book cover

The Backstory

Songplugger: The Cuts and the Bruises was first published in 2008 as a 400 page ‘how-To’ on pitching songs in Nashville, and included interviews with 27 of the industry’s top pros. The book-release party was held at BMI Nashville, and it received a write-up in Country Weekly Magazine sometime the following year.
(See original book info)

Given that the industry has changed, and the how-to seems less relevant in the current business model, we have decided to re-imagine the book as more of a behind-the-scenes look at the country hits of the 90’s – getting first-hand accounts from the publishers, writers and pluggers that made it all possible.

Currently Seeking...

At least 15 to 20 more interviews to round out the new book.
*If we can get more, there might be a Vol 1 and 2.

Of course, we’re hoping enough industry insiders will want to help us preserve the stories of that magical time in the 90’s when country music was experiencing its second Golden-Era of the Nashville songwriter – and the amazing songpluggers that helped them make their dreams come true.

How you can help...

If you were an industry insider in the 90’s, take a look at some of the sample, short and long form interviews from the original book, and shoot us a quick email to let us know you’re interested.

If you have a great story to tell about a hit song – how it got recorded and how it ended up on radio… we want to hear it!

Thanks!

submissions@songpluggerbook.com

* Please forward to anyone you think might be interested.

Current interviews... (27)

Scott Hendricks
Sherrill Blackman
Ralph Murphy
Scott Gunter
Doug Johnson
Craig Wiseman
Steve Seskin
Troy Tomlinson
Buddy Cannon
Cliff Audretch, III
Jody Williams
John Ozier
Kim Wiggins
Rundi Ream

Charles J. Sanders
Shereé Spoltoré
Tara Austin
Stephanie Wright
Dan Hodges
Anastasia Brown
Frank Rogers
Darrell Franklin
Jeremy Witt
Missi Gallimore
Kirk Boyer
Steve Markland
Chris Oglesby
Chris Wallin

Interview Examples...

Short form
Cuts and Bruises – Anecdotal

Long Form
Sherrill Blackman PDF
Scott Hendricks PDF
Craig Wiseman PDF
Buddy Cannon PDF

Video Form
True Nashville Tales

Scott Hendricks

Cut: There is a song on the first album with Alan Jackson that we weren’t supposed to cut. We were only approved to cut fourteen songs. Well, we had cut all fourteen, and there was still fifteen minutes left on the tracking session. But there was one more song that both Keith Stegall and I really liked. It just wasn’t approved by the label. But we had fifteen minutes, so we thought, why not? And we cut it. The next day, Tim DuBois calls and asks me, “How did it go?” I said, it went great! Then he asked, “Which song do you think is the hit?” And I told him the title of the fifteenth song. He was just livid! “You weren’t even supposed to cut that song! It wasn’t on our approved list.” And I said,we cut all fourteen on the list, and we had time, so we cut this one as well. Your question was what song I think is the hit. And my answer to you was… that fifteenth song.

Believe it or not, while he was on the phone he told me, “Not only is that song not a hit, it’s not even going to make the record!” We finished all fifteen songs and turned them in to the label, and to Tim’s credit — and I admire him greatly for this — he let everybody in the office listen to every song — all fifteen.

And pretty much, everybody in the office liked that fifteenth song best. Still, he didn’t want it as the first single. So Alan came out with “Blue Blooded Woman” as his first single. But when it came time for the second single, again to Tim’s credit, he said, “Okay, maybe I’m the only guy that’s missing this. Everybody seems to like this other song, so I’m going to go with it.” And that’s the song that broke Alan Jackson as an artist. It was a song called “Here In The Real World.” That really taught me a lesson. Sometimes even the best ears in the business don’t hear it initially. Since this happened, the story has been reversed for me, when I was in Tim’s shoes. I have so much respect for Tim because of that. We’ve all had those similar situations, but it takes a big person to go, “You know what? I could be wrong about this.” I admire him for doing that, and I learned a valuable lesson that helped me later on.

Darrell Franklin

Bruise: Everybody misses stuff, for whatever reason. We had a heart breaker when we were working on a Trace Adkins album. I was pitched a great song, and I put it on hold for Trace. I played it for Dann, and at the time, it just really wasn’t what we were looking for — so we moved on. About a month later, I was told by the songpluggers that the song had been written with Trace in mind. It was called “Ain’t Nothing About You,” and it later went on to be a big hit for Brooks & Dunn. The reason it was such a bruise is, we had moved on with Trace’s album, and when Brooks & Dunn released that song as a single, it was a hit, flying up the charts. And by then, we had refocused the direction on Trace, and I remember Dann saying, “What we need is that song; we need another “Ain’t Nothing About You.” Dann said, “Call up the publishers and tell them to pitch us songs like that one.” So I remember calling Pat Higdon and saying, hey, just FYI; we’re needing a song like, “Ain’t Nothing About You.” I think Pat conversed with the pluggers over there, and they came back to me and said,“Well, actually, you were the first one to hear that song.” And of course, they reminded me of what had happened. You know, sometimes you just forget when you’ve heard something — that happens. But that was one particular case where Dann and I both had heard it, and passed on it. And then when we heard it on the radio, it matched up perfectly with the new direction we’re going with Trace. So that was our bruise. [laughs]

About the Authors: With over 35 years of combined music business experience, this dynamic duo has seen its share of success.

Penny is a respected publisher, owner of Little Vixen Music, and a pro songplugger currently representing catalogs from such notable songwriters as Chris Wallin, Steven McClintock, Thom Shepherd, Mary Ann Kennedy, Moke Cameron, Troy McConnell, Jai Josefs and, previously, Bluewater Music. She was profiled in the publisher edition of Music Row magazine’s “Row File,” November 2005. Her professional memberships include CMA, CCMA, SOLID, NSAI, WCS, NARAS, ASCAP, SOCAN and she is the Vice President for the Woman’s Music Business Association (WMBA).

Beyond her many music business successes, she volunteers on the events committee of the Nashville Humane Association and was instrumental in putting together the hugely successful 2006 Ryman concert that featured Emmylou Harris (accompanied by Mary Ann Kennedy and Pam Rose), Paula Cole, Mindy Smith and Patty Griffin — to raise needed funds for a community outreach spay and neuter program called ROVER. Penny is also a frequent speaker at music industry workshops and seminars, and lives and works in Nashville.

Troy spent 22 years in Nashville as a writer and indie producer, and was a staff writer for several notable publishing companies. He has had songs performed (though not recorded) by Garth Brooks, and has shared the stage with up-and-coming artists such as Garth, Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney. Troy wrote a song that was played before the Supreme Court of The United States. He co-authored a 400-page music business book with Penny Dionne that is titled – Songplugger: The Cuts and the Bruises; which was written up in Country Weekly Magazine – 2009. With the book release held at BMI Nashville.

He has performed on the Grand Ole Opry, written a jingle for Firestone Racing Division, produced various artists – one that landed a major record deal on an MCA subsidiary. Troy has taught songwriting workshops at various songwriter conferences across the nation, including Nashville Songwriter’s Association. ASCAP, Durango Songwriters Expo, Tin Pan South (Nashville), Country Music Hall of Fame, and West Coast Songwriters. He is a pro songwriter and multi-instrumentalist: Acoustic/Electric Guitar, keyboards, Bass, Trumpet, etc. Visit his website at www.DaddyMacMusic.com