Articles
How to write a hit song
LONELY lyricist seeks compatible composer to make beautiful music together. Send tape to P.O. Box No.1 Hit. The traditional reason for co-writing was if one of you exclusively wrote words and the other provided the music. Relationships of that kind still exist. Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin are perhaps the most successful example. Today, though, when probably more songs are co-written than penned by individuals, both parties tend to contribute to both words and music.
The Songs of Jon Philibert, Sue Bennett & Friends
There's a very commercial sound to this 51-minute collaboration between Jon Philibert and Sue Bennett and other British songwriters and recorded in Hendersonville, just outside Nashville, featuring six American singers.
Country Cuts: The Songs Of Jon Philibert & Sue Bennett (and friends)
What we have here is an interesting and impressive collection of songs. Interesting because they all come from the pens of British writers, and impressive because, by comparison with the outlay made by major labels, these have been recorded on a shoestring budget at a small studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee under the watchful eye of Gene Rabbai. Originally intended as demo recordings, the finished product, all sung by Nashville based vocalists, has turned out so well it was decided to put it on the market.
Inside A Nashville Demo Studio
Ever wondered how to get that song to your favourite artist? Well, it's not easy, but the first thing you need is a professional demo. Songwriter and CMP contributor Jon Philibert meets up with Gene Rabbai (pronounced like "Hawaii") who runs Studio A in the bucolic peace of Hendersonville outside Nashville.
Country Cuts - Review
Readers of Country Music People will know Jon Philibert for his incisive reviews of other people's records, but now he's come up with an album of his own. To be more precise, it's an album of songs written by Jon with Sue Bennett, Lorna Flowers and a few other friends - all of them British - and recorded in Hendersonville, Tennessee by Tim Raybon, Mike Sutterfield, Dave Brooks, Lance Miller and Kelly Nolf.
The David Allan Page
Also hugely enjoyable -and original -is Country Cuts, all British songs written by Sue Bennett and CMP's own Jon Philibert performed by a variety of Nashville-based singers which should be generally available within a month or so.
With a song in my heart and a bulge in my wallet
If you can combine a way with words with an ear for a catchy melody, songwriting could be the most lucrative form of writing you ever do. Douglas McPherson caught up with working songwriter Jon Philibert to find out about the songsmith's craft.