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  Gordon Kennedy
Gordon Kennedy has played on hundreds of recording sessions for artists like Jewel, Michael McDonald, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Patty Loveless, 98 Degrees and Steven Curtis Chapman. In addition he has written songs for a number of artists, including Eric Clapton, Garth Brooks, Bonnie Raitt, Trisha Yearwood, George Strait, Wynonna, Patty Loveless and the Dixie Chicks.
“Change the World,” his Grammy-winning hit for Clapton was co-written with Tommy Sims and Wayne Kirkpatrick. Amazingly, none of the three were in the same room together while writing the song. “Tommy came up with the title and most of the music,” remembers Gordon, “and then he gave it to Wayne to write lyrics.” When the time came to record a demo for the song, Kirkpatrick had finished the lyrics to the chorus and all but one line of the second verse, so Kennedy wrote the lyrics for the first verse and Wayne’s missing line in the second verse and finished the music. The song was recorded first by country superstar Wynonna, and eventually found its way to Eric Clapton and Babyface, who performed and produced the song for the movie soundtrack of the John Travolta hit Phenomenon.
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|  Wayne Kirkpatrick
Wayne Kirkpatrick, a Louisiana native, was introduced to the guitar at age 14. He moved to Nashville in 1982 to be a singer/songwriter, soon deciding to focus on writing. The collaboration with Grant led him to a publishing deal. His early skills and talent for crafting insightful material set him on a course that would keep him busy writing and producing.
You may not realize it, but you know Kirkpatrick’s music. One of Music City’s most prolific and respected songwriters, he's the writer behind such much-loved songs as Amy Grant’s “Every Heartbeat,” “Good For Me” and “Takes A Little Time,” Michael W. Smith's “Place In This World” and “Somebody Love Me,” along with the 1997 mega-hit, Grammy-winning “Change The World,” recorded by Eric Clapton. He was also co-writer on seven of the cuts on Garth Brooks’ pop project, In the Life of Chris Gaines, and has had songs recorded by some of the top female vocalists in music like Trisha Yearwood, Bonnie Raitt, Faith Hill and Martina McBride. He currently
In 2000 Kirkpatrick released his own solo project entitled The Maple Room. |
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 Tommy Sims
Tommy Sims studied music at Western Michigan College and the University of Michigan. He eventually landed in Nashville where a friend lived. Here he played with several musicians and friends and even appeared on an album that was never released, all the while continuing to write songs. Soon, people began to take notice and wanted to use his lyrics. One friend, realizing Sims’ moneymaking potential, signed him to his start-up publishing company.
Between 1990 and 1992, Sims commuted to Los Angeles where he wrote, produced and programmed songs for Don Gehman (John Mellencamp, REM, Hootie & The Blowfish).One day, Bruce Springsteen called the studio looking for Sims. Springsteen had heard of Sims' growing musical reputation and wanted Tommy to jam with his band. They played together for three days straight, after which Springsteen asked Sims to join him on tour. Sims, then 32, has never looked back.
In 1997, Tommy Sims was awarded a Grammy for Song of the Year for writing “Change The World,” which was produced by Babyface and performed by Eric Clapton.
Although he has written and produced songs for such major artists as Bruce Springsteen, Michael Bolton, Amy Grant, Wynonna Judd, Bonnie Raitt, CeCe Winans, The Neville Brothers and Garth Brooks, his own album Peace And Love contains some of the most interesting music Sims has ever made.
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