Born: November 3, 1950

An ASCAPLUS Award-winning songwriter who grew up in Clinton, Maryland, Tim has made Nashville his home for over 50 years.  

Tim began listening to rock and roll in the mid-1950s, courtesy of his older brothers’ record collections and American Bandstand.   When he was 16, he discovered soul music and began paying close attention to the songwriting.  Smokey Robinson was an early inspiration, followed by Bob Dylan.  In the summer of 1968, Tim worked with some housepainters who listened to country music all day long.  That’s when he first heard Johnny Cash.  Two years later, Tim moved to Nashville.

Tim's songs have been recorded by artists in seven different countries, including Cash.  USA Today called Cash’s recording of Tim’s song, “A Singer of Songs,” one of the key songs of Cash’s career. 

But while continuing to write country songs, Tim also began to listen to jazz seriously.  Seeing Carmen McRae perform on television was a real ear-opener, and Tim wrote a couple of songs with Carmen in mind.   Since then, he has had songs recorded by jazz vocalists Lisa Maxwell, Bettina Pohle, Eileen Howard, and Chloe Brisson.

Which brings us to the current album, which is called "GEMS" for a reason.  “One day,” Tim explains, “I heard a songwriter say that writing a great song was so hard that if you did it five times in a lifetime, you would be in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  It made me start thinking about which of my songs might get me into the Hall of Fame.  So I went through my whole catalog and picked out five songs that I thought were Hall of Fame material.  These are my gems.”

Awards

ASCAPLUS Awards, 2005 & 2006

Gear

Suzuki and Arkia harmonicas, Strnad microphone, Ampeg amplifier.

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