January 17, 2019
Songwriter Whitey Shafer passes
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Whitey Shafer died on Saturday, Jan. 12, at age 84 following years of declining health.
Regarded as one of the finest hard-country tunesmiths of his generation, Shafer wrote or co-wrote such classics as “Does Ft. Worth Ever Cross Your Mind” (George Strait), “That’s the Way Love Goes” (Merle Haggard, Johnny Rodriguez), “I Wonder Do You Think of Me” (Keith Whitley), “Tell Me My Lying Eyes Are Wrong” (George Jones) and “All My Ex’s Live In Texas” (George Strait).
Born Sanger D. Shafer in 1934, he was raised in rural Whitney, TX. Songwriter Doodle Owens, whom he’s known in Texas, introduced Shafer to publisher/producer Ray Baker. As a result, two of Shafer’s first three songs were recorded by George Jones, “Between My House and Town” and “New Man in Town.”
The songwriter soon became a favorite of others. Connie Smith began recording Shafer songs in 1971 and subsequently had hits with “I’m Sorry If My Love Got In Your Way” (1971), “Dream Painter” (1973), “I Never Knew What That Song Meant Before” (1974), “I’ve Got My Baby On My Mind” (1974) and “I Got a Lot of Hurtin’ Done Today” (1975).
Moe Bandy launched his career with Whitey Shafer songs. His eight hit Shafer singles were “I Just Started Hatin’ Cheatin’ Songs” (1974), “Honky Tonk Amnesia” (1974), “It Was Always So Easy to Find an Unhappy Woman” (1975), “Bandy the Rodeo Clown” (1975), “The Biggest Airport in the World” (1976), “She Took More Than Her Share” (1976), “She Just Loved the Cheatin’ Out of Me” (1977) and “Soft Lights and Hard Country Music” (1978). Bandy has recorded a total of 33 Shafer songs.
Despite songwriting success, Whitey Shafer never lost sight of his own recording aspirations. Baker produced Shafer singles for Musicor Records in 1967 and RCA Records in 1968-70. The RCA sides were reissued by Germany’s Bear Family label in 1984.
As a songwriter, he hit new heights in the late-1980s. George Strait had big hits with his “Does Ft. Worth Ever Cross Your Mind” (1985), “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” (1987) and “Overnight Success” (1989).
Keith Whitley’s version of Shafer’s “I Wonder Do You Think of Me” hit No. 1 in 1989. Haggard revived “You Babe” in 1988. Scott McQuaig bought back “Honky Tonk Amnesia” in 1989.
Whitey Shafer was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989. By then, his songs had been recorded by dozens more, including John Anderson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty, John Conlee, Eddy Raven, David Frizzell & Shelly West, Carl Smith, Billy Walker, Sammi Smith, Ed Bruce and The Osborne Brothers.
This activity continued into the 1990s with Kenny Chesney, Lee Ann Womack, Shawn Colvin, Randy Travis, Aaron Tippin, Joe Diffie, Lorrie Morgan, Rhonda Vincent, Jeannie Seely and others recording his tunes.
John Michael Montgomery scored a hit with Shafer’s co-written “Beer and Bones” in 1993. Several bluegrass bands drew from his catalog, as well.
In 2015, Moe Bandy organized an all-star tribute at The Nashville Palace to honor Whitey Shafer. By then, the songwriter was suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Regarded as one of the finest hard-country tunesmiths of his generation, Shafer wrote or co-wrote such classics as “Does Ft. Worth Ever Cross Your Mind” (George Strait), “That’s the Way Love Goes” (Merle Haggard, Johnny Rodriguez), “I Wonder Do You Think of Me” (Keith Whitley), “Tell Me My Lying Eyes Are Wrong” (George Jones) and “All My Ex’s Live In Texas” (George Strait).
Born Sanger D. Shafer in 1934, he was raised in rural Whitney, TX. Songwriter Doodle Owens, whom he’s known in Texas, introduced Shafer to publisher/producer Ray Baker. As a result, two of Shafer’s first three songs were recorded by George Jones, “Between My House and Town” and “New Man in Town.”
The songwriter soon became a favorite of others. Connie Smith began recording Shafer songs in 1971 and subsequently had hits with “I’m Sorry If My Love Got In Your Way” (1971), “Dream Painter” (1973), “I Never Knew What That Song Meant Before” (1974), “I’ve Got My Baby On My Mind” (1974) and “I Got a Lot of Hurtin’ Done Today” (1975).
Moe Bandy launched his career with Whitey Shafer songs. His eight hit Shafer singles were “I Just Started Hatin’ Cheatin’ Songs” (1974), “Honky Tonk Amnesia” (1974), “It Was Always So Easy to Find an Unhappy Woman” (1975), “Bandy the Rodeo Clown” (1975), “The Biggest Airport in the World” (1976), “She Took More Than Her Share” (1976), “She Just Loved the Cheatin’ Out of Me” (1977) and “Soft Lights and Hard Country Music” (1978). Bandy has recorded a total of 33 Shafer songs.
Despite songwriting success, Whitey Shafer never lost sight of his own recording aspirations. Baker produced Shafer singles for Musicor Records in 1967 and RCA Records in 1968-70. The RCA sides were reissued by Germany’s Bear Family label in 1984.
As a songwriter, he hit new heights in the late-1980s. George Strait had big hits with his “Does Ft. Worth Ever Cross Your Mind” (1985), “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” (1987) and “Overnight Success” (1989).
Keith Whitley’s version of Shafer’s “I Wonder Do You Think of Me” hit No. 1 in 1989. Haggard revived “You Babe” in 1988. Scott McQuaig bought back “Honky Tonk Amnesia” in 1989.
Whitey Shafer was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989. By then, his songs had been recorded by dozens more, including John Anderson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty, John Conlee, Eddy Raven, David Frizzell & Shelly West, Carl Smith, Billy Walker, Sammi Smith, Ed Bruce and The Osborne Brothers.
This activity continued into the 1990s with Kenny Chesney, Lee Ann Womack, Shawn Colvin, Randy Travis, Aaron Tippin, Joe Diffie, Lorrie Morgan, Rhonda Vincent, Jeannie Seely and others recording his tunes.
John Michael Montgomery scored a hit with Shafer’s co-written “Beer and Bones” in 1993. Several bluegrass bands drew from his catalog, as well.
In 2015, Moe Bandy organized an all-star tribute at The Nashville Palace to honor Whitey Shafer. By then, the songwriter was suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
January 08, 2019
Country On The Clyde
Country On The Clyde, which provides afternnon entertainment on The Ferry, during the Country2Country weekend in March, has announced it's first four performers - local lassies Martha L Healy and Katee Kross, alongside English performers Stevie O'Connor and Backwoods Creek.
The event runs 12 Noon-4pm on March 9th & 10th. Check out the Facebook Page.
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