Our guest on this episode of Songcraft is Natalie Hemby, a six-time Grammy nominee and two-time winner who has earned five CMA Song of the Year nominations and was named Music Row magazine’s 2021 Female Songwriter of the Year. Her songs have been recorded by Kacey Musgraves, Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Maren Morris, Ed Sheeran, Sheryl Crow, Dierks Bentley, Eli Young Band, Kelly Clarkson, Chris Isaak, Blake Shelton, Lee Ann Womack, and many others. We last spoke with Natalie in 2017, but we catch up with her today to find out more about her life as a behind the scenes songwriter, her work with supergroup The Highwomen, and her critically-acclaimed solo album Pins and Needles.
SUMMARY:
Our guest on this episode of Songcraft is Natalie Hemby, a six-time Grammy nominee and two-time winner who has earned five CMA Song of the Year nominations and was named Music Row magazine’s 2021 Female Songwriter of the Year. Her songs have been recorded by Kacey Musgraves, Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Maren Morris, Ed Sheeran, Sheryl Crow, Dierks Bentley, Eli Young Band, Kelly Clarkson, Chris Isaak, Blake Shelton, Lee Ann Womack, and many others. We last spoke with Natalie in 2017, but we catch up with her today to find out more about her life as a behind the scenes songwriter, her work with supergroup The Highwomen, and her critically-acclaimed solo album Pins and Needles.
PART ONE - 2:49
Scott and Paul chat about Pearl Snap Studios and set the stage for this very special "old friends" episode.
PART TWO - 6:02
They guys welcome longtime friend and fellow music geek David Manning to argue about beloved songs that they actually hate.
PART THREE - 39:20
Our in-depth conversation with Natalie Hemby
ABOUT NATALIE HEMBY:
When we first spoke with Natalie Hemby in 2017 she’d already racked up three CMA Song of the Year nominations and written a half dozen #1 singles, including “Pontoon” and “Tornado” by Little Big Town, “Downtown” by Lady A, “You Look Like I Need a Drink” by Justin Moore, and Miranda Lambert’s “White Liar” and “Automatic,” the latter of which was named ACM Song of the Year and snagged Natalie her first Grammy nomination for Best Country Song. In the five years since then, her songwriting star has continued to rise. She co-wrote three songs on Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour, which won the Grammy for Album of the Year—across all categories—and earned Natalie a CMA Song of the Year nomination for “Rainbow.” Natalie co-wrote two songs with Lady Gaga for the soundtrack to A Star is Born, including Song of the Year Grammy nominee “Always Remember Us This Way” and the Grammy winner for Best Song Written for Visual Media, “I’ll Never Love Again.” She has scored additional #1 hits with Jon Pardi’s “Heartache Medication,” as well as Miranda Lambert’s “Bluebird,” which was nominated for both CMA and ACM Song of the Year, and the Best Country Song Grammy. Natalie beat herself in that Grammy category when she won the Best Country Song honors for “Crowded Table,” which she wrote with Lori McKenna and Brandi Carlile. The song was recorded by the supergroup The Highwomen, of which Natalie is a member alongside Carlile, Marren Morris, and Amanda Shires. “Crowded Table” was also named Song of the Year by the Americana Music Association, while The Highwomen won Americana Album of the Year and Duo or Group of the Year. Recent pop cuts, including Kelly Clarkson’s “I Dare You” and Ed Sheeran’s “Love in Slow Motion,” illustrate Natalie’s versatility and underscore why she was named Music Row magazine’s 2021 Female Songwriter of the Year. In addition to her work with The Highwomen, Natalie’s been flexing her considerable artist muscles recently with the release of her album Pins and Needles, which PopMatters calls “a phenomenal album from an artist coming into full possession of her gifts.”