Seniors pen lyrics at country music workshop

By Anthony Pennington
Diversity Institute Fellow

08.12.04

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The Country Music Hall of Fame hosted a day-long workshop for aspiring senior citizen songwriters Wednesday morning providing them a taste of the country music industry.

A group of seven senior citizens gathered in the Sun Trust Community Room to receive instruction on how to write lyrics for country music. Surrounded by a wall of guitars and banjos, the seniors constructed songs that will be set to music for a souvenir CD of their time spent at the workshop.

While the seniors get the gift of music, the County Music Hall of Fame is able to make inroads into the community.

"Any way that we can really be a part of the Nashville community is important to us," said Justine Gregory, director of education and public programming.

Gregory said that a majority of the 155 volunteers at the Hall of Fame are senior citizens. "We know that they are out there looking for activities and things to get involved in," she said and the workshop gives them something meaningful.

Senior Ann Riley Miller, who claims to be "eternally 36," came to the workshop to write a song based on the "Grand Goody" nickname her grandchildren gave her. She was so excited about the program she signed up her husband who was working on a love song about her.

"It's out of the box," she said about the workshop. "It's very open, free, fun, playful, delightful, stimulating."

Richard Speight, a mystery writer and resident of Nashville since 1947, attended the workshop because of his life-long love for country music. He can even remember where he was when Hank Williams died on New Year's Day in 1953.

Speight tried writing a song years ago, but was told by a songwriter he didn't know anything about songwriting. "I am discovering that the songwriter's assessment of my knowledge was absolutely correct," he said.

To help him develop a songwriter's approach, Speight turned to the workshop he said is conducive to learning the creative process of crafting a song.

Kelley Jones, program coordinator, said the seniors have reacted well to the program which sometimes is conducted at senior centers where participants can write their lyrics. Later, a professional songwriter will put them to music and record them on a CD.

This was the fifth time that the workshop has been offered, and about 40 seniors have written songs. Jones said that the classes are very supportive of each other.

"It's been one of the funnest things we have done," she said.

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