Lee Thomas Miller Joins The Kicks Wake Up Krew
Lee Thomas Miller is going to be a part of the Kicks99 Songwriter’s Series Friday night. Earlier this morning, he joined The Kicks Wake Up Krew to talk about the show. Lee also talked about how he’s been turned down when he wrote songs for specific artists. And he told us a story behind an artist that didn’t want to record a song that turned out to be a huge hit.
If you want to get your tickets for the Kicks99 Songwriter’s Series, just click here.
Here is our full conversation with Lee Thomas Miller from earlier this morning.
Transcript:
Dub [00:00:00] It’s your Kicks Wake Up Krew, Dub and Cody. We are now just days away from the Kicks 99 Songwriter Series.
Cody [00:00:07] This is going to be such a cool show.
Dub [00:00:08] It’s going to be so much fun. It’s coming up Friday night at the Columbia County Performing Arts Center. We’ve got Brett and Brad, the Warren Brothers, Liz Rose, and our guest at this time, Lee Thomas Miller. What’s up buddy?
Lee Thomas Miller [00:00:20] How are we doing down there?
Dub [00:00:22] Oh, you know what? We’re great. We are fantastic. And we’re getting ready for a big show Friday night. Lee, do me a favor to like, people. You know, we’ve tried our best to convey what this show is going to be Friday night. But as somebody who’s going to be on stage performing, can you let our friends out there in Kicks country kind of know what they can expect coming up Friday night?
Lee Thomas Miller [00:00:41] Well, this is the ultimate taste of Nashville. There’s nothing more Nashville than a songwriter round where we we sort of sit acoustically and we tell the story behind songs we’ve written that have been on the radio. Hopefully, you’ll know all the songs well. We tell the story behind them, and then we sing you the song the way it sounded the day we wrote it and, we just kind of take turns were all, dear, dear friends, I love these folks that are coming down there to do this. And, if you love country music, I think you’re just really going to love it. But you know what? If you don’t even know the songs, it’s a very unique experience. Just get a peek behind, you know, the world of what we do when we sit around and make this stuff up out of thin air and, we tell you all about it.
Dub [00:01:25] Yeah. And that’s kind of what we’ve been saying is, like, even if you’re just a fan of music, you know, this is going to be a perfect show for you. And, you know we were kind of scrolling back through your catalog and you’ve been very, very lucky over the years to have some big songs cut by the likes of Joe Nichols, Brad Paisley, Brothers Osborne, Trace Adkins, Jamey Johnson. So here’s what I want to know. Lee, you know, we’ve heard stories about times that artist or songwriters wrote songs and said, man, I think that song would be perfect for that artist. Have you ever had that happen where you, like, pitched an artist a song? And either they passed, but then it turned out to be a hit for another artist?
Lee Thomas Miller [00:02:00] Well, I have a terrible track record of sitting down and saying, ooh, I have this idea. It’s perfect for George Strait. And then we write it and we make it sound exactly like George Strait, and then we send it to George Strait. And he says “Boo, I hate this.” I know every time I’ve aimed it, it has never worked right. So somebody else ended up with it and, you know, and then I’ve been sitting there going, well, I don’t think it fits them at all. Next thing you know, I’m at a number one party because I don’t know anything about the music business.
Dub [00:02:29] You’re just standing there. Go, man. Hey, whatever happens, happens, right?
Lee Thomas Miller [00:02:33] Whatever happens. And the guys on the show Liz and the Warrens, they’re going to tell you the same thing. It’s like it’s the most unpredictable business in the world. No one is a worse judge of their own songs than a songwriter, you know? And if they tell you any different, they’re lying. Because songwriters are also terrible liars and drunks. And you will learn all of this at the show.
Dub [00:02:53] But here’s the thing if you weren’t a liar or a drunk, how would you have these great stories to write songs about?
Lee Thomas Miller [00:02:57] Well, that’s 100% true. So we call it research. We call it R&D. You know, out there suffering for our art and our craft. And, it’s okay.
Dub [00:03:09] I love this, I love this.
Dub [00:03:10] Next time that I’ve had a couple of Bourbons on a Friday or Saturday night, my wife’s like, hey, what are you doing? Are you drinking? Almost like, no, I’m not drinking. I’m doing research. All right,.
Cody [00:03:18] I like it. I like it.
Lee Thomas Miller [00:03:19] The other thing I always say, if you’re sitting there pouring your heart out to a songwriter, I mean, the world is ended and your lover has left, and you don’t know how you’re going to go on. And you’re telling this story to a songwriter. At some point, they’re going to completely zone out because you have said something that made them go, I’m going to cash that in.
Cody [00:03:39] That is so cool.
Dub [00:03:40] I’m going to turn your misery into some mailbox money.
Lee Thomas Miller [00:03:44] 100%.
Dub [00:03:45] So, Lee okay, so so when we talked to Brad Warren a couple of days ago, and they’ve done a lot of work, written a lot of songs with Tim McGraw, we mentioned a lot of the artists that you’ve had the opportunity to have songs cut by. Can you tell us kind of give everybody, like a little sneak peek of an artist story that a lot of people may not have, you know, ever heard before? Like, you know, whether it’s, you know, Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins, or whoever it may be. Can you share with us like an artist story that we can actually tell on the radio?
Lee Thomas Miller [00:04:11] Oh, sure. I had a big hit on Trace Adkins called “You’re Going to Miss This.” And everybody places at their graduations. And Trace won the, gollythe CMA Single Of The Year. Big hit, right? Yeah. Trace hated that song, hated it and recorded it and then decided he wasn’t even going to put his vocal on it because he said, quote, “Nobody is going to care about this song.” Right? And his producer leaned in as much as you can lean in on Trace Adkins because he’s he’s a big man.
Dub [00:04:41] Yeah. He’s six seven. Yeah, yeah. You don’t need a step stool to lean in.
Lee Thomas Miller [00:04:45] You know what? Let’s just finish it. Just, you know, and just kind of finished it, you know, without him knowing. And, and then some things kind of happened in his recording schedule and everything. What he thought was going to be a hit didn’t work. They ended up putting this out. It was a fast climb, it was a big hit, and when Trace was on stage at the CMA Awards accepting his single of the year, he said, “I know nothing about the music business. I said, nobody would care about this song.” So there you go.
Dub [00:05:14] Wow. And it’s one of his career songs, like that’s one of those songs that when you think about Trace Adkins, that’s one of the first ones that pops in your head.
Lee Thomas Miller [00:05:20] Well, and it’s a blessing. It’s just it’s so funny because nobody really knows your music. It’s just somebody’s opinion, you know, at every level. You know, every song. You know, we sing the songs to the artist and on any given day it hits them or it doesn’t for whatever reason, you know? And a lot of things have to happen for it to line up and work. That just is. That was just a really epic situation of he really tried to stop it from happening because he just didn’t. You just didn’t think anybody would quote, nobody will care.
Dub [00:05:50] Well, and I think that we’ve been proven wrong because so many people cared about that song. And the fact that it’s still, you know, just as relevant today as it was back then. See, those are the kind of stories that you’re going to hear Friday night at the Columbia County Performing Arts Center. Stories like that, behind the songs that you would have otherwise never known. Lee, we can’t wait to see you and Liz Rose and the Warren Brothers coming up Friday night again. Tickets are on sale now. There’s still a few left, so get them before they’re all gone. And. And, hey, Lee, we appreciate you taking some time out, I know you’re busy, and hanging with us this morning.
Lee Thomas Miller [00:06:21] Cannot wait to see everybody Friday night.