Nashville, Tenn., — Hit-making specialist Dean Dillon will take a seat at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum on Saturday, November 1, as the latest subject of the quarterly programming series Poets and Prophets: Legendary Country Songwriters. The 1:30 p.m. program, which will be held in the Museum’s Ford Theater, is included with Museum admission and free to Museum members.
Museum Editor Michael Gray will conduct an in-depth, one-on-one interview with Dean Dillon, illustrated with audiovisual elements from the Museum’s collection, including recordings, photos and film clips. Dillon will perform several original songs during the program, and immediately following he will sign autographs in the Museum Store (visit the Museum’s website for signing details).
Dean Dillon’s soulful, sensitive songs have been mainstays on the country charts for 30 years. Serving as George Strait’s “ace in the hole,” Dillon has supplied the Country Music Hall of Fame member with more than 50 cuts, including a host of Billboard #1 hits, from “The Chair” and “Ocean Front Property” to the more recent “The Best Day” and “She Let Herself Go.” His extensive catalog also includes “Tennessee Whiskey” (George Jones), “Homecoming ’63” (Keith Whitley), “Set ’Em Up Joe” (Vern Gosdin), “All the Good Ones Are Gone” (Pam Tillis), “A Lot of Things Different” (Kenny Chesney) and “A Little Too Late” (Toby Keith), among many others.
Dean Dillon was born March 26, 1955, in eastern Tennessee’s Lake City. After receiving an acoustic guitar from his stepfather at seven years old, Dillon was forever changed. He was performing publicly by age 9, and composed his first song, “Stars,” by age 11. The song’s lyrics expressed his turbulent childhood: “Stars, stars that shine in the sky, how many times have you seen someone cry. Stars, stars up there all alone, would you keep on shining if your world was gone.”
His musical influences began to take shape as a teenager, gravitating to both the hard-living tales of Merle Haggard and the soft melodies of James Taylor. After winning a guest spot on Knoxville’s The Kathy Hill Show at age 15, Dillon became a regular performer on the television program. He eventually left home, at age 17, and graduated high school shortly afterward. He headed to Nashville the following year.
In 1976, doors began to open for the young singer-songwriter after he landed the role of Hank Williams in a production at Nashville’s Opryland theme park. He became acquainted with the head of Pi-Gem-Chess Publishing, Tom Collins, who hired Dillon as a staff writer. Several of his songs were immediately recorded by Barbara Mandrell and Johnny Rodriguez, and in 1979 Dillon scored his first Top 5 Billboard hit, “Lying in Love with You” (Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius).
Shortly after breaking in as a songwriter, Dillon saw chart success as an artist after releasing several singles on RCA. He also paired with Gary Stewart for two albums, Brotherly Love and Those Were the Days, and later recorded for both the Atlantic and Capitol labels. Dean Dillon forged a lasting partnership with George Strait beginning in 1981, placing six songs on the up-and-coming artist’s first album, Strait Country. Throughout the ’80s and up to present day, Dillon has remained one of the most sought-after writers in country music. Other artists who have cut Dillon’s songs include Brooks & Dunn, Con Hunley, Steve Wariner, Hank Williams Jr., Lee Ann Womack and many others.
Dean Dillon was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 alongside Shel Silverstein and Bob Dylan. Included on George Strait’s newest CD is a Dillon – Strait duet, “West Texas Town,” co-written by Dillon.
Visitors are encouraged to ask questions at the interactive Poets and Prophets programs, which are dedicated to songwriters who have made significant contributions to country music history. Previous Poets and Prophets honorees include Bobby Braddock, Hank Cochran, John D. Loudermilk, Bob McDill, Whitey Shafer, Jeffrey Steele and Craig Wiseman.
These programs are made possible, in part, by grants from the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and by an agreement between the Tennessee Arts Commission and National Endowment for the Arts.
With the purchase of a Museum membership ($25/adults and $10/youth), visitors can attend most public programs free of charge for one year, including the Poets and Prophets series, the Nashville Cats series and programming related to the ongoing exhibits Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy, Co-Presented by SunTrust and Ford Motor Company and Kitty Wells: Queen of Country Music, Presented by Great American Country Television Network. Museum memberships also include one year of unlimited admission to the Museum, discounts in the Museum Store, SoBro Grill and Hatch Show Print, and more. Membership support helps fund research, education and public programs that make country music history available to a worldwide audience.
Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The Museum’s mission is the preservation of the history of country and related vernacular music rooted in southern culture. With the same educational mission, the Foundation also operates CMF Records, the Museum’s Frist Library and Archive, CMF Press, Historic RCA Studio B, and Hatch Show Print.
More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.com or by calling (615) 416-2001.
[...] November 1, Dean Dillon will be the next songwriter featured by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in their quarterly Poets and Prophets: Legendary Country Songwriters [...]