Country Music Songwriters Book Turns Controversial

5/13/2008 Lisa Ann Schleipfer New York Times bestselling author Robert Hicks (The Widow of the South) is apologizing this week for ghostwriting a story in a new book, A Guitar and Pen — Stories By Country Music’s Greatest Songwriters. Hicks now owns up to writing "He Always Knew Who He Was," which has been attributed to Hazel Smith, a long-time music businesswoman and journalist. Smith told Tennessean.com this week, "I did not write that." The story is presented as a true account, first-person narrative in which Smith accompanied Bluegrass great Bill Monroe on a trip to the White House. Monroe performed and received an honor from former President Bill Clinton. Smith maintains she was not present for the event, and that the only person who was with Monroe on the trip was his agent, Tony Conway. Conway argues the story itself is incorrect. The trip Monroe took as described in "He Always Knew Who He Was" actually took place in the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was President. In today’s Tennessean.com story, Conway said, "I think this guy (Hicks) had heard the story at some point in his life and just kind of embellished it from there. He might have heard it four or five times from different sources, but he got the story wrong." Hicks and his publisher, Center Street, will make corrections to future printings of the book and current electronic copies. Said Hicks, "I regret it and I take full responsibility for it. It turns out that the story's point of view isn't correct. It's a story I have told personally for many years, and I was wrong." The anthology was conceived with the intention of allowing songwriters to write short stories, giving a new and fresh take on the creative ability of a songwriter. The volume includes stories from Country Music hitmakers John Bohlinger, Bobby Braddock, Marshall Chapman, Don Cook, Charlie Daniels, Bob DiPiero, Robbie Fulks, John Hadley, Tom T. Hall, Klem Hayes, Janis Ian, Tim Johnson, Hal Ketchum, Kris Kristofferson, Michael Kosser, Bob McDill, Gary Nicholson, Monty Powell, Tim Putnam, Mark D. Sanders, Tia Sillers, Kevin Welch, and Dony Wynn. The book includes a forward by Country star Vince Gill. Hicks also wrote an additional story, "Gathering Together."