One of the most prolific and successful songwriters ever to hit Nashville, Jerry Chesnut is best known for composing classics such as "A Good Year for the Roses" (George Jones, Elvis Costello), "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" (Elvis Presley, Travis Tritt), "Another Place Another Time" (Jerry Lee Lewis), "It's Four in the Morning" (Faron Young, Tom Jones), "They Don't Make 'Em Like My Daddy" (Loretta Lynn) and "Holding on to Nothin'" (Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton). The long list of artists who have cut his songs includes Bill Anderson, Johnny Cash, Johnny Darrell, Alan Jackson, Del Reeves, Marty Robbins, George Strait, Kitty Wells, Hank Williams Jr. and Tammy Wynette, among others.

Born May 7, 1931, in eastern Kentucky, Jerry Donald Chesnut was raised in the Harlan County coal-mining camps. Like many others in the area, he was greatly influenced by the radio sounds of the Grand Ole Opry and Knoxville's Midday Merry-Go-Round. After graduating high school, Chesnut joined the U.S. Air Force and served in the Korean War before eventually settling in Florida. He worked for seven years as a railroad conductor for the Florida East Coast Railway Company and performed on local radio on the weekends.

During this time Chesnut suffered a serious back injury while rustling a large Angus cow. The incident set the stage for his songwriting career when, nearly a decade later, after moving to Nashville, he finally underwent back surgery to repair the damage. Preparing for the surgery, Chesnut spent the majority of 1965 flat on his back analyzing contemporary country radio and honing his songwriting craft.

In 1967, nine years after Chesnut arrived in Music City, his first chart success came with Del Reeves' "A Dime at a Time," which was followed by "Wild Blood," "Looking at the World Through a Windshield" and "Good Time Charlie's," among others. Using his prowess as a businessman (Chesnut headed a sales organization spanning three states prior to his musical success), he founded his own publishing company. Often writing alone, some of his biggest hits were penned while sipping a cup of coffee before sunrise.

In addition to songwriting, Chesnut served short stints in the early 1970s as both a recording artist for United Artists and a regular on Hee Haw.

Chesnut was named Billboard's Songwriter of the Year in 1972. In 1981, he sold his catalog and retired from songwriting. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1996.

The Poets and Prophets series honors songwriters who have made significant contributions to country music history. Previous Poets and Prophets honorees include Matraca Berg, Bobby Braddock, Hank Cochran, Dean Dillon, John D. Loudermilk, Bob McDill, Curly Putman, Whitey Shafer, Jeffrey Steele and Craig Wiseman.

The Poets and Prophets series is made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund. These programs are also made possible, in part, by grants from the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and by an agreement between the Tennessee Arts Commission and National Endowment for the Arts.

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