This weekend is the Sandy Lee Songwriter's Fest In Henderson to benefit the Riverbend Academy. One of the organizers and participants is songwriter Kerry Kurt Phillips who claims both Henderson, KY and Vincennes, IN as his home town. Phillips has written many songs you may have heard, 'Down on the Farm' by Tim McGraw, 'Almost Home' by Craig Morgan and several Joe Diffie Hits, which is the reason for this article. I got to know Joe Diffie very well at the very beginning of his career when I was working in Los Angeles. I thought Diffie was an incredible talent and the real deal as a country vocalist. My first interview with him was the first time I heard the name Kerry Kurt Phillips.

After I moved to the Evansville area, it didn't take long for a lot of you to start telling me about Phillips and what an incredible writer he is and how proud the Tri-State is of him and as I have learned, for very good reason.

This morning, Leslie and I had Phillips in studio along with writers Jason Matthews and Jeffrey East. Matthews has writen many songs with Luke Bryan including 'Country Man', which was a big hit for Bryan. They wrote together until Luke got his record deal, but they still write together every chance they get. East is a writer that we will soon know very well....what a talent. East is also a great vocalist.

During the course of our conversation with Phillips, I learned that he was the author of not only my favorite Joe Diffie song of all time, but one of my favorite all time country songs by any artist....'Is It Cold In Here'. Phillips got the idea after a hospital stay recovering from a heart attack. Apparently, the hospital was very cold and Phillips said to the nurse, "Is it cold in here or is it just.....could you get me a pen and a piece of paper". A while later a hit was born.

You can see these and other incredibly gifted writers this weekend in Henderson. Make no mistake, the artists get most of the credit for the hits, but every song starts with the writer. The writers are the backbone of any music genre, but particularly country music. These writers ARE the music that touch our lives in so many ways and on so many levels every single day.

To the writers past, present and future, from the deepest regions of our souls...thank you for what you do and for giving us something that we can hold as near and dear to our hearts as we do the things and people that mean so much to us. See the video for my favorite Diffie / Phillips song below.

 

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