Pursuing My Songwriting Passion
By David Wagner
I was working in a cup factory and was asked to train a new guy who told me he was going to work long enough to save some money to move to Nashville to be a songwriter. I told him that was my dream too.
Well…he left for Nashville but before he did he said if you decide to come to Nashville call me.
Fast forward to 2004. I injured my back while working and during the physical rehabilitation things weren’t right. After further testing and observation there was no doubt that I had Parkinson’s and after 30 years it was time to retire. In 2006 other circumstances of my life changed my direction. I thought, “Well I’m not going to sit around.” So that’s where my songwriting came in. I always wanted to write and thought it was a good time to start.
I’m pretty sure I Googled “song writer can’t play or sing”. It led me to some forums on the internet with a lot of great people and someone in particular was a singer/songwriter named Danny Bloodworth from Georgia. That site had a contest and paired lyricist with performers, and we won! “Wow this is easy,” I thought. This was the first song I ever wrote was “Days Between” and not knowing how radio worked, I sent it to Andy Taylor with KTTS. He played part of it on Valentine’s Day. Now a bigger head!
The first call to Nashville was to the guy I trained, Tim Nichols. You’ve probably heard of one of his songs, “Live Like You Were Dying.” The rest is history. Here I am still writing after 18 years and battling Parkinson’s. I try to stay active by exercising and using opportunities offered by the Parkinson’s Group of the Ozarks such as music therapy, exercise therapy, or ping pong. I tell my doctors that I may have Parkinson’s; I may be bent but I ain’t broken.
Austin Pool
“Plain White Tee”
Ashley Baker
“Country Girls Rock”
Chris Ising
“Stomp”
“Flat Tires and Fumes”
“Have Another Beer”
Pamela Benton
“You’re With Me”
Tianna Woods
“Bent, Not Broken”
“Country Girls Rock”
Local Co-Writers:
Doug Jackson
Tony Ingerson
Gail Taylor
Gary Scott
Jared Hicks
Lane Smith
Brian Pink
Bryan Copeland
To learn more visit: https://www.reverbnation.com/wagdaddysr or https://www.417mag.com/people/profiles/springfield-man-songwriting-parkinsons/
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