what I’m saying”. I started pitching more, and Get you a notebook”. She was teaching me, here. I don’t talk about this stuff much. That
pitching more. Maybe I am a songwriter here. pounding me. That was my school, man. It was made me who I am. All of that stuff. And I think
great. I was fortunate. you draw on that stuff. It’s real. It’s experience.
Songwriting is important to me I must say. As
People always say you write what you know.
I young guy here I was lucky with Dottie West. [WM] Your father had a profound effect upon She was connected. I’d be with her and she’d you, as did my father upon me. Both loved be hanging out with Willie Nelson, Roger Miller, music, experienced the Great Depression, Part of it, like with Chet Atkins, he came out of
or Hank Cochran. I’m hanging out with all these and knew about suffering first-hand. The late poverty, East Tennessee. He used to listen to
people peripherally, and I’m like, “Holy cow, I’m Pastor John Wimber once told me, “Never the radio, and when he wanted to learn the lick
like Forrest Gump hanging out with all these trust a man that doesn’t walk with a limp”. Why of a song, he had to wait two days sitting by the
incredible songwriters”. Merle Haggard, they is it that hardship molds our character and radio just for the song to come back on. That’s
were all saying, “Hey, Dottie”. She was a really provides such a solid underpinning for good how you learned back then. In a lot of ways
good songwriter. I give her credit. She won a songwriting? hardship forges your character and makes
Grammy in 1964 for a song called “Here Comes
That’s what I do.
you a better person. We moved all the time
My Baby”. She was the first female artist to win [Steve] That’s really good. Well, Chet Atkins too. I went to every school except one in our
a Grammy, and for a song that she wrote. That’s was a Depression era kid too. I saw it all the area. I was the new kid over and over. It was
why I kept pounding on everybody a few years time. Man if you don’t know suffering, you don’t embarrassing, we had nothing. My Dad finally
ago saying she’s got to be in the Country Hall of know how to… I think I draw on my childhood, got on a roll later, back then you had back
Fame. She was a great teacher. I used to come but when I was a kid my Dad had back surgery, surgery you are out of work for a year. We lost
on the bus when traveling with her and she’d I had a brother and sister both with spinal a little brother, and it was rough. 1959-1963 or
ask me, “What did you write this week”? I’d go, meningitis at Riley Hospital, they both probably 64 was just brutal for my family. But then my
“Well nothing”, and she’d say, “You need to be shouldn’t even be here. My early childhood was Dad got it going pretty good. He was playing
writing every day, every couple of days anyway. very rough, not good at all. I’m getting touched out a lot, flourishing. But he got hurt working at
Garth and Steve Live
December 2019
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