Bebe Rexha is a Classy Mess
Inquiring minds have been inquiring and the answer is yes. Meredith Brooks and I received co-writing credit on Bebe Rexha’s “I’m A Mess.” The writers, Justin Tranter, Jussifer & Bebe herself, felt the hook on Mess had enough of a likeness to “Bitch” to offer up a piece. Most writers would have gone into denial and skipped merrily along onto their next co-write.
You Can Take The Girl Out of NY But...
Years ago The Big Apple was a budding songwriter’s dream. It set my synapsis afire. It still does. I wrote a song on every corner.
Mayday Mayday: Calling ALL Songwriters
Unless you live under a rock, you must have heard of the MMA —The Music Modernization Act—the copyright reform legislation so desperately needed by songwriters. It’s the one we’ve been fighting for for years. Well, it’s being blocked by SESAC. That's right, the PRO SESAC. So roll up your sleeves.
Aloha and Mahalo-Songwriting in Hawaii with Kenny Loggins!
Kenny remarked, “ya know...luck smells a lot like sweat.” Even if he managed to be in the right place at the right time over and over I think we can agree that he backed it up with the right stuff. No one should ever feel guilty if they get lucky. Maybe luck is something the Universe rewards us with when we’ve done the hard work and believe in ourselves.
Vocal Rest
I’ve been thinking about the timing of my laryngitis. It usually coincides with air travel, which I’ve been doing a lot of lately, and…as it happens, right before a performance. So what’s really going on?
The Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project
I’ve heard it said, “those who can, do; those who can't, teach.” I reject that notion. I’m enjoying “doing” (writing songs) more than ever. I may not be making as much money as I did when physical albums were flying off the shelves but is that how we measure success?
Up Close & Personal
No matter how gloriously any recording artist delivers a song, there’s simply nothing like hearing the songwriter who wrote it sing it. Perhaps it's not as glamorous or controlled but there is a primal element in the the voice of the writer from whom the song emerged and that's something that nobody else can own.
Join The Noise
If the business model of 20 years ago was as it is today, that favorite song of yours...the one you sang to your baby at bedtime ("Surfer Girl" for me), or danced to at your wedding, might never have been written because the writer who wrote it might not have been able to sustain themselves long enough to stay in the game. Well, things are about to change. Hopefully!
Will You Cross That Bridge When You Come To It?
If there is no bridge, there has to be another element that replaces the psychological function a bridge would have served, in order for the emotional arc of a song to do it’s job. Juss sayin'.
Daughters & Mothers...Mother's Day 2018
“I’m losing my lip line,” my mother assessed as she regretfully stared at her reflection in the vanity mirror. I was standing beside her looking up. What on earth was she talking about— ‘Losing her lip line’?? Where did it go? Now I understand.
I Can't Keep Quiet
As the late great Nora Ephron put it, "Everything is copy." Art, resulting from a traumatic experience, is still something worth sharing.
The Room Where it Happens
I love these young faces. College campuses. Skateboards. Limitless possibility in the air. I want to be part of the movement that helps make those possibilities possible. Perhaps it’s a different road than I traveled but even a detour should eventually lead to the same bliss, sense of accomplishment and livelihood.
Dear Kesha...
I hope you continue to journey through life, along with its joys and “incidents,” with dignity and perseverance.
Imagine
Every party involved in the process of getting a song to your ears should be compensated. We’re nothing without each other. The songwriter, the record label, the delivery platform, the technology. The imbalance of royalty distribution is the result of archaic music licensing laws that are no longer relevant. Imagine how workable things would be if we had some new laws.
Born This Way
We never feel so high as when we wake up in the morning and listen to the song we wrote the day before and realize it’s as good as we thought it was. And we’re never so bummed as when we wake up and realize it isn’t. But we write another. We know who we are. We are each other.
For Your Consideration: Confessions of a Serial Songwriter
It’s important that the professional songwriter, and our story, be represented in the small group of audio books nominated for a GRAMMY. After all, the GRAMMYs is an award platform that revolves around the music industry. And songwriters are at the heart of it. Without songs there'd be no music business.
Life After Songwriting
Franne Golde confesses, “I never say I used to be a songwriter, I'll always be a songwriter and I'm so grateful I was lucky enough to come up in a time when I could make a great living at something I truly loved."
