Three who sold 100-million albums and wrote tunes for country greats will perform at the Gazebo tonight.
By MEGAN SCOTT
Published April 16, 2004
SAFETY HARBOR - George Strait may be famous for singing I Know She Still Loves Me.
And Alan Jackson for Midnight in Montgomery.
But neither of them wrote those songs.
The men who did, however, will be performing them tonight at the Gazebo in Safety Harbor. And while the crowd will be much smaller than the Grand Ole Opry, Don Sampson, Monty Holmes and Darryl Worley are sure to attract some country music lovers.
"A lot of people just assume that the artist who sings the songs writes the songs," said Sampson, who wrote Tough Little Boys, another number performed by Alan Jackson. "Sometimes that's the case. More often than not, there's one or two of us behind the sound."
Between the three of them, they have sold more than 100-million albums nationwide. They travel all over the world singing the songs they wrote for some famous country artists, such as Kevin Denney, who performed Cadillac Tears.
Sampson, who was born and raised in northern Virginia, has played, sung and written since he was 6. He moved to Nashville when he was 19 to embark on his country music career. Most of his inspiration comes from everyday living.
"Country music is one of the only genres of music where songwriters get credit," Sampson said. "If you watch BET, MTV, VH1, you won't see any of the writers at the end of the songs. Country music is one of the few that does that."
This is the first time the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce has put on a country western night for Third Friday. The band will play from 6 to 10 p.m. The performers will talk to the audience about the inspiration for each song and sign autographs after the show.
"We thought this would enhance the image of Safety Harbor," said Sam Jarczynski, who is Sampson's brother-in-law and helped bring the group to the city. "It's not like an acoustic type of thing. It's just guys singing songs and playing the guitar."
And if you were wondering, no, you don't get filthy rich from writing songs.
"We make money after the artists make money," Sampson said. "And then it goes through layers. The songwriters are the last layer."
