distributed by Perseus Distribution www.perseusdistribution.com To place orders through Perseus Distribution: Tel: (800) 343-4499 Fax: (800) 351-5073 E-mail:
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[email protected] or (214) 750-3628. 2 3 This book is dedicated to Freddy and Catherine Powers and to my younger brother, retired Sergeant Joshua T. Brown, the first country music fan to really turn me on to the genre. 3 4 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Freddy Powers with Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson: Natural High Chapter 2: Craig Wiseman: Master of the Three-Minute Movie Chapter 3: Tom Shapiro: Never Give Up On a Good Thing Chapter 4: Dallas Davidson: Dirt Road Diaries Chapter 5: “Whisperin’” Bill Anderson: Whiskey Lullaby Chapter 6: Bob DiPiero: American-Made Chapter 7: Sonny Curtis: I Fought the Law Chapter 8: Tom T.