I received a very touching song and story last week that I want to share with you.
Dear Sir,
I have a song that I wrote called Scarred Hands.
It is a true story about my mother who saved my sister from a fire when she was a new born
Her hands became scarred when she saved my sister
My mother was so ashame of her hands she always wore gloves to cover them so people wouldn't make fun of her..
When my sister was older and she told my mother about another person named Jesus who had Scarred Hands she never wore the gloves again.
Our pastor of our church has a studio which he makes mp3s to help support the church.
Three of the girls in the choir sang the song and the church band played the music for the song.It is a modern day country Gospel Song.Can you listen to this song and tell me if the song is worthy for your company.
This is my first song I have ever written.Everybody tells me this song has a lot of heart and can touch a lot of people.
Here is the mp3 of Scarred Hands.
I received a song and video from a guy in Atlanta Georgia that I thought was worth a listen:
I thought the video was so appropriate for the song, that I can't help but share it with you.
Chris wrote these words, along with the link:
Music, lyrics and video by Chris Hebert.
Some old video I had from 2003 shot on my Super 8.
I recorded the song a few months ago
The Top Ten Country Songs
Every Songwriter Should Know
By Peter Cooper on June 23rd, 2010
OK, I admit it: These aren’t the best 50 country songs.
In fact, I’ll submit that there is no such thing as the “best” or the “greatest” when it comes to songs. Making “Long Black Veil” arm-wrestle with “Sunday Morning Coming Down” is silly and fruitless. Championships are for sports, not songs. And even if I thought that “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” was definitely, without a doubt the 11th best country song, I’d have a different opinion five minutes later. And who am I to judge, anyway? I’m an avid listener, a teacher, a journalist and a songwriter (hopefully not necessarily in that order), but that doesn’t mean that you’re wrong and I’m right if you think “Wabash Cannonball” or “Faded Love” or whatever Taylor Swift wrote yesterday is the best country song ever written. Trying to be objective about something inherently subjective is… well, silly and fruitless.
Well, why make a list, then? In my case, I thought it’d be fun to make a list of best country songs because I could put my own songs right up at the top. Me = Better Than Hank Williams, in just a few keystrokes. Sadly, the American Songwriter folks told me that wouldn’t be kosher. So I thought for hours and even days about the songs that have meant something to me, and then I whittled hundreds of those songs down to a list of 50, using all available powers of intellect, memory and befuddled whimsy.
I tried not to think about what songs had been popular, and I removed the genre distinctions we make between country and what is now often called Americana music. For our purposes here, Merle Haggard and Townes Van Zandt are both country. And I also tried to keep from loading it up with a bunch of songs from any one particular writer. Truth be told, there are days when I think the best 50 country songs were all written by Tom T. Hall. Other days, Kris Kristofferson, Hank Williams or John Prine would hold that private honor.
In the end, I arrived at nothing definitive. And, no, I cannot explain for the life of me why Steve Earle’s “No. 29” isn’t in the #29 slot, nor can I justify the exclusion of “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain,” “Detroit City” or “Abilene.” I’ll repeat: These aren’t the best 50 country songs. But in my opinion, they are 50 songs that songwriters should know.
10. “Desperados Waiting For A Train”
Written and recorded by Guy Clark. Released 1975.
First line: “I’d play the ‘Red River Valley.’” Second line: “And he’d sit in the kitchen and cry.” People call Clark “the Craftsman,” and he doesn’t shy away from that. But “Desperados” is so far beyond craft. This song looks down from great heights at little bitty craft and waves smugly. As with Tom T. Hall’s “Mama, Bake A Pie,” understatement is key here. “We was friends, me and this old man,” Clark writes. And then he continues on to a conclusion both dismal and beautiful. Good lord.
9. “Mama, Bake A Pie (Daddy Kill A Chicken)”
Written and recorded by Tom T. Hall. Released 1971.
The most devastating anti-war song you’ve ever heard, with wry chuckles that set you up for crushing blows. In a few minutes, Hall covers sadness, alcoholism, family relations, ignorance, apathy and love, without ever shifting the narrative away from the thoughts of a wounded soldier coming home. “I know she’ll come and see me, but I bet she never once looks at my legs/No, she’ll talk about the weather, and the dress she wore at the July 4th parade.”
8. “You Don’t Know Me”
Written by Cindy Walker and Eddy Arnold. Recorded by Ray Charles. Released 1962.
Walker likely wrote the bulk of this classic unrequited love song, which Ray Charles took to great heights on his groundbreaking Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music album. “You Don’t Know Me” has survived trends and decades, and it has been recorded by Elvis Presley, Emmylou Harris, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson and other geniuses of song.
7. “Gentle On My Mind”
Written by John Hartford. Recorded by Glen Campbell. Released 1967.
Campbell’s version of Hartford’s Grammy-winning song has aired more than 5 million times on television and radio. Lyrically, it’s among it’s among the densest songs in popular music. Words upon words spill out, yet a lovely melody is unhampered by the chatter, and the lyrics were a beacon for new-era songwriters like Kristofferson and Tom T. Hall. “Through cupped hands, ‘round a tin can/I pretend to hold you to my breast and find/That you’re waiting from the back roads by the rivers of my memories/Ever smiling, ever gentle on my mind.”
6. “Ode To Billie Joe”
Written and recorded by Bobbie Gentry. Released 1967.
This is a heartfelt study of indifference, complete with Southern Gothic imagery and unexplained mystery. What did they throw off the Tallahatchie Bridge? Why did Billie Joe off himself? What is the true nature of empathy? Of family connection?
5. “Sunday Morning Coming Down”
Written and recorded by Kris Kristofferson. Released 1970.
Kristofferson gives us a portrait of desolation, complete with humor, drama and linguistic specificity. It’s a four-and-a-half minute song, and Kristofferson doesn’t ease up on a single line. There’s an a.m. beer, and a “cleanest dirty shirt” and a “laughing little girl” and so much detail and drama. You could write a book about this song.
4. “Long Black Veil”
Written by Marijohn Wilkin and Danny Dill. Recorded by Lefty Frizzell. Released 1959.
Well, the story was good enough: a man accused of murder could save himself from hanging by providing an alibi. He dies rather than giving his alibi, because the truth is that he was in the arms of his best friend’s wife at the time of the slaying. Cool story, then. But Wilkin and Dill surmised and delivered a mind-blowing songwriting angle: They allowed the story to come from the perspective of the dead man, who tells the tale and lets us know that the friend’s wife still visits his grave.
3. “Silver Wings”
Written and recorded by Merle Haggard. Released 1969.
Here’s a song structure no group of Music Row co-writers would approve these days: chorus, bridge, chorus, guitar solo, chorus, fade, out. From this, Haggard conveys a sadness that can’t be spoken.
2. “The Gambler”
Written by Don Schlitz. Recorded by Kenny Rogers. Released 1978.
Those who were around in the 1970s and early 1980s may have trouble distancing this career-saving classic song from the mediocre movies, bad jokes, bumper stickers and “Know when to fold ‘em” advertising campaigns that it inspired. But “The Gambler” is a masterpiece of subtlety and emotion (two qualities many writers erroneously assume to be polar opposites). It’s also an anomaly: it’s a story song in which the story’s details remain mysterious, and it contains an unforgettable chorus that doesn’t arrive until a minute into the song. These days, presidential candidates and ESPN SportsCenter anchors quote Schlitz’s words. But remove this song from radio memories and cultural importance—take this thing all the way out of context—and you’re left with words and a melody that any of us would be proud to have written.
1. “Lost Highway”
Written by Leon Payne. Recorded by Hank Williams. Released 1949.
Country’s ultimate cautionary tale. A man beyond redemption offers the only advice he can muster: Don’t be like me. “I was just a lad, nearly twenty-two/Neither good nor bad, just a kid like you/And now I’m lost, too late to pray/Lord, I’ve paid the cost on the lost highway.” Leon Payne wrote “Lost Highway” while hitch-hiking to Texas, trying to go see his ailing mother. First recorded by Payne in 1948, the song found its perfect vehicle in the voice of doomed hillbilly genius Hank Williams, who was well familiar with the stretch of bad road Payne painted.
Nashville Music Vets Launch
If you’re a Nashville-based musician looking for another great Internet resource (a la AmericanSongspace.com), look no further than Musicstartshere.org.
The new site, which officially launched last week, is a community, city and industry-sponsored initiative created to “help artists, songwriters, musicians, technicians and industry professionals simplify and streamline the craft and business of making music.”
The site’s creators, Doak Turner and Will Carter, held a huge launch party at the Red Rooster restaurant in Nashville, attended by over 250 members of the music industry. There they showed off the new site, which currently features over 100 video clips, offering instruction and professional advice from music songwriters, artists, publishers, and pros from ASCAP, BMI ,SESAC, and NSAI, as well as an image coach, vocal coach, entertainment attorney, and a banker.
Agents For Songwriters Part 1:
Do You Need An Agent?
Once you’ve progressed to a certain point in your songwriting career, you’re writing regularly, you have various entities interested in your songs, you may begin to wonder “Do I need an agent?”. Sometimes it’s a difficult question to answer, especially if you aren’t a “seasoned” songwriter with years of experience in the business.
With artists who have not yet been blessed with a wealth of experience, the idea sometimes forms that if you want to put your career on the road to success, you need to hire an agent. What some are surprised to learn is that actually, the very opposite is true. Some of the misconception is due to the simple fact that many individuals are really unfamiliar with what an agent actually does.
Conversely, there are those who experience some songwriting success, but don’t have agents because the idea of paying an agent 15% of their income is unpleasant, and often viewed as unnecessary (Why hire an agent when I can do it myself?).
What does an agent do? That’s a good question, the full answer of which would take more space and time than this article allows, but here’s the basics:
An agent essentially operates as a “go-between” or middleman between the artist and the entities he or she is marketing to. However, the agent’s duty and responsibilities don’t end there. An agent works as an advisor to the artist, providing creative advice as well as critique, making suggestions as basic but important as how songs should be submitted for consideration. An agent also provides career and professional advice. A good agent works to protect the artist and songwriter, to negotiate the best possible deal on their behalf, and to help direct the marketing of the songwriter’s work in the most advantageous and profitable way.
What are the advantages of having an agent? Agent representation gives the world the perception that you are indeed a professional. But more importantly, and sometimes most importantly, it is evidence that an objective source (the agent) has enough confidence in your songwriting abilities and your career as to think that you have a marketable product. That can be a powerful statement.
Another advantage of agent representation is that agents are professionals at what they do; you’re not. They are familiar with industry and legal wrangling, certain protocols and intricate points of negotiation needed to obtain the best results for you.
In the second part to this article, we’ll look at several things you should do before hiring an agent.
Agents For Songwriters Part 2:
Before You Consider Hiring An Agent…
The relationship you establish with an agent is a partnership, a collaboration of sorts that can prove most important to you and your songwriting career. If you are contemplating hiring an agent, make sure you understand what an agent does and his responsibilities, and what are your responsibilities within your partnership. Here are a few pointers:
Produce A Quality Product
An agent works to help you to market your product, but you must present him/her with a promotion-worthy product. If your songwriting has not yet reached a point that you are experiencing success with it, or the quality of your writing has not reached a level of critical excellence, then you can’t expect the agent to work miracles. You have a responsibility to produce a high-quality and marketable product.
Build Your Audience
It’s not the agent’s job to build an audience for you. You should already have an audience following by the time you seek an agent. His job is to increase your sphere of influence. It’s your job to “close the sale”.
Learn Your Business
It’s not the agent’s job to teach you the songwriting business. An agent can provide guidance, advise and critique, but it’s your job to research, study and keep abreast of current trends and industry developments. Seek resources for industry insights and information, professional instruction and strategies. This will help you to be a better partner to your agent, and help you both to achieve what is in your best professional and career interests.
Supply The Resources For Marketing Your Work
Provide promotional materials for the agent to work with. Supplying biographical information, copies of your work recorded on CDs or DVDs, copies of critics reviews, articles, records of sales or other evidence to support the quality and marketability of your work helps your agent to do a better job on your behalf.
Hiring an agent is a significant step in the progression of your career. There are many factors that should be taken into consideration. Making sure that you first are well informed and prepared to make this very important step, helps to assure that hiring an agent is an advantage for you and proves profitable for your songwriting career.
In the last article in this three-part series, we’ll review what characteristics you should look for when hiring an agent.
Brian Cook is a freelance writer whose articles on music and songwriting have appeared on many websites.
You can find more of these at SongwritersGuide.com.
A&R Reps – The Talent Scouts Of Music
If you are an artist you have probably dreamed about getting signed to a major recording contract, but the sad truth is that few artists actually know anything about the record companies’ personnel who is responsible for discovering new talent, where and when they look to find talent, and what they are looking for in that talent. Now, I could easily write a book on a discussion of A&R but here is a brief overview of it.
The first thing you need to know is who A&R is. A&R is an acronym for Artists and Repertoire and they are representatives who are record company personnel whose job it is to go around and discover new talent and help to develop that talent. The further those reps climb in their business the more they begin to get paid and the more stressful their job becomes.
A&R reps have a huge responsibility to make money for their company and to justify their career positions; because of this A&R reps try to follow the current trends to look for the next big hit or watch and see what reps from other labels are pursuing. Most believe that these reps have signing power within the company but they do not. A&R reps first need to find potential artists, and then get the approval of the record company president, which is the hardest part of the job. All of this makes it extremely hard to be an A&R rep at a label, an average life-span of three years in fact.
Now, if you are trying to get a record deal you probably want to know what these reps are looking for. The key things they are looking for are artists who have potential hit songs, a marketable image, a great live show, signature sound, and long-term career potential. Although it is not a must, reps prefer bands that are business-minded and first help themselves. What that means is artists who press and sell their own recordings, build a strong fan base, establish a strong web presence, and have a clear vision of their goals are far more attractive to record company reps than those who do not.
Now, where do reps discover new talent? A&R reps discover new bands through: surfing the internet for MP3 music files, attending local club performances, listening to college radio stations, independent record labels, reviews in local and nation trade magazines, etc. The best way to get spotted by a rep is to just play music through these different ways and if you are good enough you will get found.
As I said, I could write books about what an A&R rep does, but the basic run down is they are paid by record labels to go out and find potential talent to be signed by that label. If you are an artist looking to get signed I hope understanding what an A&R rep does and how they do it will help you to get signed.
Brian Cook is a freelance writer whose articles on music and songwriting have appeared on many websites.