Bill Anderson Recovers Songwriting Spark

Grand Ole Opry member Bill Anderson.

May 16, 2007 — Bill Anderson, co-writer of ACM Song of the Year and Single of the Year, "Give It Away," has seen his career come full circle since his first break 49 years ago when Ray Price recorded his song "City Lights."

In accepting the ACM award, Bill said "Wow, let me just say how much this means to me personally. I'm old enough to be Carrie Underwood's grandfather. For y'all to let Bill Anderson still be a part of country music is wonderful."

As The Tennessean reports, Bill occupies a unique place in country music as a Hall of Fame-caliber writer and performer who halted his creative output for more than a decade and then reinvented himself as one of Nashville's top commercial songwriters.

Forty-six years ago, Bill had his first big hit as a solo artist, with "The Tip of My Fingers." Thirty-six years ago, he joined the Grand Ole Opry. This year, George Strait took "Give It Away," written by Bill, Buddy Cannon and Jamey Johnson to the top of the country charts.

"I quit writing in the early 1980s, and for about 10 years I thought, 'I guess I've said everything I've got to say,' " Bill said. But in the 1990s Vince Gill and Steve Wariner began calling on him for co-writing help, and when he came back, he did so with the enthusiasm of the 19-year-old who wrote "City Lights."

"I've often wondered what my life would be like if Ray hadn't cut that song," Bill said. "I might still be a disc jockey or down in Georgia picking peaches. I wanted to do this so bad, though, that I think I would have probably been persistent enough that if I couldn't get in through the door, I would have tried hard to get in through the window."

Bill said he knew his limitations as a singer, "but I wanted to try a solo career, just to see if I could do it. And Owen Bradley said, 'You're not the greatest singer, but you're different and I love your songs. I think we can make some great records together.' And we did. Which still don't make me a great singer.

"In the days when I came along, the style was the thing," he continued. "If you weren't different, you didn't stand much of a chance. Now, if you're very different at all, you don't stand much of a chance."