Knox Country Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep 25: Ashely Gorley - Record Breaker Jul 28, 2023

Show notes

Ashley Gorley has written a record 64 #1 singles and has had more than 400 songs recorded by artists such as Morgan Wallen, Chris Stapleton, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Thomas Rhett, Dan + Shay, Kelsea Ballerini, Bon Jovi, Weezer, and more. His recent hits, “She Had Me At Heads Carolina” by Cole Swindell and “You Proof” by Morgan Wallen topped the Billboard Country Airplay charts for 14 combined weeks in 2022 - leading to a record-breaking 10-week number one for Wallen.

Gorley has been honored as ASCAP Songwriter of the Year an unprecedented nine times. He is a six-time Billboard Top Country Songwriter, six-time NSAI Songwriter of the Year, and 2021 iHeart Radio All-Genre Songwriter of the Year, landing the nomination again in 2022. He has multiple Grammy, CMA, and ACM nominations. In 2022, he signed a global publishing deal with Sony Music Publishing and Domain Capital Group.

Gorley attended Belmont University and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1999. Since graduating, he has continued to give back to the University through leading seminars and mentoring students, as well as serving as a professor of Music Publishing from 2006-2008. Ashley is a champion of the songwriting community. He has met with Senators and The Library of Congress to promote songwriters’ rights and bills such as the Music Modernization Act. In 2011, Gorley formed his own publishing and artist development company, Tape Room Music. Writers for Tape Room have already celebrated nearly 40 #1 songs, including 2018 ASCAP Country Song of the Year, “Body Like A Back Road” and 2021 ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC Country Song, “One Of Them Girls.”

Ep 24: Liz Rose - Songwriting Powerhouse Sep 12, 2022

Show notes

With multiple GRAMMYs under her belt, a 2007 SESAC Nashville Songwriter of the Year title, as well as her own publishing company (Liz Rose Music), Liz Rose is undeniably a songwriting powerhouse.

Born and raised in Texas, Rose moved to Nashville and began writing songs at the age of 37. She has since penned 16 songs with Taylor Swift, including the No. 1 crossover hits “Tim McGraw”, “Teardrops On My Guitar”, “You Belong With Me”, GRAMMY Award winning Best Country Song “White Horse”, and ACM Song of the Year “Crazy Girl”. More recently, she co-wrote Little Big Town’s double platinum smash hit, “Girl Crush”, which earned the GRAMMY for Best Country Song in 2016, and the Country Music Association’s Award for Song Of The Year in 2015. Rose has also written songs for many other artists including Alison Krauss, Blake Shelton, Bonnie Raitt, Carrie Underwood, Chris Young, Gary Allan, LeeAnn Womack, Miranda Lambert and Tim McGraw. Together, her songs have sold more than 20 million copies.

Ep 23: Ben Vaughn - From Intern to President & CEO Jan 24, 2022

Show notes

Ben Vaughn is one of the most accomplished Executives in the Nashville Music Industry. In 2019, Vaughn was appointed President & CEO for Warner Chappell Nashville. Previously, Vaughn had already become the youngest executive to head a major publisher in Nashville (EVP & GM, EMI Music Publishing) but now claims the rare distinction of having overseen two major Nashville publishers. Prior to his work at the majors, Vaughn ran an independent music publishing company at the age of 20.

Throughout Vaughn’s career, he’s worked with songwriters who have collectively won ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, or ACM Songwriter of the Year seventeen times and Song of the Year (across the CMAs, ACMs, PROs and Grammys) 29 times. Under Vaughn, Warner/Chappell has received the award for ASCAP Country Publisher of the Year eight years in a row and BMI Country Publisher of the Year the previous three years. In 2019 Warner Chappell won the coveted Triple Crown for the 1st time sweeping the ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC Awards.

Ep 22: Luke Laird - Creative Nation May 12, 2021

Show notes

Luke Laird is a GRAMMY and ACM award-winning songwriter and producer. Beginning in the early 2000’s, Laird has earned over 20 number one singles, including Little Big Town’s “Pontoon,” Jon Pardi’s “Head Over Boots” and Eric Church’s “Talladega.” He earned a GRAMMY award for Country Album of the Year, as well as ACM’s Album of the Year award, for producing Kacey Musgraves’ Same Trailer Different Park. In 2011, he and his wife Beth Laird co-founded Creative Nation, a music publishing and management company that is home to some of Nashville top songwriters, producers and artists. They are behind over 20 number one singles and over 60 radio singles, including Harry Styles’ number one pop song “Watermelon Sugar”.

Ep 21: Nicolle Galyon - Why Do People Like Tequila So Much? Jan 25, 2021

Show notes

The multi-talented Nicolle Galyon is one of Nashville’s top songwriters, producers and label heads. Galyon earned an ACM Song of the Year award in both 2015 and 2019 for Miranda Lambert’s “Automatic” and Dan & Shay’s “Tequila.” Other notable cuts include “Consequences” (Camila Cabello), “All The Pretty Girls” (Kenny Chesney) and “Female” (Keith Urban). In 2019, she partnered with Big Loud Records to create a female-focused record label, Songs & Daughters, that provides a platform for the next generation to tell honest stories about real life. That same year, she was named Songwriter of the Year at BMI’s Country Music Awards.

Ep 20: Kurt Allison & Tully Kennedy - Road Warriors Dec 01, 2020

Show notes

Two of the essential pieces that have created Jason Aldean’s iconic sound can be attributed to lead guitarist Kurt Allison and bassist Tully Kennedy. They have been touring/recording with Aldean since moving to Nashville, and have become some of the most in-demand studio musicians, producers and songwriters. Both Kurt and Tully produced the number one singles “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not (Thompson Square) and “Carolina” (Parmalee). To add to their long list of talents and credits, they have also co-written songs like “Blame It On You” (Jason Aldean) and “Seein’ Red” (Dustin Lynch).

Ep 19: David Lee Murphy - Everything's Gonna Be Alright Oct 01, 2020

Show notes

David Lee Murphy is a country music artist and songwriter. Murphy, whose songs “Dust On The Bottle” and “Party Crowd” remain staples on country radio today, is also a mastermind behind many other hit songs. His credits include Jason Aldean’s “Big Green Tractor” and “The Only Way I Know,” Kenny Chesney’s “Til It’s Gone” and “Living In Fast Forward,” as well as Thompson Square’s GRAMMY-nominated “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not.”

Ep 18: Michael Tyler - Somewhere On A Beach Aug 31, 2020

Show notes

Michael Tyler, a self-taught artist and songwriter from Thayer, MO began working with award-winning producer Michael Knox at the age of 13. He penned Dierks Bentley’s platinum-selling song “Somewhere On A Beach,” which earned him the 2016 SESAC Song of the Year Award. He also crafted Jason Aldean’s No. 1 single “Girl Like You,” “Got What I Got,” as well as five others from his new album, 9.

Ep 17: Adam Shoenfeld - He's Like A Rock God Jul 28, 2020

Show notes

Adam Shoenfeld is an ACM-nominated professional guitarist, songwriter and producer. Being one of Nashville’s go-to studio musicians, he has been featured on hundreds of albums, including Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Big & Rich, Dan & Shay and more. He is a writer on Faith Hill’s award-winning No. 1 song “Mississippi Girl,” as well as Jason Aldean’s “Laid Back.” Shoenfeld has also been the producer on albums for John Rich, Kelsey Harmon, Sarah Darling and more.

Ep 16: Shane Minor - Rodeo Bull Rider Jun 30, 2020

Show notes

Former rodeo bull rider Shane Minor began his music career by signing a record deal with Mercury Records in 1999. After releasing a self-titled debut album that produced three hit singles, Minor transitioned fully into songwriting. He has penned hits like “Beautiful Mess” (Diamond Rio), “Chillin’ It” (Cole Swindell), “Live A Little” (Kenny Chesney) and “Brand New Girlfriend” (Steve Holy).

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected