My views on living in Nashville....Like Dunbar said, it's who knows you more than who you know. Like Tom said, the number of approachable quality co-writers is better than anywhere else on earth, and you hear the rumors, some of which turn out to be true.

I did a database once...Bob McDill had more chart records as a writer than anyone else between 1975 and 2005, with most coming between 75 and 95. He had about 200 chart records. Not all were hits. He had more than anyone but he only averaged roughly 10 a year. That's from one the best who wound up living not in Nashville but in Brentwood on the same street as the Governor of Tennessee. That's how hard it is when you're there.