Takin’ A Walk Nashville

Celebrating Nashville's Music Legacy: Melissa Bollea-Rowe on Songwriting and Community Support in Music City

34 min
Feb 5, 20262 months ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Melissa Bollea-Rowe, a Nashville-based songwriter, publisher, and author, discusses her journey from Florida to Music City, her publishing company Rhyme Partners, collaborations with artists like Bonnie Tyler, and her impact through songwriting for anti-bullying initiatives and multiple published books.

Insights
  • Volunteer work and community involvement in early career stages can lead to unexpected major opportunities and industry recognition years later
  • Persistence and relationship-building in the music industry often matter more than immediate commercial success, as evidenced by multi-year song placements
  • Diversification across songwriting, publishing, film/TV placements, and authored books creates multiple revenue streams and career resilience in music
  • Personal storytelling and emotional authenticity resonate across mediums—from songs to books to films—and create lasting impact on audiences
  • CMA membership and ambassador roles provide tangible networking and visibility benefits that many industry members underutilize
Trends
Growth of anti-bullying and youth mental health content in film/educational settings creating demand for original musicIncreased licensing opportunities in streaming services and cable networks (GAC Family, Hallmark) for holiday and family contentPublishing companies expanding beyond traditional song placements into book publishing and multimedia projectsFemale songwriters and publishers gaining visibility through ambassador and leadership roles in industry organizationsMulti-platform artist development: songwriters building author brands and speaking platforms alongside music careersCollaboration-driven songwriting model in Nashville with co-writers and co-producers becoming standard practiceLegacy artist catalog revitalization through strategic song placements and touring partnershipsNonprofit and foundation-funded creative projects creating alternative pathways for songwriters outside traditional label structures
Topics
Nashville songwriting and publishing business modelsMusic licensing for film and television productionsAnti-bullying and youth mental health through music and filmFemale empowerment and women's storytelling in publishingCMA membership benefits and industry organization engagementArtist collaboration and co-writing processesMusic publishing rights and royalty collectionHoliday content production for streaming and cable networksVolunteer work and community service in music careersPersonal branding for songwriters and publishersBook publishing for music industry professionalsLegacy artist partnerships and catalog managementMusic supervision and placement strategiesNonprofit partnerships in creative industriesFranklin, Tennessee music scene and venues
Companies
Rhyme Partners
Melissa's publishing company founded in 2013 that owns hundreds of songs and manages placements across TV, film, and ...
Great American Family Network
Cable network (formerly Great American Country) where Melissa placed her first Christmas movie 'Journey to Christmas'
The Russell Hotel
East Nashville hotel with podcast studio that donates percentage of stays to local nonprofits serving homeless popula...
The Beat of Life
Nashville nonprofit organization that uses music in schools and prisons to address bullying and social issues
Justin Simmons Foundation
Foundation that funded the 'Bullying the Musical' project for which Melissa wrote five songs in 30 days
iHeartRadio
Podcast distribution platform hosting Taking a Walk Nashville and other shows mentioned in the episode
Country Music Association (CMA)
Industry membership organization where Melissa serves as ambassador starting in 2025
Bluebird Cafe
Iconic Nashville venue where Melissa has performed and written songs throughout her career
Franklin Theater
Historic Franklin, Tennessee venue where Melissa performs her annual 'A Very Merry Nashville Christmas' show
People
Melissa Bollea-Rowe
Songwriter, publisher, author, and CMA ambassador discussing her 20+ year Nashville career and multiple creative vent...
Bonnie Tyler
Legendary Welsh rock artist who collaborated with Melissa on songs including 'Yes I Can' and became a close friend
Sarah Harrelson
Host of Taking a Walk Nashville podcast who has written and performed with Melissa at Nashville venues
Garth Brooks
Country music icon whose daughter Allie Colleen recorded one of Melissa's songs
Allie Colleen
Garth Brooks' daughter who recorded one of Melissa's songs as an artist
Hulk Hogan (Terry Jean Bollea)
Melissa's uncle, legendary professional wrestler who passed away in 2024
Lionel Richie
Music legend whose song 'Three Times a Lady' inspired Melissa's book; she met him and he promised to write with her
Bildy
Nashville songwriter and co-writer with Melissa on 'Rocks and Honey' and other songs
Hannah McNeil
Artist and co-writer of 'Yes I Can' with Bill DiLuigi, which Bonnie Tyler recorded
Juliet Riley
New York-based artist and songwriter known for TV/film placements who was considered for Bullying the Musical project
Justin Simmons
NFL player (Denver Broncos) whose foundation funded the Bullying the Musical project
Karen Waldrop
Country artist who recorded one of Melissa's songs
Jimmy Charles
Artist who recorded one of Melissa's songs
Quotes
"I just dove in and spent many years and still working my way backwards. but I wouldn't change a thing."
Melissa Bollea-RowePublishing company founding discussion
"I get letters from children that tell me that after seeing the film, the musical because it's a musical and they turned it to film in order to get it in more of the schools that they were going to commit suicide and because of that film because of that song they went home and changed their mind"
Melissa Bollea-RoweBullying the Musical impact
"we all kind of ache for that timeless song you know you hear timeless songs on the radio and you're like i just want to make a difference that way"
Melissa Bollea-RoweSongwriting aspirations
"sometimes it's frustrating to do so much volunteer work. But this is a time where something I did early on in my career and continue to do really paid off"
Melissa Bollea-RoweBullying the Musical discovery
"if you don't take advantage of the things that they have to offer or if you don't know what they are, then you can't get the full value of your membership"
Melissa Bollea-RoweCMA ambassador role
Full Transcript
This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. Ready for a different take on Formula One? Look no further than No Grip, a new podcast tackling the culture of motor racing's most coveted series. Join me, Lily Herman, as we dive into the underexplored pockets of F1, including the astrology of the current grid, the story of the sport's most consequential driver's strike, and plenty of other mishaps, scandals, and sagas that have made Formula One a delightful, decadent dumpster fire for more than 75 years. Listen to No Grip on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast, Doubt, the case of Lucy Letby, we unpack the story of an unimaginable tragedy that gripped the UK in 2023. But what if we didn't get the whole story? I've just been made to fit. The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapsed. What if the truth was disguised by a story we chose to believe? Oh my God, I think she might be innocent. Listen to Doubt, The Case of Lucy Let Me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton Eckerd. In 2022, I was the lead of ABC's The Bachelor. But here's the thing. Bachelor fans hated him. If I could press a button and rewind it all, I would. That's when his life took a disturbing turn. A one-night stand would end in a courtroom. The media is here. This case has gone viral. The dating contract. Agree to date me, but I'm also suing you. This is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I'm Stephanie Young. Listen to Love Trapped on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jay Shetty, host of the On Purpose podcast. I'm joined by Luke Combs, award-winning country music artist and one of the most authentic voices in music today. The guy that says he's always going to be there and that will do anything to be there is the only guy that's not there. No matter what, I'm going to prioritize my wife and my children. I dread the conversation with my son. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Taking a walk Nashville. Hi, everyone. This is Sarah Harrelson, your host of Taking a Walk Nashville. And today I am back at the Russell Hotel in East Nashville in their podcast studio. The Russell gives away a percentage of each night's stay to local nonprofits who are helping those experiencing homelessness here in Nashville. The average weekend stay at the Russell Hotel provides 16 nights in a bed, 100 free showers, or 30 free meals for someone experiencing homelessness. So definitely check them out. And here with me today is songwriter, publisher, and author Melissa Balea Rowe. And I've had the privilege of writing with you and performing alongside you at the Bluebird Cafe and listening room here in Nashville. And Melissa, I'm so happy to have you on the podcast today. Thank you for being here. Yeah, thank you. This is such an amazing hotel. Yeah, it's so beautiful. I love the podcast studio in here. And throughout your songwriting career, you've had many cuts by various artists, including Allie Colleen, who is Garth Brooks' daughter. Karen Waldrop, Jimmy Charles, just to name a few, and your publishing company, Rhyme Partners, owns hundreds of songs, including Bonnie Tyler's latest single, Yes I Can. So I want to get to all of this in a bit, but can you just start by telling us how you started your music career and what brought you here to Nashville? I think for as long as I can remember, living in Florida, I'd wanted to get to Nashville. I worked in a salon for many years, and I would literally dream about playing the Bluebird Cafe. What would that be like? And for me, it was a matter of timing. I have a son. I had him pretty young in my life, and though I wanted to get to Tennessee, I didn't want to remove him from his roots and his life there with all of our family, So I waited. I was in my mid-30s before I actually made it to Tennessee. And once I got here, I did not want to waste a moment. And I started working. I landed a job at Great American Country, which was then on Music Row. And it started out as supposed to be a temp job for three days. And I just had a talk with Jesus. And I said, I'd like to turn this into a permanent thing. And I did. And that was a big launch for me with my career, with learning the business and also building relationships. Yeah. And great American country is now great American family, I believe, as the network. And then from there, you opened your publishing company, Rhyme Partners, in 2013. You've had songs placed in TV and film, a lot of cuts. what made you decide to open up your publishing company and was it hard when you first opened it? Well, they say ignorance is bliss. And I was none sure than starting a publishing company without having a lot of real understanding of how to collect royalties. And I always tell people that, you know, I just dove in and spent many years and still working my way backwards. but I wouldn't change a thing. And just going back real quick to what is now Great American Family, ironically, we've had lots of, as a company, I've had lots of songs and Christmas movies, but my first as a writer, ironically, was with GAC Family Network. You know, there's so many out there. There's all the streaming services. There's the Hallmark channels. But I thought it was so cool to land my first Christmas movie, and it felt right at home with GAC Family. What Christmas movie was that? That's called Journey to Christmas. So that was a couple years ago, and it's still every year it comes out. As a matter of fact, it was on Great American Family on the 30th of last year, November. But every year it comes out, and there's a song called Merry Almost Christmas in that movie, and that's the song. Yeah, definitely check out that song. And, you know, I think entertainment seems to run in your family. I recently learned that your uncle was Terry Jean Balea, a.k.a. Hulk Hogan. And unfortunately, he passed away this year. So I'm sorry for your loss. But were you close to him growing up? Well, we have a very small family. So it was just my father was his brother. My grandparents had two sons. And so we were a small family. And, yeah, I remember, gosh, being a teenager. And my uncle and his wrestling friends at that time, they'd have been in their, like, late 20s, and they were just giant human beings to me. Maybe I was, you know, not even a teenager. I was probably, like, 10, 11 years old. But they'd come walking through the house, and they're Speedos. And I was always just, like, I just remember being so fascinated at how large they were. But, yeah, and over the years, just like kind of any family, you know, there were ebbs and flows. And there were times when we were closer and other times. My uncle, especially the first part of his career, he spent a great amount of time on the road, you know, 365 days a year. He probably early in his career was on the road, 300 of those. So it was complicated for sure. Yeah. Was anyone else in your family playing music? Yes, actually. My grandmother. So I grew up in a very musical home. My grandmother, I always bragged that she, which was his mother, played like Liberace. We had a piano in the home always. And then my cousin, Brooke, his daughter, she's a wonderful musician. She's a piano player also. And while I play acoustic, I actually, piano is more my first instrument also. So I split my time now between here and Florida, and I've got pianos in both music rooms. But yeah, so I actually come from a pretty musical family. Yeah. My uncle played bass in the bands before he sold all his equipment and decided that and literally verbatim told his father, my grandfather, that he was going to be the greatest wrestler in the world. And so I still have all the I've still got all kinds of pictures of my uncle and his bands in the 70s with those high platform shoes on. And it was just really, really cool. That's cool. And you've also collaborated with the legendary Bonnie Tyler in your career. I really want you to tell our listeners about the rocks and honey story because I think this really depicts like what it's like to be a songwriter in Nashville sometimes. Well, yeah, and there are so many stories, but that one certainly is hilarious and interesting. So a gentleman on Music Row that used to work for Dream Records and Universal Music went by the name of Spoon. And he still goes by the name of Spoon, but he's no longer in the music business. But he was one of my very first champions when I came to town. He heard a song I wrote called I Want to Wear White. And he came to a couple of my early shows and he just became such a champion It was my very first publishing deal He was working with Rensong Reed Geyer I guess Are you familiar with them I think so. On Music Row, and he was working in the office with her, and so I had sort of a handshake pub deal. And one day he called me up and he said, hey, what are you doing today? Would you like to write with Bonnie Tyler? And I just, of course, thought he was joking. I was like, shut up. And he's like, no, really, I've got Bonnie Tyler here and Bonnie Baker, who, by the way, is an incredible hit songwriter here in town and love her work, you know, as well. And so I just stopped what I was doing and I ran down to do that. And on the drive there, I was really emotional because early in my life, I lost my mother. and I can distinctly remember just as a child bawling my eyes out to totally eclipse of the heart and I wasn't even really old enough to really understand the lyrics I just felt them and so I was in kind of an in awe of the fact that I'm driving to this writing appointment where I'm going to be sitting in a room with this woman and sure enough writing session was amazing We wrote a song called One Mistake that day and just hearing her voice. And I still, of course, saved the work tapes. But Bonnie became a dear friend of mine after that. And, in fact, we used to text back and forth. And I used to get nervous because she'd be texting me from Wales. And this is back when we didn't have unlimited text. You'd actually get your phone bill and you'd see, like, all these additional charges. So I was like, how am I going to tell Bonnie to not text me as much? but yeah so through the years we stayed in touch and she's such a wonderful woman and such an icon and I cannot believe how her fan base is and I actually have something else pretty cool in the works um with a song that I co-wrote with Megan Connor who's amazing and it's a collaboration um I wish that I could speak on it but it does include Bonnie and and some other folks so I'm And it's a song that is just so special. So I look forward to that coming up this year. Yeah, me too. So, yeah, that's the story. Oh, you wanted to know about Rocks and Honey, and I went off on a tangent. That's okay. I loved hearing how you got to meet her. I'm sure it was really nerve-wracking the first time writing with her. It was. she was just so open and honest and what she wanted to talk about that day, um, that she just, she made it just kind of effortless. But, um, I was probably a little bit more excited than nervous. I probably should have been more nervous, but I was a little bit more excited than nervous. And I was just, I actually was very much in the moment. And so I cherish that writing session, but that led to the friendship, which led to her putting together her album. And, um, she invited me to her album release party and she had a duet, with Vince Gill on there. And somebody in the room said, wow, their voices sound like rocks and honey together. And of course, I immediately was like, oh my goodness, that's a great song. And so the next day I was in a writing session with Bildy and we wrote it and I immediately sent it to David Huff, which is Dan Huff's brother, because he was producing her. And he said, gosh, we're just about wrapped up, but let me play this for her. So they were done recording, but she said she loved the song and she loved the title. So we really thought we were going to get on the album. But as it turns out, she just titled her album Rocks and Honey. And I actually didn't know that until, for some reason, Bill and I were on Wikipedia one day, and Wikipedia said American songwriters, There's Bildy and Melissa Balea. While they wrote the song Rocks and Honey, it became the title name, but the song didn't get on the album. And I was like, go figure. Thank you so much, Nashville. Yeah, that's so frustrating because especially as a songwriter, you always hear stories of, you know, the artist is really interested and sometimes even goes ahead and records the song. But it doesn't make it on the album. It doesn't see the light of the day. And maybe they had the song on hold. so no one else can cut it for a while. So it can definitely be frustrating for Nashville songwriters. And in your instance, you can't copyright a title. No, you can't. And I only know of one other instance. Recently, my good friend Mark Mulch wrote Block Party for Priscilla Block. And she went on a Block Party tour, and they sold Block Party merchandise. And Block Party, Block Party, Block Party, Block Party, sorry, it's a tongue-fuzzer, didn't make it on the album. I'm laughing in jest with him. But, yeah, so when that happened with Rocks and Honey, I was like, are you kidding me? Like, that is a first where the song didn't make it on the album, but the title did. Became the title of the album. Right. That's when you wish you trademarked the name for the merchandise. But she made it up to you guys later because she cut the song. She wrote it with Bill DiLuigi, Yes, I Can. she didn't write it with bill um i pitched it to her with a bunch of songs bill wrote that song with hannah mcneil okay who is an artist in her own right and she's released that song and she does hannah does a lot of philanthropic work she's incredible and she and bill wrote that and that was part of a folder that i put together and sent to bonnie and when she heard that song she needed to cut it. And she did. But it took like four years. I think Hannah and Bill probably thought that I was like... It was never going to happen. I was like, hey, you won't believe this, but I found out that some of the guys that played with Huey Lewis in the news played on your record year after year. But the timing was right when it did come out, and it has done phenomenally. And she's never needed to be resurrected because she's always been relevant. But we're so excited that her fan base really said that, yes, I can, they felt like was one of those songs that competed with some of her great songs. And it was almost on the Super Bowl commercial. We'll talk about that. But, yeah, it's a very powerful anthem. It is. And it's the name of her tour, correct? Yeah, she's going to go on tour all over the U.K. this year. And so I was actually thinking that, and Bill doesn't know this, so don't hold me to this, Bill. But I was thinking that maybe we could get out to the UK, which I know you've been a lot out there. So, yeah, to actually see her on tour. Yeah, that would be amazing seeing her perform the song live. And you finally got your Bonnie Tyler cut. Yeah, she debuted it last New Year's in front of 70,000 people live. Wow. And that was the debut of it, and that was really cool. So we were like, oh, wow, this is really happening. Yeah, that's very special. We'll be right back with more of the Taking a Walk Nashville podcast. Welcome back to Taking a Walk Nashville. In addition to being a songwriter and publisher, you've also written five books. Many of the books are geared towards women, and you've also created music for Speak Life and Bullying the Musical, which is the film that's been played in over 1,000 schools and theaters nationwide. Tell us about your books and how you got involved with this musical. so um we'll start with the musical um because that has just been such a blessing um in so many ways but um early here in nashville um i did as we all do a lot of volunteering um and i worked a lot with different organizations like the beat of life and a lot of veterans organizations but the beat of life at that time many many years ago was focused on they go into they go into prisons and everywhere now, but at that point, they were going into a lot of schools, and I had experienced some bullying in middle school, and so I was really passionate about it, but I'd put myself out there, and I'd done a lot with The Beat of Life, so what I'm told is that when this organization decided that they could not, they were using some music, Kelly Clarkson songs and Katy Perry, and they were using some really big production songs, but they couldn't license them, The licenses were just so expensive. And so they thought, you know what, we're just going to go out and see if we can't create our own music and we won't run into this issue. And so they were vetting people and they were looking online. And so this is a testament to all you songwriters who sometimes it's frustrating to do so much volunteer work. But this is a time where something I did early on in my career and continue to do really paid off because they found me in a lot of Google searches that I had done a lot with kids and bullying And so they reached out to me and they just said Hey we're just kind of in the phase of talking to people. And so I knew they were talking to folks in Nashville. They were talking to a girl who's now become a good friend of mine too. She's a fantastic artist named Juliet Riley in New York at the time. And Juliet has, we talk about TV and film placements. She's kind of the queen of it and songs in the Kardashian movies and just all over the place. She's just such a neat girl. And so they were talking to Julia. They were talking to me. They were talking to a few other people. And we went through a series of zoom conversations. And, um, so I was honored to get the call one day that they had chosen me for the project. And then that's when the panic sunk in because, um, not only was it, uh, something they needed done in 30 days. They needed these five songs written, produced, mastered, and ready to go in 30 days. But they had also been used to, they had a budget. They were funded through the Justin Simmons Foundation, who does incredible work for youth. And Justin Simmons is a football player. I think for the, well, he was for the Denver Broncos. I'm not sure if he's still playing for the Denver Broncos, but anyway, so they did have a budget, but it wasn't, it wasn't the type of budget for the songs they had been. I mean, I'm sure that those songs had like a hundred thousand songs individually had a hundred thousand dollar, you know, productions to them. So I say that because I knew what their ear was accustomed to hearing. But I stayed awake one night staring at the ceiling and just really saying, God, if you feel like I can do this, then I'll sign the contract because it was like a 12-page contract on top of that. And so I was really nervous. But the next morning I woke up with confidence and I said yes. And wow, I can't even begin to express to you how literally there was a blessing in every one of those songs. And thankfully, this is not to kind of toot my own horn, but I'd been in Nashville long enough that I was able to understand what each song, and I knew so many people that I could see the song and know which singer it needed, which co-producer it needed, which co-writer it needed. I did end up writing a couple of the songs solo because, again, there was a budget and that kind of thing. But I collaborated on three out of the five with some pretty incredible artists and talent here in Nashville. So given their skill level and everything, we were able to get it done. Oh, great. Yeah, I'm sure it was hard near the end of the headline getting it done in 30 days. Well, yeah, because one of the things that I had to do was present the song to them. And, you know, when you're presenting a song and you don't want to go ahead and fully produce it because they may not like it and they may want changes. but also you don't know if they can hear it because it's not their lane. So you don't know if they can kind of hear where their production would go. And so the very first time I had to present the very first song that I wrote called Shadow Story, I was so nervous and we got on a Zoom and I started to play it for them and the tears just were coming down and I was like, okay, this is going to be okay. so they basically said no we are absolutely blown away this is exactly what we wanted so it was just a blessed project from there and i'll wrap it up by saying that you know if you had asked me early on in my career you know i think that we all i don't i don't can't speak for all songwriters but i think i can when i say um we all kind of ache for that timeless song you know you hear timeless songs on the radio and you're like i just want to make a difference that way. I want to write and contribute to the world a timeless song. And I'm sure we all have them in our catalog. And, you know, they may someday, well, hopefully while we're living, but even later, you know, they may surface, you just never know. But I would have probably said if you asked me that I, you know, oh, well, I hope to be known for, you know, a Garth cut or something, but God had other plans. And I get letters from children that tell me that after seeing the film, the musical because it's a musical and they turned it to film in order to get it in more of the schools that they were going to commit suicide and because of that film because of that song they went home and changed their mind so that kind of really tops it all for me yeah it's amazing to see how impactful you know your songs can be and I love when you brought up how volunteer work is so important because I've seen many times where volunteer work and charity can lead to bigger opportunities, just like for you, seeing your songs being turned into a musical and film. Yeah. And I will say, without going into a lot of detail, there was a particular day when I was having to drive. I was living in Belmead at the time, and I needed to drive something like 30 miles to get to this middle school. And the night before, I'd gotten some bad news back home, and I'd cried all night, and I woke up in the morning, and honestly, the last thing I wanted to do was get in my car and drive 30 miles and go pour into these kids. I didn't feel like I had it in me, and I forced myself to go. And ironically, that's one of the biggest pushes towards me was that day because there was a film crew there. Unbeknownst to me, the local TV stations were there that day. So a lot of that footage and a lot of that day was put online. And so I think about the details of that day. and I think about how cool and profound it is that we have to sometimes let go of the idea that we know what direction our career is going to go and we just have to do what we love and pour in to the music in the ways that we can because yes that was something that they googled and I almost wasn't there that day you know so wow yeah that's amazing how have you had time to write books while doing a musical having a publishing company yeah I think I've been a little bit nuts looking back but I think when you just kind of love everything that you do and and you know this Sarah because you are so multi-creative and I find it ironic you asking me that because you you do so how do I find the time you do so much and you've written your book turtle tears which my granddaughter mila has in her room um but i i'd always wanted to i'd started by and this is listen up if you are anyone out there thinking about writing a book i started by contributing to anthologies and that really helped me understand book writing like i would contribute a chapter to a book there's a lot of people out there putting books together that are looking for authors to contribute and so um I started doing that um and yes they were all like female empowerment I was just kind of sharing some of my stories and some of them were relationship type things but uh I learned a lot about book publishing by doing that so then I felt like maybe I was ready to finally put out my book. Yeah, and you've written five of them, which that's a lot of books. It's a lot of books, but I always joke with people and tell them that if you actually, you know, have some of my books, then you know that they're like coffee table books and that they're not very long and they only take you, you know, like my book, God, Gratitude, giving would take you all of maybe 45 minutes to read and it includes some journal pages in there for some, you know, just kind of thinking about some of the things I talk about. But I had always wanted to write that book because I had a very profound experience. And when I moved to Nashville, I, because I didn't get here till my 30s, one of the things that I was committed to doing was not taking any job that wasn't aligned with the music industry because I wanted so badly to finally do what I'd always wanted to do with my career. But I was falling on some really hard times, and I was about to take a waitressing job at P.F. Chang's on West End. And the day that I was going to start, the road was blocked off by fire trucks and the kitchen had caught on fire. And so it was kind of a gift and a curse for me. I really didn't want to do it. But at the same time, I was kind of counting on that money right away. And so I went home and I just kind of went into my time with God, my meditation, which I learned to do when I was a little girl. After my mom died I wanted to feel close to her and I would close my eyes and I would just like I could smell her I could feel her And I would just have that prayer time with her with God And so I went in prayer time and I was like, what am I going to do? And I heard these three really profound words laid on my heart, God, gratitude, and giving. And in that order. And I knew in that moment why they were given to me. I knew what they meant. And I knew that if I focused on those things daily, God, which I talk about in my book is for me, my silence. I mean, there's just so many, there's so many things. Um, we all know God as the ultimate, you know, um, healer and love. Um, but I, where I would find my time with God was in silence. So I knew that every day if I focused on silence and gratitude and giving, and it didn't have to necessarily be monetary. It could be sending a prayer. It could be writing a note, um, that I would stop worrying, release my anxiety. And I did that immediately and my life just shifted so profoundly. And so I'd always wanted to tell that story about God, gratitude and giving and in that order. And so, um, after doing those anthologies and understanding the publishing world, uh, that I put that book out and then came another book that I wrote there. I partnered with a neuropsychologist. It's called The Musical Imprint. And that book, we did incorporate stories with other people. Some of them are in the music business. Some are realtors. Some of them are coaches. And that was just, that's an incredible book. I highly recommend it. But Sarah, Dr. Sarah and I, we come from the perspective where she's a doctor. And so she talks about the real neuro physical effects of music on the brain, which we've all heard so much about. And then myself, I'm a little bit more about the magic and and the muse and and how a song lands on my shoulder and that side of it. So it was really interesting to have, you know, a songwriter and a neuropsychologist come together. And the stories are incredible. and I talk about my song in the story that changed my life was Three Times a Lady by Lionel Richie because the night that my mother was killed, me and my brother and sister were sitting in the back seat of my aunt's car and that song came on the radio and I was really little and I thought that that song was talking about my mother and all of my life, Three Times a Lady, when I would hear it, was a love song to my mother and of course later in life I I learned you know that it's a romantic song but to wrap it all up I will tell you that I got to meet Lionel Richie I got to share the book with him and I've become friends with him and he did promise to write with me when he came to Nashville but that hasn't happened yet but I'm not giving up on that because he gave me his word so that's a full circle Lionel if you're listening or counting on you Keep your word, Lionel. Yeah. That's so beautiful. Thank you for sharing that with us. Where can people find your books and your music? So everything's at melissablairrow.com, and there's also Rhyme Partners. Everything kind of intersects and attaches to all the social medias and that kind of thing. Yeah, we'll definitely check that out. And I want to give you a congrats because you are now a CMA, Country Music Association, member ambassador. What are you going to be doing with this program? So the ambassadorship has been incredible. And this was 2025 was the first year that they decided to do it. And it just made perfect sense for me because I've been such a champion of CMA. It's one of my favorite membership organizations. And I don't know if a lot of people really understand all the benefits of being a member that there are. There's different tiers. You know, there's student, there's industry, and there's professional that allows you voting rights. But beyond that, there really, really are so many opportunities, most of them you can find online. But what we are here to do is to elevate ourselves as members to really kind of tell people who are not members what the CMA is really all about, not to mention all the cool. I mean, we were invited to the CMA Awards this year. I wouldn't say that it gives us more clout or anything like that, but we certainly are members who have been actively involved for many, many years and kind of proven ourselves to show up for the CMA and be involved to the point that they felt confident in creating this ambassadorship program with those of us that were chosen to be ambassadors so that we could represent, we could be sort of boots on the ground for the CMA. And it's absolutely been wonderful. And it's come with some cool perks. Yeah, a great way to connect with other country music artists and creatives as well. Yeah, because I think there really are a lot of people. There's so many membership organizations. and if you don't take advantage of the things that they have to offer or if you don't know what they are, then you can't get the full value of your membership. So I'm here to help people understand that value. Yeah, that's wonderful. Well, Melissa, I have one final question left for you. I always ask this to every guest. This is Taking a Walk Nashville. So do you have a favorite place you like to take a walk in Nashville? currently I like to take a walk on Main Street in Franklin, Tennessee I lived on the west side for many, many, many years I've been in Nashville over 20 years and then I've moved out to Franklin but listen, Nashville is so cool like I'd like to take a walk down on 12 South a lot but Main Street is, I live, my office suite is a half a mile from Main Street. So I'm pretty fond of that these days. It's really cool. So many cute shops on Main Street and Franklin Theater, which you'll be playing at too. Yeah, Franklin Theater. So that's really cool. It's very iconic, like the Bluebird. So I'm just honored to be playing the iconic, historic Franklin Theater for the first time with a show I created four years ago called A Very Merry Nashville Christmas. And so look out for us every year. Hopefully they'll invite us back, but we'll also be traveling to different theaters with the show. Wonderful. That's great. Well, Melissa, thank you so much for being on Taking a Walk Nashville today and being here with me. Thank you so much, Sarah. Thanks for listening to Taking a Walk Nashville with singer-songwriter Sarah Harrelson. And check out our other podcasts, Music saved me, comedy saved me, and taken a walk. Available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ready for a different take on Formula One? Look no further than No Grip, a new podcast tackling the culture of motor racing's most coveted series. 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