Stories Behind The Songs
Michael takes you along on the ride behind the songs—stories from a career full of unexpected turns, late nights, and moments that changed everything. There’s more to this story—check back soon!
My First Number 1 Record
I was the new kid songwriter at Tree Publishing in Nashville, and I was dying to work with the more established senior writers there: especially Bucky Jones.
I kept asking him to work with me, and to shut me up, he finally said “OK, after my studio session tonight, which will end about 11pm, then I have to drive home, so sometime after midnight.”
I already had a fabulous chorus written and we sat down and wrote the rest of the verses in a few hours.
The next morning, our publisher heard it and immediately called T.G. Sheppard. He came by, heard the song, and it became my first number one record.
When he opened the door in his pajamas, the look on his face said it all—he didn’t think I’d actually show up.
Bucky and I would go on to write several more songs together—just not quite that late at night.
“Your Heart’s Not In It” – Janie Fricke
This one stands out for me—not just because it became a number one record, but because of how close it came to never being heard.
I wrote it with Bucky Jones and Tom Shapiro at Tree Publishing in Nashville. Back then, new songs were played at morning meetings, and all of us writers would stand outside waiting to hear whether the pluggers gave it a “yay” or a “nay.” The plugging team at that time was all male. When they heard “Your Heart’s Not In It,” it was a pretty clear “nay.”
But the office secretaries, Pat and Cathy, (I will never forget their names), had been listening from their desks. They walked straight into the meeting and said “You boys don’t know shit about women! I’m gonna tell you right now -“EVERY WOMAN IS GONNA LOVE THAT SONG!”
They were right. The song was pitched to Janie Fricke, and it went to number one.
A big Thank You to Pat and Cathy!
Waiting for Tonight
I wrote Waiting for Tonight with Maria Christensen in New York City over the course of about two days.
She recorded a vocal there, and I took it back to Nashville, where I was living at the time. I built the demo there, then brought it back with me on my next trip to New York.
When we played it for our publisher, he loved the song—but felt like it was a little slow. So we transferred the tracks to an analog machine and sped it up from 120 to 125. That ended up being the magic spot.
About two years later, the phone rang. It was Rick Wake. He said he was sitting with the head of Sony Records and they wanted to record Waiting for Tonight with a budding actress named Jennifer Lopez. Are you cool with that?
I said sure. I had seen her in the Selena movie, and she was great—but we had no idea what was about to happen with that song.
It went on to become a number one record around the world. She even performed it at the Super Bowl. It’s one of those songs that just stays in the public consciousness.
And I’m still so grateful to have been part of writing it.
“Never Give Up On A Good Thing” – George Benson
This one stands out in my memory for a few reasons. First — it was hard to write. My collaborator Tom Shapiro and I wrestled with that tricky rhythm forever, trying to land on the right lyric.
Our placeholder title was actually: “Givin’ it Up for the Swamp Thing.” (There was a sci-fi movie out at the time called Swamp Thing… we thought we were hilarious.)
Second — the pitch. Total chance. Tom’s publisher struck up a conversation in a waiting room with a stranger who turned out to be George Benson’s manager. He mentioned we had just written a new song, handed over a cassette, and that was it.
By Monday, we got the call: George loved it and had already recorded it over the weekend. It became one of only two new tracks on his upcoming Greatest Hits album.
The record went on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide and is still played today as much as it was when it was first released.
It’s one of the songs I’m most proud to have been part of writing.