Can you remember when you decided to become a songwriter?

[Frankie Rage]

I can. It was 1963 and my father came home with a blue and white box under his arm. He said it was a 'record player'. He'd also got this round thing with a hole in the middle called a record...

It was a Decca blue label 45 rpm single called 'Dance On' by Kathy Kirby and I fell in love with the song on the first playing. I must have played it a thousand times and I've still got it! I wanted to write songs like that! And I've been trying ever since...

How about you?

[gecko zzed]

I don't think I ever consciously decided to become a songwriter.

I know that I started writing in my teens because my musical friends were . . .I was just copying them. But I didn't say to myself: "I'm going to write songs".

I guess at the time I was responding to peer pressure, and musically, the results showed . . . the songs weren't all that good.

Later on in life I became much more interested in language . . . particularly business language. Part of my work dealt with making business language (e.g. correspondence, reports) more readable, less devoid of content, and more appropriate for its readership. From this I drifted back into poetry and songwriting, discovering that fiction, as well as fact, benefited from the same principles. I don't always abide by them, but I keep them firmly in mind.

[VomitHatSteve]

When I was 13, I think?

I thought, "I'm going to be the bassist in a world famous rock band."
Then I realized that albums have to have that one song written by the bassist, so I wrote a song to prepare for that. Then I just kept writing...

[Whatmysay]

I'm still deciding

[mikeh]

Interesting thread!!! I look forward to reading replys!

I don't think I ever "decided" to be a song writer. I think I was 15 when I wrote my first song...it was 1967. I enjoyed the process, and I enjoyed playing the song for some friends.......and I really enjoyed when my band put together an arrangement and we performed in front of a paying audience.

I was hooked

I wrote a few songs a year - mostly for personal satisfaction - but I did sell a couple of songs (but no real income) and then in about 1977 or 1978 I started to really become dedicated to improving my craft and trying to get published.

Then in about 1980 or 1981 the first affordable 4 track machines came out and I became obsessed with writting/recording.

It has been a work in progress ever since!!!!