Grammy-nominated songwriter Gordie Sampson. (Jones and Co. Arts Management)
Gordie Sampson doesn’t aspire to be a rock star. He would be happy if he could sit on the porch of his Nashville home with a cold beer, guitar in hand, penning hits for elite artists like Faith Hill and Keith Urban. Which is precisely what the Big Pond, Nova Scotia native has been doing for nearly a decade.
In the late ’90s, after a solid career as a solo recording artist on the East Coast, he made the leap to Nashville. Now, his song Jesus, Take the Wheel is nominated for Best Song and Best Country Song at this year’s Grammy Awards (which take place Feb. 11). Sung by American Idol winner Carrie Underwood, the country ballad was inspired by an acquaintance’s car crash on a Nova Scotia highway. Jesus, Take the Wheel dominated the Billboard charts for six weeks last year and helped Underwood’s Some Hearts become one of the biggest-selling albums of 2006.
For the past eight years, Sampson has divided his time and career between Cape Breton and Nashville, as a Canadian roots-rock recording artist and a country music hit-maker. Sampson spoke to CBC Arts Online from his home in Cape Breton about Bon Jovi, toilet-paper commercials and how to make it in Music City, U.S.A.
Q:How are you feeling now that the Grammys are fast approaching?
A: I feel like I need to get an outfit. There’s not much to it other than showing up.
Q: What first compelled you to head to Nashville?
A: I originally went down there to meet with some people that designed a recording studio for us in Cape Breton, and I fell in love with the co-writing dynamic. My publishers had plans for making their money from me [by having me record] my own songs as opposed to writing songs for other people. My career as an artist never really got a chance to take off, because I didn’t really want it that badly. It was somewhat of a relief to just let that part of the chase go and settle into the songwriting aspect of it.
Q: Does the writing process differ when you’re working on material for one of your own albums?
A: It’s quite different. There is a unique process for writing a country song [as opposed to] any other type of music, especially in the lyric department. It’s very topical subject matter. You’re allowed to be clever, but you can’t leave anything to the imagination. When I write for my album, the lyrics have a bit more je ne sais quoi; they’re a lot more ambiguous. When it comes to being simple, which is what you have to do with a country song, it’s hard.
Q: You renewed your writing contract last year with Nashville-based publishing company Combustion Music. Can you describe how your songs get into the hands of artists?
A: In the last couple of years, I’ve had songs placed by my publisher, or by what we call “song pluggers.” When I turn in a song and the publisher gets excited about it, the song plugger gets on the phone and starts calling record companies and producers and says, “Hey, Gordie just handed in this song, you gotta hear it. I think it would be perfect for Carrie Underwood.” Other times, I get them cut myself because I might know the producer. Sometimes I write with the artist. I’ve had a couple of songs I’ve written with LeAnne Rimes and Jon Bon Jovi turn into cuts.
Q: What kind of control do you have over your material once you hand it in to your publisher?
A: There is a clause in my contract that states I have control whether the song [for example] ends up in a toilet-paper commercial or not. If there was something that I didn’t feel comfortable with, my publisher would never pursue that direction. Not withstanding, if it’s [an offer] for $50 million, I suppose they might use their legal right. Fifty million dollars for a Gordie Sampson song in a toilet-paper commercial — I don’t know, is that going to happen?
Singer Carrie Underwood performs in Bryant Park, New York City on Aug. 11, 2006. (Peter Kramer/Getty Images)
Q: Do you ever struggle with an artist over their interpretation of one of your songs? Your song Paris, for instance, is about getting punched in the face while on a trip to Europe, but Faith Hill sings it as a love song.
A: Occasionally, there is a struggle, but they have a way of working themselves out. I’ve had situations where I’ve disagreed with my co-writers and decided to trust their instincts. As a matter of fact, in the Carrie Underwood song Jesus, Take the Wheel,we had a situation like that. [The song was co-written with Brett James and Hillary Lindsey.] And now I look back on it and I’m really glad I didn’t push for what I was thinking at the time.
Q: Tell me a bit about the tradition of Canadian songwriters in Nashville.
A: There has always been some Canadian presence in Nashville. The town has an insular feel, because the music is not allowed to stretch outside its borders. The music that happens there is in a very small box. By its very nature, Nashville embraces anything new. Canadians are perfect because we’re different, but we’re also the closest culturally. We understand country music, but we inject something different into it. And for that reason, Canadians are always very well embraced and well represented there.
Q: You’ve been quoted as saying Nashville is going through a renaissance right now. What do you think has fuelled this resurgence of creative energy?
A: There is a whole new generation of people writing there. It seems there is a lot of youth in the business. I don’t know if it reflects in the sound of country music, but it reflects in the way things are done and the way people sell records.
Q: What is the appeal of Nashville for songwriters not in the country music tradition? I’m thinking of rockers Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, whom you recently collaborated with.
A: I think for people like Bon Jovi, the world that they’re used to — getting songs on the radio all the time and the pop/rock world — those doors are closing for them. Nashville kind of embraces fresh blood coming to town. I know Sheryl Crow moved there a couple of years ago, and somebody told me Aerosmith just moved there. You find a lot of people that get to a certain age, their careers are still strong, but they’re just sick of the big machines like [those] in Los Angeles. People flock to Nashville because the lifestyle is more laid back. Even when you’re in the middle of the city, it still feels like the country, but with a massive music business right in the middle of it.
Q: I’ve read there are some unwritten rules for navigating Nashville. For example, despite the commercial atmosphere, southern decorum dictates that you don’t discuss money — you just make it. What advice do you have for songwriters who want to make the move south of the border?
A: Songwriting is something you just have to do a lot of. You have to be thinking about it everyday. If you write everyday, it’s only a matter of time before it will happen. You have to really suck not to have it happen, if you have that much discipline. Ernest Hemingway wrote a paragraph a day, whether it took him five minutes or an hour. You just have to keep it in your stream of consciousness and you have to be serious about it. [Laughs] Imagine me telling someone to be disciplined!
The Grammy Awards air Feb. 11.
Ashleigh Patterson is a Toronto writer.
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