Somebody Everybody Listens To (28 page)

To Julie Strauss-Gabel, my superstar, chart-topping editor, I dedicate Mary Chapin Carpenter's “I Feel Lucky” because I am
so
incredibly lucky to have you. Thank you for listening and believing.

To my guardian agent, Ann Tobias, I dedicate Willie Nelson's “Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys.” Thanks for always being a straight shooter and for taking such good care of me.

To Stacy Scruggs, a true country performer and now my friend, I dedicate Tammy Wynette's “Singing My Song.” Like Tammy, you put a teardrop in every note. Thank you for being so generous with your time.

To Kirk “Bubba” Whiteside, I dedicate Gretchen Wilson's “Redneck Woman.” Thanks for getting (and tolerating) my warped sense of humor and for always inspiring me.

To my best buds—Margaret Strahley Anderson, Karyn-Mina Dillard-Gits, Anne Grant, Stacey Levas, Diane Miller Mulloy, and Mary Rozell—I dedicate “This One's for the Girls,” by Martina McBride. We've been through so many stages of life together. Thank you for being there to cry and to celebrate. To me, that's the definition of a true friend.

To the wonderful folks at Dutton/Penguin: Lisa Yoskowitz, Jeanine Henderson, Irene Vandervoort, Emily Heddleson, Samantha Dell'Olio, Scottie Bowditch, Kim Lauber, and Rosanne Lauer. I dedicate “It's Five O'clock Somewhere,” by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffet. You've worked so incredibly hard to get my stories into the hands of readers, and I am forever grateful. Please forgive me if I've left anyone out!

Last but not least, I dedicate “Feels Like Home,” by Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, and Dolly Parton, to the most important people in my life: Scott, Cassie, Flannery, and Elsbeth. This song says it way better than I can.

The following sources were especially helpful in the writing of this book:
Finding Her Voice: Women in Country Music 1800-2000
, by Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann;
Country Music People
(London);
Country Weekly
(Nashville); Country Music Hall of Fame Museum;
CMT.com
; and Stacy Scruggs, country music performer.

While writing
Somebody Everybody Listens To
, I was inspired over and over again, not only by the amazing singers who recorded (or in some cases rerecorded) the songs I mention, but also by the men and women who wrote these wonderful songs. Here's a list of those talented writers.

 

You're Gonna Miss This
: Ashley Gorley; Lee Miller
Ode to Billie Joe
: Bobbie Gentry
Coat of Many Colors
;
Down on Music Row
;
Jolene
: Dolly Parton
Crazy
: Willie Nelson
I Saw the Light
;
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
: Hank Williams
She's Not Just a Pretty Face
: Shania Twain; R.J. “Mutt” Lange
Wide Open Spaces
: Susan Gibson
Me and Bobby McGee
: Kris Kristofferson; Fred Luther Foster
Breathe
: Stephanie Bentley; Holly Lamar
Stand by Your Man
: Tammy Wynette; Billy Sherrill
Shine
: Monty Powell; Keith Urban
I Feel Lucky
: Mary Chapin Carpenter; Don Schlitz
You're Gonna Be
: Danny Orton; Dennis Matkosky
I Can't Stop Loving You; Sweet Dreams
: Don Gibson
Georgia On My Mind
: Hoagy Carmichael; Stuart Gorrell
Tennessee Flat Top Box
: Johnny Cash
Satin Sheets
: John Volinkaty
If Teardrops Were Pennies
: Carl Butler
Mockingbird
: Inez and Charlie Foxx
A Place in This World
: Taylor Swift; Robert Ellis Orrall; Angelo Petraglia
Independence Day
: Gretchen Peters
Daddy's Hands
: Holly Dunn
Redneck Woman
: Gretchen Wilson; John Rich
Tennessee River
: Randy Owen
A Good Man Like Me
: Dierks Bentley
Ocean Front Property
: Dean Dillon; Hank Cochran; Royce Porter
Crazy Dreams
: George Barry Dean; Troy Verges; Carrie Underwood
Hard Workin' Man
: Ronnie Dunn
He Stopped Loving Her Today
: Bobby Braddock and Curly Putnam
I'll Fly Away
: Albert Edward Brumley
Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys
: Ed Bruce and
Patsy Bruce
Up
to Be Cowboys: Ed Bruce and
Singing My Song
: Tammy Wynette; Glenn Sutton; Billy Sherrill
This One's For the Girls
: Aimee Mayo, Chris Lindsey; Hillary Lindsey
Feels Like Home
: Randy Newman