Mickey Newbury | Artist
Milton Sims "Mickey" Newbury Jr. was an American songwriter and recording artist, born 1940 in Houston, Texas. Newbury was often referred to as the first "hippy-cowboy" and, along with Johnny Cash and Roger Miller, was one of the first to rebel against the conventions of the Nashville music society. As a teenager, Newbury sang in a vocal group called The Embers, who opened for several famous performers, such as Sam Cooke and Johnny Cash. Newbury tried to make a living from music but put his career on hold at age 19 and joined the Air Force. After four years he again set his sights on making a living as a songwriter, moving to Nashville and signing with the prestigious publishing company Acuff-Rose Music. Writing songs for other artists, Newbury soon had a string of major hits. In 1966, country star Don Gibson had a hit with Newbury's "Funny Familiar Forgotten Feelings" while Tom Jones scored a world hit with the same song. In 1968 Newbury saw huge success with four top-five songs: "Just Dropped in (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" by Kenny Rodgers and the First Edition, "Sweet Memories" by Andy William, "Time is a Thief" by Solomon Burke, and "Here Comes the Rain Baby" by Eddy Arnold. Based on his success as a writer, Newbury scored a solo recording deal with RCA and soon achieved a critical and commercial breakthrough with his second album Looks Like Rain. Newbury went on to release sixteen consistently excellent albums from 1968 through to 2002, the year he passed away. Standout albums include Looks Like Rain (1969), Frisco Mabel Joy (1971), Heaven Help the Child (1973), I Came to Hear the Music (1974), His Eye is on The Sparrow (1978), The Sailor (1979), and In a New Age (1988). The influence of Newbury's production methods can be heard in the albums of Waylon Jennings in the 1970s, with highly unconventional instrumentation and his poetically sophisticated style of songwriting. He was also highly influential on Kris Kristofferson, who later proclaimed, "I learned more about songwriting from him than any other writer... He was my hero and still is." Newbury gained a reputation as a "songwriter's songwriter" and a mentor to others. It was Newbury who convinced Roger Miller to record Kristofferson's "Me & Bobby McGee" which went on to launch Kristofferson as country music's top songwriter. Newbury is also responsible for getting Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark to move to Nashville and pursue careers as songwriters. Van Zandt later described how Newbury's voice impressed him: "I can't really explain the sound of Mickey's voice and the guitar on a good night at the same time. It's hard; you can't do it. It's like from outer space. I've heard about people trying to explain a color to a blind person... There's no way to do it." During a show in Galway, Ireland, John Prine said, "Mickey Newbury is probably the best songwriter ever." According to his official website, Newbury has had over 1,500 versions of his songs recorded across many genres of music. His work would be recorded by singers and songwriters such as Johnny Cash, Vampire Weekend, Roy Orbison, Bill Monro, Hank Snow, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Tammy Wynette, Ray Price, Charlie Rich, Lynn Anderson, David Allan Coe, Joan Baez, Tom Jones, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, John Denver, Kenny Rogers, B.B. King, Linda Ronstadt, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Bill Callahan, and Elvis Presley.
Artist Website: mickeynewbury.com
Featured Albums: Mickey Newbury
Related Artists: Townes Van Zandt, Kris Kristofferson, Guy Clark
Video Clips: American Trilogy, Cortelia Clark, Frisco Mabel Joy
