The lost songs
Deb Hudson – “songwriting with Shel”
When Deb Hudson was a young up-and-coming singer songwriter living in Nashville, Tennessee. Don Everly (The Everly Brothers) was a very good friend. He had a big table that was always setup at a local restaurant where friends would often meet for drinks, meals, and conversations. Deb went through a rough patch after a breakup with Nashville star John Prine and Don was concerned. He loaned her an expensive guitar and let her stay in a room that he always kept available at the Nashville Music Row Quality Inn. The generously natured Don Everly was always helping his music friends.
She was also friends with Wynonna and Naomi Judd and would often attend church with them. She would house sit when Wynonna was out of town. Another close friend, who she referred to as the godfather of Country Music songwriters, was the Harland Howard (“I Fall To Pieces”, recorded by Patsy Cline). He was friends with the legendary songwriter, Shel Silverstein, who lived in Key West.
Deb had just finished a songwriting contract with MTM and was a little burnt out. The combination of the burn out, the end of her relationship with Prine, and it was a snowy winter in Nashville led Howard to recommend Key West as a safe harbor. Deb flew down with the intention of relaxing arms-length from the music business.
Deb had a half dozen unfinished songs she had been working on and Howard setup a meeting between Deb and Shel Silverstein in Key West. Deb found his house on Francis Street and arrived a little early for the meeting. She walked up on the front porch, rang the doorbell but there was no answer. She knocked on the door and accidentally set off his home alarm. Luckily, Shel was walking down the street with a sack of groceries and wondered who was on his porch – an embarrassing way to meet.
After things calmed down they formally met and started to discuss songwriting. Deb had been working on several songs and Shel offered to help. She would soon love working with him. His sessions were always very serious and productive but his quirky behavior kept Deb on guard. They usually worked in his backyard and had a tight agenda of songwriting work. Shel Silverstein was an amazing songwriter but his quirkiness often made Deb a little nervous.
Deb performed at a 2016 Sunday Ramble at the Key West Theater with Mike McAdam and Claire Finley.
Shel could get into a zone and very poetic lyrics and compelling melodies would just flow. He would work with anyone, famous or not, that wanted to write songs. Shel had over 200 recordings and several hit songs already to his credit (“A Boy Named Sue”, “Sylvia’s Mother”, “Queen of the Silver Dollar”). Deb was excited to work with him. He had a huge reputation in Nashville and that would make it much easier to get a song cut by a big-name artist. He also loved Deb’s voice and would use her on several of his demo recordings.
During one of their songwriting sessions, they took a lunch break and went to the Full Moon Saloon were Deb enjoyed her first cracked conch sandwich. Most of Bill Blue’s band was there and they all sat around talking about music. It was her first time in public with Shel and she discovered his quirky oddities were his normal behavior with everyone.
Bill Blue loved performing with Deb Hudson.
Deb’s friend Courtney Haycraft was a saxophonist who played for Bill Blue and the Nervous Guys. He had a gig at the Full Moon Saloon and invited Deb. She was introduced to Bill Blue and loved his vibe, energy, and his great talent. Bill invited Deb on stage to sing a song. She was immediately accepted into the band and began a long music relationship with Bill Blue, Dan Simpson, Nervettes Melody Cooper and Karen Schmidt, and the rest of the band.
Bill Blue also owned and operated a recording studio called Out of the Blue, he often complained how he never made much money recording Shel Silverstein songs. Shel was always organized and well prepared usually with out of town talent like Bobby Bare or a Captain Hook band member. Bill would never be able to get much studio time rental for a Shel Silverstein recording session.
Writing songs with Shel was really special. Deb and Shel used Bill Blue’s studio to record four songs: a ballad, “Love Isn’t Love Until You Give It Away”, “A Lonesome Frame of Mind”, “I’ll Never Forget Ole What’s His Name”, and one special song that Shel was planning to pitch to Kodak – “I’m Lookin’ Forward to Lookin’ Back on You”.
Unfortunately, they finished recording the songs shortly before Shel fell victim of a major heart attack in 1999. After his death, all of Shel’s work was tied up in probate court. Bill was unable to release any of his recordings without a court order. Shel had also recorded a demo of another song about the AIDS epidemic titled “Dying for Love”. Bill always felt that Shel would have gotten it recorded by a major artist and it would have been a big hit.
Shel in the Parrot with Friends.
Shel Silverstein was posthumously inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.
His recorded music languished in disputed probate court for decades. A year or so later, Bill Blue closed his studio and gave the bulky and heavy reel to reel tapes of Shel and Deb’s recordings to Dan Simpson who operated Private Ear Studio for another 14 years. Dan’s studio was closed in 2016 and sadly the tapes were lost along with several other songs and demos Shel had recorded. Shel had recorded with many other Key West musicians and songwriters like Michael McCloud, RB Tolar, and others. There may be other lost recordings. This was a Key West music version of a Greek Tragedy.
The Deb Hudson Band 2013 – Din Allen, Tim McAlpine, Deb, Mick Kilgos
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