Listening & Lifting: David Conrad To Be Honored At CMA Triple Play Awards [Interview]

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David Conrad. Photo: John Chiasson

At the 15th annual CMA Triple Play Awards tonight (April 29), legendary music publisher David Conrad will receive the Songwriter Advocate Award. Alongside this honor, CMA will recognize 16 songwriters who have penned three No. 1 songs within a 12-month period.

The Songwriter Advocate Award aims to honor individuals who have significantly supported and furthered the art of songwriting and the careers of songwriters, leaving a lasting impact on country music and the songwriting community as a whole. Conrad will be the fourth person to receive this award behind Bob DiPiero in 2020, Jody Williams in 2022 and Troy Tomlinson in 2024.

“This award is really uplifting. It is very kind of them to think of me—especially since I’ve been out of circulation for a while now,” shares Conrad with a laugh. “To be held in the same regard as people like Bob, Jody and Troy, it is three times the honor for me. Those are some of my favorite folks and, more than that, they are great songwriter champions.”

Conrad’s journey in Nashville began nearly 60 years ago, in 1967, after growing up in a musical family in North Carolina. A chance meeting with his own advocate, Chet Atkins, helped open doors, and after graduating from UNC Chapel Hill and serving a four-year stint in the Army—where he played guitar for the Third Army Soldier Show—he returned to Music City. Over time, he shifted from performing to the publishing side of the industry. “I always like to say that dreams do come true, just not always in the way you dream them.”

In 1974, he joined Pi-Gem Music, where he learned the publishing business from some of the best songwriters in town, who, he says, “taught [him] far more than [he] taught them.” Over the next few decades, he built a reputation for his sharp ear and support of writers, working with iconic acts such as Emmylou Harris, Bruce Springsteen, Waylon Jennings, Don Schlitz, Gillian Welch and Jimmy Buffett.

“After all these years, I still try to be an advocate,” says Conrad. “You always want good people to end up in a good spot, because you admire the people setting up in Nashville and you admire the man or woman you advocate for. A rising tide lifts all boats.”

Throughout his career, Conrad has found that the “lifting” part of being an advocate typically follows the most important thing—listening.

“’Lifting’ is a word we use all the time, but we are in the business of listening. In terms of songwriters, guitarists or singers, you advocate by listening—really hearing them—not just waiting for them to finish. Then, you lift them up, you make good on what they are doing and look for a way to help them move forward.”

Conrad continues to advocate for the next generation of songwriters, even if it is cheering from the sidelines. “I still get excited that young people continue to dream of coming to Nashville to write songs. The thought of someone out there sharing what I felt the first time Gillian Welch played me ‘Orphan Girl’ or Kent Robbins sang ‘Love Is Alive’ is really amazing.

“Though the players have changed in the game, Nashville, I am proud to say, is still a community—a culture—of advocates,” Conrad sums. “It seems to me that it is built into the DNA of country music.”

John Nix Arledge
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