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Anyone familiar with the business of songwriting knows that most professional word men remain anonymous throughout their entire career. Save for other songwriters and liner note junkies, few people know they exist, and most writers actually prefer it that way. That is why some of these writers are easily impersonated (or their songs are claimed by others as their own creations).
As a teenager, I had the privilege of meeting the man behind "He Stopped Loving Her Today," or so I was briefly led to believe. My father, who is going to probably pick up the phone and give me an earful when he reads this, a musician, met a fellow picker and writer who, undoubtedly hoping to impress my dad, boasted that he wrote the classic country track, one of my father's favorite songs. As a music junkie and a skeptic (a wild combination), I wasn't totally convinced, but Dad, he bought the tale sinker, line, and hook.
Now you must understand, this was back when most records and cassettes didn't include the names of songwriters in the liner notes, so my dad wouldn't have known if Bobby Braddock had written the track, or Elmer Fudd. Still, one might have been curious as to why this guy couldn't play any other "great" songs he'd written, or back up his claim in any way. Perhaps a fake award or two would have been a nice touch to make his story more believable.
Needless to say, it didn't take long for dear old Dad to find out his new picking partner had a small problem with telling the truth. A bit of research confirmed that Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman had actually written "He Stopped Loving Her Today." Said picking partner quickly disappeared from our lives.
I was reminded of this story recently while preparing questions for my profile on Mr. Braddock. I just had to share the tale of misappropriated songwriting credit with the legendry writer. It was no surprise to me that the man behind Toby Keith's tongue-in-cheek "I Wanna Talk About Me" found the story somewhat amusing. After he stopped laughing, Braddock kindly answered a few questions.
Todd Sterling: How would you describe your writing style?
Bobby Braddock: Can't say. I'm too close to the trees to see the forest.
TS: Where do you draw inspiration from?
BB: Emotion. Personal experience. Words, the way they sound, what they say - hopefully, something that's never been said before, or at least a new way to say it. Personal relationships, for sure. Harlan Howard once said a relationship isn't a failure if you get a hit song out of it.
TS: When you write a song, do you ever write with a particular artist in mind?
BB: Not usually, but sometimes.
TS: There are purists who think that a writer sells him or herself short when they write a commercial song as opposed to a deep, artistic one. What is your take on the art vs. commerce debate; how can a songwriter feed both sides?
BB: I think "commercial" just means people are going to buy it. Therefore, most of the music that has influenced us is "commercial." It's entirely possible to write something wonderful and profound that a lot of people will buy, and, conversely, it's possible to go down deep inside yourself and come up with something really bad.
TS: Can you talk about "He Stopped Loving Her Today" for a minute; maybe give readers a bit of insight as to what inspired the classic? During the writing of the song, did you at any time stop and think that maybe you were onto something special?
BB: I wrote this with the great Curly Putman. He says I brought him the idea of a man loving a woman so much that it took death to put out the fire. We put together quite a bit of it one afternoon, then I finished it at home that night. A couple of years later, producer Billy Sherrill wanted to record it on George Jones, but he asked for an additional verse, one about the woman returning for the funeral. Coincidentally, Curly and I had done that initially and discarded it. So we wrote three or four versions of the verse before we came up with one that Billy accepted. I never thought the song was all that special until Billy played the Jones recording for me, and I realized for the first time that it was something significant. I've always felt that the vocal and the production elevated it mightily. I do think the character in the song is a terrible role model; he should have gotten on with his life.
TS: Who are your three favorite writers?
BB: I would probably give you a different answer on a different day. My favorite all-time country writer is probably Bob McDill. I also love the songs of a guy in Nashville named Don Henry. I may be prejudiced, but I love my daughter Lauren's songwriting; when she was eight, she wrote, "If I was a cloud, I'd have baby raindrops, and they'd feed the treetops," then when she was an adult, she and Don Henry turned it into a song. My favorite country song of the past decade is Rodney Crowell's "Please Remember Me." Matraca Berg has written a couple of my favorite songs. Of the legendary writers, I would have to include Irving Berlin, Lennon and McCartney, Paul Simon, Randy Newman and, back to country, we mustn't forget Hank Williams. Leiber and Stoller wrote all those great rock 'n' roll classics; so did Chuck Berry. And tomorrow I might come up with a completely different list. Oh, some people may think I'm kidding, but I think Eminem, despite all his anger, is a genius lyricist.
TS: If you could write with anyone, who would it be?
BB: Maybe write lyrics to a George Gershwin melody, or music to William Shakespeare's words.
TS: Can you name the one song you wish you'd written, and why?
BB: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; great royalties.
TS: There are creative people who can't function unless everything around them is just right. Do you have a certain ritual when writing? Does everything have to be in its place - your coffee cup, your slippers, your pen?
BB: All I need is the inspiration and hope that it doesn't come when I'm just heading out the door for an appointment or something.
TS: Some writers claim they're just a channel through which songs flow; they just tune in and the material comes. What are your thoughts on this?
BB: Some people claim that God writes their songs, but I think if God were to write a song, it would be so dazzling that we'd all fall down in awe. The creative process is a great mystery. Anytime we can unlock one little door in the great house of mystery, it's a real accomplishment. Sometimes it does seem that the great ideas are sort of floating around, waiting for someone to reach up and grab them. If that's true, I think it would help if the person who does this knows what he or she is doing. Often the great emotions - joy or sorrow - can trigger a song. I've found that writing down an affirmation at bedtime sometimes works, such as "I will write a great song when I wake up" or "I will find the right ending for this song tomorrow." You literally sleep on it while your subconscious goes to work for you - incidentally, this is also effective in knowing what to say to persuade or influence someone, or even in finding a lost object such as a billfold or keys.
TS: People are constantly picking apart the way things are done in Nashville. What do you think is the biggest problem in Nashville? What, in your opinion, is the solution?
BB: The biggest problem in Nashville - and it's probably true in any other place, it's just that it's Nashville I'm most familiar with - is that people are resistant to something radically new that comes along, then when it turns out to be big, everybody wants to jump on the bandwagon.
TS: You've produced Blake Shelton's last three albums. How do you approach the production side of things as opposed to the songwriting? Do you have to consciously turn off the songwriting switch in your brain, or does being a songwriter enhance your abilities as a producer?
BB: I have to totally separate the two. The first reason for this is to avoid a conflict of interest. I once voted one of my songs off Blake's album. My cardinal rule is to be as objective as I possibly can. I've championed songs written by people I don't personally like, and I've broken my own heart having to pass on songs written by people I love. During the producing process, I have to make myself stand in line with all the other songwriters, so I don't pitch Blake many songs; in fact, he gets on to me for not pitching him enough. But I come up with a lot of the arrangements for the things we record, such as the piano intro and string outro on "The Baby," and the piano and violin parts on the current single, "Goodbye Time." That's songwriting, it's melody writing. The hard part is it's creativity on demand, I have to be able to count on myself to do it. The easy part is working with some of the greatest musicians in the world, people whose creativity shines through.
TS: What advice would you give someone who wants to make songwriting a career?
BB: First of all, you probably need to want to do it more than anything in the world. If you really believe in yourself, and have good reason to think that you're good, based on what others tell you (family and friends don't count), then be prepared to sacrifice and be patient...If you REALLY believe in yourself, don't give up. Those who are successful in any field are those who are prepared to keep on keeping on.
TS: What are some of the biggest mistakes new writers make?
BB: Lack of patience, and the inability to judge their own material. I would suggest that a writer be true to himself or herself (DON'T try to write more of what everyone else is writing), but also know where the market is; in other words, it's fine to write left (or right) of center, just make sure you know where the center is, for reference.
TS: How would you define success?
BB: I guess success is excelling in that which is really important to you. But I would like to add this thought. I've been asked to share my views about the art of songwriting, apparently because I've written some well-known songs or because I'm thought of as a good songwriter. But if I really knew what it took, I would never have a bad year, or a bad month. I haven't had a #1 song in (a few) years, so what do I know? I just recently produced a #1 song, but the one I produced just before that was a flop, so what do I know? If I REALLY held the key to the secret of the hit song, I'd get it right every time, and I don't. The truth is it's a crap shoot and all we can do is try our best and hope and guess.
Article: © Todd Sterling - SongwriterPro.com - All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Article: © SongwriterPro.com Kelly Dunn - All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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