American Songwriter Throwback: Keith Urban Finding Voice in the U.S.

This article first appeared in the May/June print edition of American Songwriter in 2001

The Urbanization Of America

America’s finally realized what Australia’s known for a long time … keith urban (yes, he spells it with all lowercase) belongs at the top of the charts. “But For The Grace Of God” became his first No.1 here this year; he received his first Academy of Country Music nomination and Grammy nomination, guested on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for the first time, and hosted VH1-Country. As the Go-Go’s Jane Wiedlin (who co-wrote the chart-topper with keith and Charlotte Caffey) says, “I am thrilled for keith’s success, but frankly, I am surprised it took even this long. He is a singer and guitar player of remarkable caliber.”

Urban usually tries to tone down that quiet artistry on records but just can’t suppress it in live appearances. In recent performances in Nashville, urban’s exuberantly intricate guitar picking astounded jaded Music Row crowds of musicians, journalists, and radio personnel. An enthusiastic Pam Tillis exclaimed during WRC’s at Country Radio Seminar, “He’s got a whole band in that guitar!”

Besides his other talents, urban is an exceptionally fine songwriter, writing nine out of 12 cuts on his latest self-titled album. Though he began playing guitar at six, he was 21 when he seriously started writing songs. “I wanted to play music that I could relate to and feel strongly about,” urban says. “You can’t feel that through writing your own material. I’m writing a lot, trying to figure out what I want to say and documenting what’s going on in my life, which is what the best records are all about.”

The writer for Top Ten Music Group Inc. (BMI) believes “But For The Grace of God” succeeded because “People need to stop and reevaluate where they are in life, being thankful for the little things, he says. “It struck a chord with people. I was flying back from the Grammy’s yesterday, and the thing on my mind was what DO I feel strongly about. That’ll spearhead the songs on the next record. I feel strongly about people knowing who they are and rediscovering their independence, even in a relationship. Once you know who you are, where you’re going, how you’re gonna get there, and why you need to get there, you start to know why people are around you. There’s no need for animosity once you know why people are in your life. People are quick to put the blame on someone else, like, ‘This year stopped me from doing that.’ Life’s way too short to put the blame on other people for your not being able to live your life the way you want.”

Urban enjoys co-writing with “a very tight group of people. I’ve had luck with all of them. There are too many in my group to mention and too few to leave somebody out.” (When we talked, he was writing at Steve Wariner’s house and discussed writing the songs over the past three months with Rodney Crowell.) He adds, “I lean more toward writing with somebody I like having as a sounding board. There are a lot of interesting angles to a situation. Sometimes you need to put the idea on hold and hear it. I love co-writers!”

Writing with partners worked magically when urban’s “girlfriend was leaving. I got what to say and documented what was on my mind and what was going on in my life. What a moving day. I had to write it. It was inevitable the story would come out, and I wrote it with Skip Ewing and Matt Rollings. Skip said, ‘What are you going through today?’ I told him, and Matt was furiously writing down everything I was saying. Matt was playing piano, and it was an amazing three-way writing. I had the bones of the idea, but they gave it flesh and breath.” One of those tunes is “You’ll Think of Me,” with Matt had a great hand in the melody, so it was a good partnership.” The song ended up as “I Thought You Knew,” the final song on keith’s latest album.

With whom would urban most like to co-write? He decides on Paul McCartney, though he idolizes Jimmy Webb. “Jimmy’s the only guy I ever wanted a picture with,” he says. “I was on Prime Time Country when he and Glen Campbell were in the audience, so I got a photo with them. Jimmy’s a keeper!”

The possibilities behind titles intrigue urban. “I like a title that can be read a lot of different ways,” he says. “I was in Tower Records today buying Paul Simon’s Graceland and you’re in the music because you get caught up in the rhythm, then you find out where you are. ‘Oh, this is great!’ I’m not necessarily a big fan of riveting poetry at the expense of melody and beat. I think you can reel people in with great groove; then they find out there’s a story.

There was a song playing at Tower and I found myself singing my words, like I always do—forget what he’s singing. I started singing, ‘I guess you should go.’ I thought, ‘that’s a great title.’ My original idea was it could be a father singing to his young girl who’s moving out or a kid who had his first crush on a girl, and they go to the skating rink and are talking to each other when her dad comes to pick her up, and the kid says, ‘Well, I guess you should go.’ But Steve and I are writing it today as a triangle story. This guy throws out his girl. She goes to the arms of another guy who loves her but figures out she really loves the first guy. You can’t question love, so he says, ‘I think you should go,’ though it’s the last thing he wants.”

Urban says he’s “started to write things down if I like the sound of them. I don’t think I have a book of titles, but I have a page. I’ve had success at writing sessions, bringing in a title or melody or playing a guitar riff or even nothing. More often than not, though, I’ve had success coming in with something.”