by Scott Turner

Last week, Nashville lost another one of its prominent writers/artists - Mickey Newbury, who passed away at his Oregon home after a prolonged illness. His hits were numerous, among them "No Matter What Condition My Condition Is In" (The First Edition), "Sweet Memories" (Andy Williams), "She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye" (Jerry Lee Lewis), and the unforgettable Elvis smash "American Trilogy", just to name a few. Mickey was more than a friend to me and we spent many happy hours together going over material for my artists and I did end up cutting a "herd" of his songs with my people. On one occasion when Mick was out in L.A. visiting (in my Liberty/Imperial days), we were driving down Sunset Blvd. and he spotted a used Mercedes-Benz on a car lot that he had to have. Without a thought, I co-signed the loan for Mickey and upon my next session trip to Nashville, Mick said the car was now paid in full and he was grateful for the help.

While in Nashville, I was in Room 401 at the Ramada Inn and Mickey was in Room 121. He called me at 1:45AM and asked me to come down to his room, which I did, and I can honestly say I was the first person to hear "American Trilogy" which he had just finished putting together - WOW!!! On another occasion, two friends of mine who were notable talents from my home in Nova Scotia (John Allan Cameron and Allister MacGilvary), came to Nashville and they HAD to meet Mickey Newbury. I took them out to his houseboat in Hendersonville and not only did they meet him, but Mickey had them stay on his houseboat for three days, and when they left, Mickey gave John a Martin guitar and Allister a pocket watch. I imagine it was quite a shock to both when my son Trevor called them last week to inform them of Mickey's passing.

I lived about five minutes away from Mickey when I was transferred to Nashville in 1968 and I had the closest full-blown stereo to him. He called one evening to ask if he could come over and check out his new set of sessions and I couldn't wait to hear the cuts. They were remarkable, and there was rain and thunderclaps interspersed through the entire twelve cuts. After we played it through twice, Mick said, "I don't know what to call it." And I said, "Why not title it "Looks Like Rain"? And that's how it came out. If you want to hear a remarkable piece of work, try to find the re-released CD and key in on a song titled "San Francisco's Mabel Joy". It will knock you down!! Mickey's version of "She Even Woke Me Up" is on there as well.

The watch word in Nashville was always "There's nothing more powerfully soothing than Mickey and his guitar - singing his Rembrandts". He may be gone but, thank goodness, I've got scads of tapes (and memories) to listen to on "The Mick". In fact, I think I'll put one on right now that he made especially for me, lay back, and remember the good old days when songs had melodies and lyrics meant something. Thanks, Mickey - boy, we will miss you.