Songwriter Robert George of Cochise will have a song released on Sound Dawg Records of Nashville within several months.
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George co-wrote “I’m Not Here for a Haircut” in 2008 with his partner Al Carmichael.
George’s mention of Mazie’s Beauty Shop in the song came from a by-chance stop there to get his hair cut on his wedding day 20 years ago.
“I wasn’t sure if it was still open. I just thought about it while writing the song and pulled it out of the air,” George said.
Fogg also sang “How is Your Wife and My Kids?”, also co-written with Carmichael.
George said Carmichael also wrote the number one song for Lee Roy Parnell, called “What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am?”
“How is Your Wife and My Kids?” was written for a Country/Blues singer named Kitty O’Malley of Memphis, George said.
O’ Malley is also planning to record “My Own Private Memphis,” another of Carmichael and George’s songs.
“I’m not sure when, but it’s supposed to be a done deal,” he said.
Prior to these newer songs, George and Arthur Dickerson, of Halton City, Texas, won the Country Division Song of the Year Contest for 2006 for “Love Wants to Believe.”
“Love Wants to Believe” is also supposed to be recorded “later down the road.”
And in April 2007, “Goodwill Coat,” “a good story song,” was in the final 15 songs of the 6th Annual Country Music Television Nashville Songwriters Association International’s Song Contest.
“It was a huge contest,” he said.
To access the song, go to www.nashvillesongwriters.com and click on CMT Listener’s Choice Award.
The song, George says, is about a man who buys a Navy Pea coat at a thrift store and finds a purple heart in the pocket. He then tracks down the rightful owner in a nursing home.
George, 42, grew up in Salinas, Calif. He had an older friend who got him “hooked on the Beatles,” at about age 13.
“I heard ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,’ and I was totally into it,” he said.
George said he really wanted to play keyboards, as his friend did.
“I’d steal my Dad’s beer and I’d listen to Beatles and Bob Dylan all night,” he said.
But playing music was not in the cards. He had hurt his hand at age 10 by falling on an orange juice bottle, which severed two nerves and all of his tendons in his right wrist.
“I lost my dexterity to play and I wasn’t able to make the chords with my right hand. I was very discouraged. So I fell into writing,” he said.
“When I was older I took my friend some lyrics. I was really excited. I thought he’d tell me they were great. After he read them, he came back and told me they stunk.
“Fortunately, I followed his advice; I knew he was right, so I appreciated it!” he said.
“He told me to listen to the 45 of Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘The Sound of Silence’ and ‘Homeward Bound.’ I learned how to meter from there - It took me a long time, but it really made the difference.”
Now, for close to 30 years, George has been writing songs - and even some poetry in the ‘90s.
“When we got a computer in 1999, my wife Valerie encouraged me to put some of my lyrics on the Internet.”
“I put one of my songs in a poetry contest, ‘Superstition Highway,’ and it got an offer for publication from a small company. Nothing ever happened, but it gave me hope,” he said.
George said Valerie is his “No. 1 fan”, and has always been very supportive.
“She works at the hospital in Sierra Vista, and I stay home and keep the house going,” he said.
George dropped out of school in ninth grade and worked at McDonalds, Burger King and the truck stop. But his earnings were small and there were small signs of hope with his writing, so Valerie encouraged him to stay home and write more.
“I’ve made steady progress for nine years. I made a little money in poetry, too. I used song lyrics without choruses,” he said.
George said he gets inspiration from everyday things, and he reads a lot.
“I generally write songs in the Americana or storytelling genre. And my Dad was an old movie buff. We only watched old movies. They were written very well and I learned to apply that to music,” he said.
He has had no formal training.
The closest he has come to college is being published in Cochise College’s literary magazine after he moved to Cochise in 1981, at age 16, he said.
His goals?
“To get some major label cuts and some money for them, so my wife of 20 years can quit working. I’m still the same guy I was 25 years ago, except I have a great lady by my side.”
In case you hear it on the radio, here are the lyrics to listen for:
I’m Not Here For a Haircut
I remembered our last night, layin’ by the riverside
Sayin’ that she’d always fill my dreams
Love and promises we shared, sure kept me from feelin’ scared
On my first day as a green Marine
One surfer dude had tears on his cheek
Watchin’ his mullet at the barber’s feet
But I said “Sir, take it to the skin
Cos I’m here to fight, I’m here to win
CHORUS
I’m not here for a haircut
I’m here for the country I love
I’ve got my whole life ahead
And some times’re gonna be tough
But the love I hold in my heart
Will help when things get dark
No...I’m not here for a haircut”
Well, my most important stop, was at Mazie’s Beauty Shop
When my plane got home ahead of time
Stood a while and watched my girl, give a shampoo, cut and curl
And I’d never seen her look so fine
Then I dropped my duffle on the floor
Tried to catch her eye there by the door
Her boss said I shoulda called ahead
But I pointed to my gal and I said
CHORUS
When my gal got off at six, we drove way out in the sticks
And we parked down by the riverbed
We danced down by the riverside, her skin bathed in the pale moonlight
She kissed me long n hard when I said
CHORUS
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