Fort Worth Songwriters Association: Membership Profiles

Rick Tate

2009 President
FWSA 2006 Treasurer
FWSA 2005 Secretary

Dee Tatum

James Michael Taylor

Music Clip
BELIEVE IT OR NOT
1974

I started picking on a banjo in 1958
The Kingston Trio had sung Tom Dooley and I thought they were great
So I lay aside my violin, my piano lessons too
And BELIEVE IT OR NOT, way back then I started learning how to pick for you

My mama didn't like it. She said it was too loud
She said if I would sing like Burl Ives she would be proud
So, I got myself a guitar. A Guild, just like Joan Baez
Singing at those Hootenanny. Those were the days

I sang with the Coachmen and the Sons of Thunder, just to name you two
Of course, you never heard of us. But then, we never heard of you
Then I got the word that was in the wind. My understanding grew
And BELIEVE IT OR NOT, it was way back then I began to think about you

Then somebody said, "Why don't you sing like yourself. I really think you can."
It had not occurred to me. I really thank the man
I had my own voice, my own thoughts, sure as one and one is two
And BELIEVE IT OR NOT, way back then I started being myself for you

I started throwing in a song or two. My words. My own voice.
But the way the world was coming down, I really had no choice
I'd think a thought. I'd write it down. Add a chord or two
And BELIEVE IT OR NOT, it was way back then, I started reaching out for you

Well, the more I wrote, the more I realized I had to quit
Singing say, a Dylan song. He was written all over it
Now there's Lyle Lovett and Timbuk III, just to name you two
And BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I'm still reaching out. Reaching out for you

There's a lot of things I really dig, that I could not write
There's a lot of different ways, you know, to make it thru the night
I got my way. You got yours. Just to name you two.
And BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I get a kick out of trying to explain it all to you
(C)1990 ROYAL T MUSIC

[Click on James Michael Taylor to the right for web site]

John Terry

2009 Vice President & Treasurer (Acting)
There is almost a Jekyll/Hyde aspect to John Terry – on one hand is an engineer who designs highways with careful, calculated precision (he was design manager for the Fort Worth “Mixmaster”), while on the other is a songwriter who weaves tales of love, broken hearts, and growing up in Texas. But the truth is, the two sides are quite interdependent. As he puts it, “I believe that my creative side makes me a better engineer, while the ‘engineer’ side of me helps direct my creativity into crafting carefully structured, lyrically precise songs.”

A native Texan, John grew up in Waco, literally “deep in the Heart of Texas”. Although a “city kid”, his parents both came from farming backgrounds, giving him a chance to see life from both perspectives. It was a musical family as well, as John recalls, “My brother, Paul, and I would sit for hours, sometimes, singing every song we could think of, a cappella, because neither of us played an instrument at the time. Paul had a natural ear for harmony, and I could always pick up the words to the songs. We sang country, folk, rock…a little of everything.”

John began to write lyrics during his college years (he still did not play an instrument), then expanded to writing both lyrics and music after learning to play the guitar. His influences include “almost everyone I’ve ever listened to – The Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul & Mary, John Denver, Paul Simon, James Taylor, The Eagles, Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, and Jerry Jeff Walker, not to mention quite a few liturgical (church music) writers… a pretty broad spectrum”. This wide assortment of musical influences gives John’s music its unique flavor. It’s country, but it’s also folk, pop, a little bit of rock, and maybe other things as well.

John still considers himself primarily a lyricist. In July 2002, his lyrics for the song, “Neumann’s Farm” won an American Songwriter Magazine Lyrics Contest, earning him a Martin/Sigma guitar and a chance to compete for the annual award.

John is currently President in the Fort Worth Songwriters’ Association, where he publishes a monthly newsletter. He has also served as Chairperson for the Association’s annual Christmas Song Contest, has appeared in several showcase events, and has been a
Featured Writer” at the Association’s Monday Night Open Mic.In addition to serving as music ministers at St. Ann Catholic Church in Burleson, Texas, John and his wife, Linda, have been singing “classic country” duets since the early 1990’s, appearing at church functions, and at Opry shows in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Twice they were semi-finalists in the Burleson Jamboree’s annual Vocal Talent Contest, and they have been nominated three times as “Duo/Group of the Year” by the Cross Timbers Country Opry Association of Stephenville.
www.myspace.com/johnaterrysongwriter
www.fwsa.com/johnt/

Pamela Tucker