In Memoriam: Troy Jones, One of the Most Resilient Songwriters

Sad news not only for us country fans but to the world who adored and loved the man who contributed greatly to the music community. At the age of 64, hit Nashville songwriter Troy Jones passed away when a live electrical current touched his boat dock by accident last Friday, September 11. The news couldn’t be more tragic as his composition, Billy Currington’s ‘People are Crazy,’ is one of the contenders to win the Grammy award.

The Legacy He Left Us

In 1977, Troy Jones began working in a local paper mill where he first heard of Randy Travis’ music. Like many songwriters, he knew he was built for it. He consecutively composed songs while handling the paper milling business, therefore developing in both fields leading to the rise of his career.

With his current career state currently on the rise, he was invited for a trip to Nashville’s Bluebird Café. This led to him joining NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International). He started doing gigs despite his day’s work in Alabama.

The progress was indeed slow for Troy Jones, but it’s still progress. His big break in songwriting came in 2005 when Kenny Chesney chose his song “Like Me” for the album “The Road and the Radio.”

But the spotlight didn’t shine on him yet. Unlike other songwriters, his song wasn’t made into a single. In 2007, Chesney came to his rescue again when he used another of Troy Jones’ song for a duet with George Strait in his album, ‘Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates.’

Jones’ ‘Shiftwork’ became the third single in that album, his second song to be featured, and his first as an artist’s single. It landed #2 on Billboard’s Hot Country Song’s chart which became his first spark as a renowned songwriter for country music. From that point onwards, he started receiving collaborations with some of our country stars such as Randy Travis, Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins, Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, and more.

“He had his priorities straight”, posted by Troy Jones’ longtime friend and co-songwriter Wynn Varble alongside a memorable picture with him.

The road was tough for Jones, but he never gave up on his dreams. And through the songs sung by our famed country artist lie the words penned by another esteemed songwriter.

To Troy Jones’ family, colleagues and friends, We extend our condolences.

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A post shared by Wynn Varble (@wynnvarbleofficial) on Sep 12, 2020 at 11:36am PDT