Somebody Write Me A Song

Cowritten with P.J. Winn

Southbound Band 1983. SS mando-fiddle-guitar, Al Winn-drums, P.J. Winn guitar & lead vocals, & Joan Paterson-bass.

Late in 1982 I started working with Southbound….a country-dance combo led by Phillip Joseph Winn based out of Fort Dodge, Iowa. His younger brother Al played drums and sang, and Joan Paterson played bass and sang. I played guitar and a few tunes on mandolin & fiddle. P.J. was the star of the show, and used his job as a DJ at KWMT radio to promote the band and get plenty of gigs. Most were one nighters, for wedding and anniversary dances, and a circuit of small clubs and Iowa ballrooms. We would pile into P.J.’s van stacked high with equipment and set out around five or six for the gig. He drove like a maniac, and we had many white knuckle moments. Upon arrival we would unload, set everything up, play four hours, break everything down, load up and drive home…usually getting back around 2 or 3am. Most weekends were booked with at least two gigs, but sometimes he squeezed in three or four. The band played a variety of classic country tunes, with a few old rockers thrown in for good measure.

Having already done some studio recording, I encouraged the band to put out a 45rpm single to help promote the group and get us more work. P.J. and I sat down and came up with a song called Somebody Write Me A Song, which told the story of the group and our aspirations.

Somebody write me a song…that's simple with two part harmony

Something the world can sing along…there's no tellin' what it might do for me...

I'm just a singer with a little country band

Playin' all the hits for you, payin' off my van

I wonder if I'll ever make it on the radio

I can hear the music...it's the words I don't know...

Somebody write me a song…that's country with three part harmony

Something the world can sing along…there's no tellin' what it might do for me...

We get a lot of strange requests…

From the Statlers to Hank Williams…we try to do our best

But we need to find the heartline…if we're ever gonna be

Up there on the stage of the Grand Old Opry...

Somebody write me a song…that's simple with four part harmony

Something the world can sing along

There's no tellin' what it might do for me...

Somebody write me a song...Somebody write me a song... Somebody write me a song... Somebody write me a song...

We recorded it at Junior’s Motel studio in Otho, Iowa with the help of owner/engineer Kirk Kaufman.

SS & P.J. Winn at Junior’s Motel studio. Otho, Iowa. 1983

P.J. sang lead and played acoustic guitar. The song worked perfect for our voices in the band, with Al singing a low harmony, and Joan and I chiming in with higher parts. It sounded like this:

In April the 45’s arrived from the pressing plant in Nashville, and we started playing the tune everywhere we went. This was the first time any of my music was pressed onto vinyl….I played harmonica and was credited as producer. For the flip side we used a hot little polka I had laying around called How Many Times You Been Lonely. P.J. aired the song as often as he could on KWMT and a few other stations around the midwest started playing it too.

Sorry to say that both P.J. and Al Winn have passed away…..Al in 2010 and P.J. in 2021. They were two talented brothers and fun to work with….except for the hair raising rides in the van with P.J. behind the wheel. We drew pretty good crowds, and P.J. knew how to keep the dance floor full. Joan Paterson currently lives in Wisconsin and we stay in touch on Facebook. She continued playing for many years in various groups down in Texas. She could bring down the house with her yodeling version of Hank Snow’s Texas Plains. After about eight months of steady gigging with Southbound I decided to leave the group and concentrate on building my own band to play more original music.