AWARD-WINNING songwriter Gary Burr has admitted it isn’t easy writing hit tracks for some of the world’s most famous celebrities in an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun.
Gary is the talent behind countless chart-topping songs from big-name artists like Kelly Clarkson, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Christina Aguilera, and more.
The Connecticut native recently tested his writing skills as a book author and released Reunion: A Rock n’ Roll Fairy Tale, which imagines what would’ve transpired had The Beatles reunited for a concert organized by Sir Paul McCartney.
Reunion earned the number one spot in New Releases on Amazon, captivating fans with its “what if” tale of original members of the English rock band Paul, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, and John Lennon, getting back together for a one-time show.
The U.S. Sun exclusively sat down with Gary to discuss the interesting fable and his collaborations with some of the most well-known stars in the business.
Gary revealed his decades-long friendship with The Beatles drummer Ringo – whose songs have appeared on 10 of the musician’s albums – sparked the idea for the book (available for purchase on Amazon).
“I got the inspiration, and I was bored during Covid-19, and, you know, I made the call to Ringo and told him what I was doing. And he gave me as much of a blessing as he could,” Gary explained.
“He said, ‘I’d never tell you not to do anything artistic that you wanted to do.’ So I said, ‘Do you want to read it?’ And he said, ‘I don’t want to read it. I’ll just wait till it comes out then I’ll sh*t all over it,'” Gary recalled his friend joking.
WRITING FOR THE STARS
Gary aims to form a trusting partnership with everyone he works with, though he confessed writing lyrics for the world’s mega-stars is no simple feat.
“It’s really different every time, and yet it’s pretty normal,” Gary shared with The U.S. Sun about his writing process.
“I mean, you come in and you sit down with one or two people. I wrote by myself for the longest time. That was easy. Right before this call, I thought of a little melody, so I grabbed my guitar and in my phone, and I recorded it to my phone. And one of these days, if I stumble across it again, I’ll go, oh, and I’ll work on it and turn it into something.
“But you basically, in your phone or your notebook, you’ve got 50 or 60 different song ideas, little words, little wordplay, maybe two or three lines. And you wait, and you have a writing appointment with somebody, and you kind of know what they do.”
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The record producer continued, “So you go through your list and go, ‘Well, this guy isn’t who this writer isn’t good for this idea this side, but this is the kind of idea that he might sink his teeth into.’ And you both throw ideas into this metaphorical app and you pick one that you know. We like to joke that you pick the one that has the potential that you’ll be eating lunch before one o’clock.”
Gary – a member of the musical trio Blue Sky Riders, who released their debut album in January 2013 – went on to explain how he’s coupled up with the top artists in the industry.
“There is a sheet that goes around town that all the writing companies have that tell you who’s going in the studio and what kind of songs they’re looking for. And so you could sit down with that sheet and look and go, oh, so and so is looking for a song like this. We like that guy. We write songs like that. Let’s aim for him.
“I love writing for a target, you know, because that’s a real challenge. Let’s write a song that sounds like The Grass Roots. That’s fun. Then you listen to some Grass Roots songs, try to identify the elements that make it you, and try to write a song that has the vibe of that. It’s so many different ways, and that’s what really keeps it interesting,” Gary concluded.
I love writing for a target, you know, because that’s a real challenge. Let’s write a song that sounds like The Grass Roots. That’s fun.
Gary Burr
He also revealed that much of his lyrics are not based on his own life experiences as he usually “makes them up.”
“I’ve only written one song in my life from personal experience, really, and it turned out to be probably the biggest hit I ever had, but I learned nothing from the experience, so I still do not write from personal experience,” the former Pure Prairie League member said.
Gary’s songs are primarily within the country music genre, though he’s worked with many artists outside that realm.
His first Top-10 hit was the track Love’s Been A Little Bit Hard On Me, released by pop and country music sensation Juice Newton in 1982.
Gary followed with 23 more Top-10s, 32 Top-40 hits, and 14 number-one songs, prompting his induction into the Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame in 2005.
Other notable songs he’s co-written include I Was Here by Lady A, Can’t Be Really Gone by Tim McGraw, To Be Loved by You by Wynonna, Cover to Cover by Billy Ray Cyrus, and How About Now by Kenny Loggins.
