About John Nanni, the Songwriter

John’s love of music began early on and grew rapidly. Whether it was hearing his uncle play his accordion, listening to Sammy Davis Jr. on TV, or just listening to the radio, John paid close attention. As a Senior at Woodham High School in Pensacola, FL, he wrote a song for his senior project and performed it for the class. This earned him a perfect “A” on his final.

After high school graduation, John recalls a time when a group of Nashville professionals who had worked with Garth Brooks came down to Pensacola to put on a songwriting seminar and promote their new artist at the time. That night John was interviewed by the local news as a budding local songwriter and ended up getting more TV coverage than the pros did. John’s love and dedication to his craft has never faltered. And of course, Nashville would be in his future.

DO YOU LIKE WRITING ALONE OR COLLABORATING?

Absolutely, I am a collaborator/co-writer. I think the reason for that is I need a partner to push me along and keep me motivated. When I write by myself, I can easily put it off, and I’m not driven to finish. When you’re with somebody else you have conversation, somebody you’re accountable to, so that works out well for me to write with a lot of different people. But I’ve also written many songs by myself. In fact, on HICKORY RUN, my latest album, I wrote all 10 songs alone.”

Usually, I start with a lyric more than I do with guitar and band. I like to frame up words and use the craft knowledge that I’ve gained living in Nashville for 20 years. Once the lyrics are completed, then I start working on melody writing. I often start with the chorus, but there’s no real rule… whatever hits me. I do put a lot of thought into how sections of songs must be different, how the chords need to be different, how the length of lines needs to be different, how the phrasing is different so that goes into my lyric writing before I even get to selecting chords.

WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU LIKE TO WRITE?

When I’m in an airplane or driving on the road on a long trip, or any type of environment where your right brain is stimulated, and you don’t have to be so focused on analytics. I think writing songs is a right brain practice. You need to let go of your editor, just let your freak flag fly, and don’t worry about left brain criticism… just be creative and enjoy being that footloose and fancy free in your mind. Later in the process you can pull the left-brain scales of critique and rewriting and all that. And focus on the crafting side of things. I also like to write in coffee shops. When I worked in Atlanta, I used to take my lunch break at one in Phipps Plaza and write songs about people who walked by. I did that every day for years before I decided to move to Nashville.

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR SONG IDEAS?

Listening to my surroundings. Eavesdropping. From books that I am reading or a line in a movie. Life experiences. I remember sitting in a café in Louisiana once listening to a group of longshoremen. I wrote a song called ‘Good People Tryin’ to Get Home’ that came right out of that conversation.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE LYRICAL LINE WRITTEN BY SOMEONE ELSE?

Without hesitation, John sang these lines:
In and around the lake, mountains come out of the sky and they stand there
One mile over we’ll be there and we’ll see you
Ten true summers we’ll be there and laughing too
Twenty four before my love you’ll see I’ll be there with you
from ‘Roundabout’ written by Steve Howe and John Roy Anderson, recorded by Yes.

IS THERE A SONG THAT REALLY MOVED YOU EMOTIONALLY?

A country song that blew John’s mind and moved him deeply was Miranda Lambert’s ‘The House That Built Me’ written by Nashville pros, Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin. When John heard it for the first time, he explained, “I had to literally pull off the road and compose myself thinking about 3701 Swan Lane where I grew up, where I really learned to play guitar, where we did all the coming-of-age things with a family of eight.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SONG OR SONGS WRITTEN BY OTHERS?

It’s nearly Impossible to pick one favorite song, but among my top picks would be Paul McCartney’s ‘The Long and Winding Road’ (recorded by the Beatles), Jimmy Webb’s ‘Wichita Lineman’ (recorded Glen Campbell), David Gates’ ‘Make It with You’ (recorded by Bread), ‘Let’s Stay Together’ by Al Green, Willie Mitchell, and Al Jackson Jr. (recorded by Al Green), and Dickey Betts’ ‘In Memory of Elizabeth Reed’ (recorded by the Allman Brothers Band).


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