Chapter 145

I stood in the wings at the small amphitheater and waited.

Hiding had been a problem. There were a lot of people backstage and a lot of performers that were close to Liz. The Milestone Achievement in Songwriting award was the last one handed out and, by coincidence, the songs that preceded and followed the award had been written or co-written by my girlfriend.

I had deftly avoided Conny and Melissa before their performance but eluding Chelsea Rome had proven a bit more difficult. It was Chelsea’s debut performance of the song on nationwide TV and she was rightfully nervous. She paced around the backstage area so I had to constantly be on the move to stay out of her sight.

Conny and Melissa stayed in place until it was their time in the spotlight. Both were official members of the Grand Ole Opry and both had performed on awards shows dozens of times.

Lucas and Ben did their part by keeping the duo away from me after I’d arrived backstage while Liz went into makeup. She had thought I’d just stayed in my seat but I had a different plan in mind.

Chelsea gave a spirited rendition of the song Liz had written for her and I saw Liz appear on the stage where the awards were being presented.

“Chelsea Rome, ladies and gentlemen,” Ben said as Lucas adroitly maneuvered Chelsea to the same side of the stage where Conny and Melissa were waiting.

“Our sound, more than any other, I think, tends to split down gender lines,” Ben said in a rare moment of seriousness. “And that’s a shame. Chelsea Rome is one of the brightest up-and-coming acts we have, male or female, and she deserves to have her songs heard as much as anybody. We’re here to honor songs that tug at the heartstrings and put a smile on even the grouchiest of faces.”

“When you go down the list of songwriters that make you think about life and love and loss, our next presenter is often the first name that comes to your mind – including that fine performance by Chelsea Rome,” Lucas said. “Here to present our Milestone Achievement in Songwriting is a lady that has 33 ASA nominations to her credit and a dozen statues with her name at the bottom. Please welcome the one and only Liz Larimer.”

The spotlight panned to the center area where Liz stood at a podium. She gracefully acknowledged the applause with a wave.

“Writing a song is, to me, the most challenging part of being a performer,” she said. “I came to Nashville as ... a child. I was a child not only in age but also in emotional development. I could sing; I could even dance a little. But the songs I wrote were one-dimensional. They lacked the depth to truly be called well-written. One of the luckiest days of my life is the day I was introduced to this year’s recipient of the Milestone Achievement in Songwriting Award.

“Jake Ellicott taught me how to write. He taught me the difference between a catchy hook and a tired cliché. He helped me grow up and he, more than any other person I can think of, is who gave me the chance to succeed in this business.”

The crowd clapped as the video screen behind Liz showed the guy sitting at a table with his wife and family. He smiled shyly and nodded at something his wife said.

“Writer or collaborator on more than 50 Number One songs,” Liz recited, “and almost 500 songs that have resided in the Top 10, Jake Ellicott is a six-time ASA winner for Song of the Year. He has been given a writing credit on more than a thousand songs released by a Nashville artist in the past 30 years.

“And I know that almost every single person in this room has had the chance to sit down and have a writing session with Jake. He’s the type of man that gives his time, his talent and his praise freely. I will guarantee you that everybody that has gotten a chance to collaborate with Jake has come away a better writer and a better person for the experience. Ladies and gentleman, it is my absolute pleasure to give this year’s Milestone Achievement Award to one of the best writers Nashville has ever seen – Mr. Jake Ellicott!”

The crowd stood and started to applaud as the man made his way to the stage. His bio said he was in his middle 50s but there had to have been some hard times mixed in with the good ones. He looked tired and old and frail. I stayed in place until Liz hugged him and passed along his statue. He looked at it and then said something to Liz that was drowned by the applause.

Liz stepped off to the side and the man moved to the microphone. The crowd was still clapping and he glanced at his family again.

“Whew,” he said when the applause died down. He shook his head, turned to point at Liz and then shook his head again.

“Whew,” he repeated. “You know, when I saw her earlier today I thought she was the one winning this award and I’d gotten my signals crossed and was supposed to be presenting it to her.”

He turned to her again.

“She might credit me with teaching her to write,” he said. “But it isn’t true. She was a great writer the moment she arrived in our fair city. I might have fixed some phrasing here and there but she was a damned fine writer long before I met her. But Liz...”

He stopped again and turned to shake a finger at her again.

“Liz put me on the map,” he said. “I got a writing credit on her first Number One. That song paid off our house. Then I got a credit on her second Number One. That put my kids through college.”

He gave a self-depreciating laugh.

“I’ll tell you this,” he said. “I must have gotten a lot better as a writer by hanging out with Liz Larimer. Because I couldn’t get arrested in this town before she showed up. I had some good songs before most of the people in this room were born but then time moved on and forgot about old Jake Ellicott. Then this ... kid ... showed up. I helped out with five or six songs that landed on her first album and just like that, I was somebody again. So she can give me all the credit she wants. I’ll gladly accept it – because it makes the grandkids think I’m cool.”

I found myself laughing along with the guy.

“I’m here because a talented young woman took a chance on collaborating with a bitter old man,” Jake said. “Her ... infectious ... vitality rubbed off on me. As I read her words, I got to see life through her eyes...”

He shook his head and his eyes narrowed.

“I became somebody worthy of an award because I found inspiration. It didn’t come from God; it didn’t come from a bottle. It came from a kid with a dream and the voice of an angel. I can tell you this: I learned a lot more important lessons from Liz Larimer than I taught her. I found the strength of conviction to be a better husband and a better father. I found a spot in my soul that hadn’t been corrupted by a lifetime spent pitching my songs to one place or another. And through her I’ve gotten to write with other immensely talented people – including the two gentlemen hosting this event and the two young ladies that are going to perform when I finally shut up.”

His remark got the obligatory laugh but he turned serious again.

“The life of a songwriter isn’t an easy road. You have a story to tell in your heart but too many times there is just nobody that wants to listen. They want to hear their story in your words. They want you to bring out the emotions they want to show. They don’t want to be offended; they don’t want to be made to think. The listening public – and the corporations that control our work – they’re like newborn babies. They want what they want when they want it. And they pitch a fit when they don’t get it immediately.”

He shook his head again.

“It’s been an uphill battle for the Ellicott clan, that’s for sure,” he said. “My wife, Maisie, has stuck with me when she would have been a lot better off leaving my sorry behind. She worked two jobs to keep the bills paid and our bellies full while I tried to scratch out a living writing songs. We lived both ends of the spectrum, didn’t we, girl? We got here in 1981 at the end of the Urban Cowboy phase and we had a hit in less than a year. Two more followed pretty quickly and I started to think, ‘Hell, this ain’t that tough.’”

He snorted and shook his head again.

“Well, the cowboy phase ended and we were the last to find out,” he said. “The next... 20 years ... were pretty lean times. But with a champion like Liz Larimer putting your name out there, they got a lot better. The awards she rattled off before I walked up here? All but three of them have come in the last 15 years. I went 13 years and seven months between songs on the chart. I’ve done jingles for car rental agencies and sold used cars to keep my family fed. And I’ll tell you this: Looking back, looking at my wife, and my daughters and my sons-in-law; thinking about the grandbabies at home; all I can say is that I love you all and thank you for sticking with me. I can look at this award in my hand and say it was all worth it. Thank you and thank the Academy of Songwriters for this honor.”

Liz slid off to the side so Conny and Melissa could perform a song as everybody departed for the parties.

“Our next two performers are living proof that women are strong and capable,” Lucas said. “Between them they have 61 Top 20 hits and 13 gold or platinum albums.”

“They’ve combined for 10 Number One songs,” Ben said. “Including the song that sits atop the charts right now ... and shows no sign of dropping anytime soon. Singing their smash hit, ‘My Daddy Can Whip Your Daddy, ‘ Conny Woodson and Melissa Shepherd will serenade you as you leave. Thanks for a great night!”

I knew the credits were rolling on the live broadcast. Several radio stations were simulcasting the event but they would cut to interviews with the winners.

The ladies came out and Lucas and Ben moved to the side. They stood shoulder to shoulder to keep the duo from seeing me in the wings and then walked off the stage close together. It looked odd to me but nobody else seemed to notice.

“You’re up, Man,” Lucas said with a big grin. “We’ve got you set up behind the curtain there. You good?”

“Yeah,” I said, despite the fact I had butterflies in my stomach the size of beach balls.

Ben gave me a wink and I moved into position to listen to the end of the song.

“Don’t go anywhere, Ladies,” Ben said as when the song concluded.

“We got word this morning that ‘My Daddy Can Whip Your Daddy’ has been certified platinum in only two weeks,” Lucas said. “That’s one million units purchased in just 14 days. Conny’s label, Image Records, and Melissa’s label, TGI Nashville, will be presenting them with their platinum records in a few days and I’m sure they’ll be looking at double platinum before the summer is over. Congratulations to you both! It’s a well-deserved honor!”

Melissa and Conny exchanged high fives and then shook hands with Lucas and Ben.

“And, of course, there is somebody else that will get another platinum album for her wall,” Ben said. “The song was co-written by Liz Larimer ... who incidentally gets a writing credit for the song Chelsea Rome performed just a few minutes ago, too. I can see that one hitting it big when it’s released to radio. Liz is still backstage so come on out here.”