Then there was "A Free More Cowboys," which as Toby Keith says in the film, would undoubtedly have been one of those monster hits when radio was playing their songs Toby Keith, Scott Emerick, and Dillon got together over green-chili enchiladas and wrote about six songs, including "It's a Little Too Late." If you get a chance, watch Dillon sing the "Tin Man" song to his songwriting pal, Kevin Chesney. He says there's a thing with Nashville songwriters that "we always try to get the guy who's going through a divorce because he's got some good stuff to write about." With about 30 minutes left in the documentary, there is an "interlude," with a montage of pictures that leads to Dillon facing and overcoming his demons. I just want to write songs from here on out." George Strait wanted the song.Īfter thinking about it, Dillon gave George Strait the song. ![]() He was about to release "Easy Come, Easy Go" as his own record. Oh, listen to me, what I mean is, can I buy you a drink?įor the longest time Dean Dillon pursued his singing career. "Well, thank you, could I drink you a buy? They wrote the first verse in five minutes and got stuck on the second verse. Then, "The Chair," perfect melody, perfect lyrics as George Strait said, written at four in the morning with Hank Cochran, before (or maybe it was after) they went to the Bahamas to live on boat for a few years, and as Dillon said, 'Didn't do nothing that was legal." Just in time when a young George Strait needed some songs Then, he wrote "Unwound" with Frank Dycus Dillon figures that if you could match those kinds of melodies to the lyric-driven songs of Haggard - that would be the "gold mine."Īfter that, Dillon had his first number one song: 'Nobody in Their Right Mind." James Taylor and Carol King were influences. "He would come in with a guitar in one hand (not in a case) and a bottle of whiskey in the other." "His talent was so massive, it was part of the package." The outlaw." When no one listened, he ended up at a bar, next to the country singer Faron Young.īuddy Cannon, songwriter and producer, says Dillon was "whiskey-drinking, hell-raising." That maybe he thought he was Hank Williams. Dillon says he played "some of the worst crap." Haggard looked at him and said, you've got about seven years before the songs will be good enough to record.ĭillon says it was in fact "almost seven years to the year."Īfter graduating high school, he hitchhiked to Nashville, to follow his dreams.ĭillon walked Music Row, looking for someone to listen to his songs. He had the chance to meet Merle Haggard, who told the boy to sit down and play some songs. When Dillon heard the Beatles and saw the reaction to the music, he knew he wanted to do that. Like Dean Dillon was born into a country song. His father never came back after he was met by Dillon's maternal grandfather with a shotgun, who got off a round that hit the man before he left for good. His mother was a waitress at a truck stop who met his father when the long-haul trucker stopped there along his way. The family was "dirt poor," as Dillon says. Using our tasty and unofficial bourbon compass, that's about 230 miles from Lincoln County, and the "Lincoln County Process that Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey origins from. ![]() Kenny Chesney says that listening to a Dean Dillon song is like a therapy session, where you relive both the bad and good parts of your life and come out okay.ĭean Dillon was born in Lake City, TN (now known as Rocky Top) in 1955. Much of Dean Dillon's narration in this documentary comes from him talking to the audience while playing at that venue. ![]() "Goodbye, farewell, so long, vaya con dios He sings "Easy Come, Easy Go," (George Strait's song) which he wrote with Aaron Barker. The film begins with Dillon on stage in a packed former motor repair shop turned music venue, called Magnolia in Fort Worth, Texas. (Dean Dillon, Creative Commons, Wikipedia, Republic Country Club.) He has written many hits, most notably for George Strait, who likens their relationship in the film to Elton John and Bernie Taupin. This documentary is about Dean Dillon, the Nashville singer songwriter who wrote the song, "Tennessee Whiskey." This "Tennessee Whiskey" documentary is not about the Tennessee whiskey, but you could say the spirit has lubricated much of the story.
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