Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

Ep. 91 - WOODY BOMAR ("We Did But Now You Don't")

Episode Summary

EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE In celebration of Father's Day Scott and Paul discuss the influence their dads had on their musical development. Plus, you'll hear a recording of Paul's late dad, Dr. Tom Duncan, singing his only known original song! PART TWO - 09:13 mark Woody Bomar's in-depth interview SYNOPSIS Scott sits down in Nashville with his dad to get the story about how one of Roy Orbison's bandmates became Woody's guardian angel; why he got shot at on the way to a gig; how he went from pitching Kris Kristofferson's songs to writing #1 hits of his own; why he signed a young teenager named Taylor Swift to her first publishing deal; the reason he says his first cut might actually be his last; and what inspired him to write an album's worth of songs about Route 66 after an exciting career working with country music's biggest names.  ABOUT WOODY BOMAR Woody Bomar began his music career as a songwriter, landing two #1 hits with Conway Twitty’s “We Did But Now You Don’t” and Jim Glaser’s “You’re Getting to Me Again.” He hit the Top 20 with Loretta Lynn’s “Cheatin’ on a Cheater” and had songs recorded by Lee Greenwood, Lynn Anderson, TG Sheppard, Rhonda Vincent, Hank Williams, Jr., and others. Bomar eventually moved to the other side of the desk at Nashville’s Combine Music, where his duties included promoting the songs of Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Guy Clark, Tony Joe White, and others. Woody soon departed and teamed with business partner Kerry O’Neil to launch Little Big Town Music with former Combine writers John Scott Sherrill and Bob DiPiero. Serving as President and General Manager, Bomar would go on to sign a stable of songwriters that earned fifteen #1 hits, as well as thirty Top 10 singles and more than 500 major cuts by artists such as Faith Hill, George Strait, Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, Diamond Rio, Kenny Chesney, Waylon Jennings, Vince Gill, Neil Diamond, Dusty Springfield and Peter Frampton. Little Big Town was ultimately purchased by Sony/ATV, which hired Bomar as Senior Vice President and General Manager. During his eight year tenure with Sony, Woody signed Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts, Josh Turner, Marty Stuart and Blake Shelton, and was instrumental in bringing Taylor Swift, Gretchen Wilson, Eric Church and Miranda Lambert to the company’s roster. In addition to the new signings, Woody worked with an existing catalog of songs by Tom Douglas, Dean Dillon, Rodney Crowell, Gretchen Peters, Bobby Braddock, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, and many others. After departing Sony/ATV Woody  launched his second independent publishing company, Green Hills Music Group, where he continues to advocate for great songwriters and secure recordings by artists such as George Strait, Luke Bryan, Jake Owen, Rascal Flatts, Hunter Hayes, and Hilary Scott of Lady Antebellum. Woody is a two-time recipient of The Nashville Songwriters Association’s President’s Award and is an inductee into the Middle Tennessee State University’s Mass Communications Wall of Fame.

Episode Notes

EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE In celebration of Father's Day Scott and Paul discuss the influence their dads had on their musical development. Plus, you'll hear a recording of Paul's late dad, Dr. Tom Duncan, singing his only known original song! PART TWO - 09:13 mark Woody Bomar's in-depth interview SYNOPSIS Scott sits down in Nashville with his dad to get the story about how one of Roy Orbison's bandmates became Woody's guardian angel; why he got shot at on the way to a gig; how he went from pitching Kris Kristofferson's songs to writing #1 hits of his own; why he signed a young teenager named Taylor Swift to her first publishing deal; the reason he says his first cut might actually be his last; and what inspired him to write an album's worth of songs about Route 66 after an exciting career working with country music's biggest names.  ABOUT WOODY BOMAR Woody Bomar began his music career as a songwriter, landing two #1 hits with Conway Twitty’s “We Did But Now You Don’t” and Jim Glaser’s “You’re Getting to Me Again.” He hit the Top 20 with Loretta Lynn’s “Cheatin’ on a Cheater” and had songs recorded by Lee Greenwood, Lynn Anderson, TG Sheppard, Rhonda Vincent, Hank Williams, Jr., and others. Bomar eventually moved to the other side of the desk at Nashville’s Combine Music, where his duties included promoting the songs of Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Guy Clark, Tony Joe White, and others. Woody soon departed and teamed with business partner Kerry O’Neil to launch Little Big Town Music with former Combine writers John Scott Sherrill and Bob DiPiero. Serving as President and General Manager, Bomar would go on to sign a stable of songwriters that earned fifteen #1 hits, as well as thirty Top 10 singles and more than 500 major cuts by artists such as Faith Hill, George Strait, Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, Diamond Rio, Kenny Chesney, Waylon Jennings, Vince Gill, Neil Diamond, Dusty Springfield and Peter Frampton. Little Big Town was ultimately purchased by Sony/ATV, which hired Bomar as Senior Vice President and General Manager. During his eight year tenure with Sony, Woody signed Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts, Josh Turner, Marty Stuart and Blake Shelton, and was instrumental in bringing Taylor Swift, Gretchen Wilson, Eric Church and Miranda Lambert to the company’s roster. In addition to the new signings, Woody worked with an existing catalog of songs by Tom Douglas, Dean Dillon, Rodney Crowell, Gretchen Peters, Bobby Braddock, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, and many others. After departing Sony/ATV Woody  launched his second independent publishing company, Green Hills Music Group, where he continues to advocate for great songwriters and secure recordings by artists such as George Strait, Luke Bryan, Jake Owen, Rascal Flatts, Hunter Hayes, and Hilary Scott of Lady Antebellum. Woody is a two-time recipient of The Nashville Songwriters Association’s President’s Award and is an inductee into the Middle Tennessee State University’s Mass Communications Wall of Fame.