John Rich: The Wizard Of Honky Tonk Oz

"As long as you've got a pencil and a blank sheet of paper, you're still in the game".

Singer/songwriter/producer/entrepreneur/opinionated son of a gun John Rich has been at the top of his game for going on two decades now. But before that, he was adrift, between gigs and without a record or publishing deal. But, with a pencil and a lot of blank sheets of paper, he managed to write "a couple thousand" songs, some of which found their way to new artists like Jason Aldean and Gretchen Wilson. Others became the foundation of an all-bets-are-off album he made with another down-on-his-luck singer/songwriter named "Big" Kenny Alphin. That album, which "Big and Rich" called Horse Of a Different Color, was a last-ditch effort, made more to please themselves at that point than any Nashville record executive. The result was a wild, campy and brash cacophony of country, rock and rap that did nothing less than go on to change Nashville-and country music-forever. 

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You know their words and melodies, but maybe not their names: Write You A Song features country music’s most successful songwriters talking about their craft with host Tom Mailey from Bonneville radio station New Country 105.1 KNCI in Sacramento. Tom is a country radio veteran with over 30 years of experience in Seattle and Sacramento, and has always been a song lyric junkie. He hopes this podcast will shine a spotlight on the talented men and women who, mostly behind the scenes, write the songs that become part of our lives. (Follow Tom on Twitter at @kncitom, Instagram at @tomailey or on Facebook at facebook.com/kncipatandtom)