How the biggest artists in the world made it
October 24, 2025
Wondering how the most famous artists got to where they are?
The truth is simpler than you might think.
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Good summary. I started playing accordion at age 5 in Milwaukee, kept at it for ten years, but in junior high joined the band, clarinet, oboe, bassoon and finally tenor sax. So tenor s in jazz, rock and roll combos all through high school and college. I moved to a Yamaha keyboard because it was like the accordion but more versatile and enabled me to be the e tire band. I’m now 82 and have composed and okay over 70 original songs of all genres which I recorded on the keyboard while playing them through with no chart or written music there isn’t any. Durr.
In college I learned rhythm guitar and bass. All these instruments broadened my appreciation for what they can provide for a song- an attitude- a mood. Music is my soul mate. You nailed it in that creation is the greatest gift we’ve all been given. Playing I. The even g for even 15 “ gives me immediate Se pleasure.
Now I do karaoke with using different keyboard instruments on top of my original song recordings. It’s a great adventure.
I switch genres , tempo, beat, and arrangements kissing the same song ( chord progressions and melody) and even I have a hard time recognizing they’re duplicate music.
History- I grew up in Amarillo , Texas. I played with a friend older than me in the high school talent show . His name was Terry Stafford and he graduated and bought a motorcycle and took his guitar and went to LA. He wrote and recorded ‘Suspicion’ , later he wrote and recorded ‘Amarillo By Morning’.
George Strait came along and did covers and made them even bigger.
John David Souther was from Amarillo and was a drummer. His dad had a small music store where I bought reeds for my saxophone e. ( I bought my sax, 1919, from a guy who toured and played with the Glenn
Iller Band in the forties. I learned all those tunes by ear.
Souther got me gigs over I. Clovis , NM at the Norman Petty ( Norman Perry Trio- NYC) Recording studio. I’d drive over to Clovis when I was in college and hear a record and then make up a sax solo , got paid $25 and drive back home . David Souther went to LA and met Glenn Fry of the Eagles. Both were living together looking g for work. They were in a club and two band members didn’t show up for their job. To w bandleader needed a couple of standins. JD and Glenn went up and sat in . The band leader a d lead singer was Linda Rondstsdt.
For a career I’ve been a dentist- an implant surgeon for 50 years now.
I hope this hasnt bored you, but I just felt like sharing g it with you.
All the best- thanks
Wayne Simmons s
Cool stories, Wayne, and great to hear you are still making music between saving people’s smiles. 🙂
If it’s so easy, make me famous and you and I can come to an agreement on a percentage.
? Not sure you got the message in the video.
Hi Chris,
I agree with everything you said! I’ll be 52 in December and have been striving for my dreams since the age of 10. It’s been long and bumpy road, but I’m still trying achieve my perfect life. However, I have to admit that it’s a little harder now that I have a daughter who will be entering her teen years soon.
Thank you. I needed that pep talk.
Life evolves and so can your music. Keep moving forward.
As always … very wise words spoken here.
My little guitar-playing and songwriting hobby stuck for a long time until I forced myself to the next step by booking a writing/recording/mixing masterclass with all the challenges that initially seem daunting.
The sync-world is still a big puzzle to me but I’m sure we will meet in one of your programs in future.
Sounds great, Holger, looking forward to it.
Nice talk, Chris. I enjoy and take note of your products.
I have a note taped to my bathroom mirror, it has been there for years. I don’t know who said it. But it says: “You become what you think about most of the time. Do you hear what you’re thinking?” I think it is a lot more important than it sounds.
I couldn’t agree more, Denny. Hopefully it sticks on your mirror for years to come.
I’m beginning to question my profession. i make a full time living singing and dancing mostly live, sometimes on camera (don’t make much from my albums though). but i can’t say i wake up excited. i sometimes dread driving to the gig. When i’m on it , then i’m having a blast. its the before and after. i should be so so grateful i get to do this, and i truly, truly am, and i thank the universe for all the work that comes my way, but sadly , i view it as the grind of a job.
I would step back and ask yourself why you got into it in the first place and then make that record no matter where that feeling takes you. I think you will fall in love with your musical life all over again.
Thanks for sharing and giving some perspective on what others have experienced. As a singer/songwriter I write and perform in several genres and really embrace the creativity that I have been blessed with. I certainly know that the passion and love for making music is there. Even if I got a glimpse of the future and learned that I would never be world famous, I would still make music because it is a part of me. Sadly, like many others, I got caught up with academics and focusing on life in general and these can truly stymie our musical aspirations. Regardless, I am not discouraged and will continue to grind.
Keep finding those places in between to keep making your music, Robert!
Well said Chris. I totally agree. Thank you!
Cool!
Great pep talk!
Well I don’t try to create pep talks, just speak what’s on my mind, but great to hear you found it inspiring.
I love the entire process-from idea conceptualization
to shaping the music and lyrics. Then guiding the process each step along the way until at last, your song is born!
👍
Hey Chris..
The bottom line for me… I just love to make music, no matter where it goes or who hears it. It is absolute therapy for me and without it, I would be a totally different person and probably not a real good one. Making music expands your mind and helps you become creative in every aspect of your life. For me, one that writes contemporary Christian music, it becomes a way to thank my creator for my talents. It also enables me to deal with the joys and disappointments occurring in my life, helping me face certain things through a creative lens.
That is great to hear, Paul. Mind expanding it is!
Hi Chris – I Love making/writing music even when it’s not making money and have been passionately involved in this whole universe ever since I was a teenager – I am 70 now – Along the way I have had the privilege of : writing for The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Having my book of poetry published, Playing for years as the house guitarist for Theatre productions, Holding a gig as a studio musician, co-writing and arranging/editing other composer’s work, building a studio and turning out really good recordings, Producing commercially released albums, touring and gigging. I haven’t made piles of money but I have loved every minute of it. And, I’m still here still doing it and still loving it. Working in sync, I hope, will be the next chapter in in this continuing saga as I continue to look for new creative outlets for what I love to do. And you are right along the way I have never felt ready for the next thing that opened up – but I always step through the door when it opens :0)
Love that, Jim. Keep stepping through those doors!
For a long time I have been a side man musician for other bands, playing fiddle and mandolin for bluegrass bands and singer-songwriters. Being in SC was a choice I made to get myself out there as a songwriter and solo performer. I am still having struggles with the idea of playing solo live, but I will get there. Have done a few neighborhood gigs solo and getting good feedback helps.
Your comments are always so right on, almost as if you are hearing what is going on in my head. Kind of scary, Halloween approaching, and all that! LOL. Thanks, Chris.
Thanks for the kind words, Jim. Work up to playing live, but at some point you just gotta go for it.
Love this video. Thanks for posting. I think it just comes down to acceptance. After years of running away from my dreams, because I thought they were stupid, I finally turned to face them – and embrace them. I may never make a million dollars with my music, but … I also know that I if I don’t at least show up, and do my best every day, I’m guaranteed to make nothing. Also – we only live once. We might as well do what we love as much as possible while we’re here, even if it’s just for the joy we feel while doing it.
Hi Chris,
I heard my father tell my older brother that music was not a career choice(from his perspective of making a living he wasn’t wrong). I was in a band in high school and tried to stay in the band after, becoming a mason to make ends meet. Then pleased my dad by giving up, going back to school and getting a couple of degrees and then an engineering job(After a year working for Muse Productions and learning to be a pretty good sound engineer). At which point I got back in a band cause I could buy a Les Paul and Marshall amp etc. And started writing some songs that people liked and formed my own band. My engineering job was at Ampex tape plant so I learned some more about recording etc(and smuggled out some 2 inch tape that we recorded my 1st album on a few years later).
Serendipitously, I had gotten us booked opening for a rather big touring band from Atlanta, and we had just played that gig, when Ampex laid me off; the very next week they offered us the opening slot on their southeastern tour.
Getting to the point, I never looked back – decided to BE a musician and songwriter because that’s what I loved and always wanted to be since I heard the Beatles. And it has been a struggle to survive – I have had so many different side jobs(some rewarding and some not, some legal and some not, but many that were interesting experiences) – but mostly I have been a working musician and sound engineer for the last 34 years and I’m 67 now still playing 100 gigs a year and I’ve written well over 100 songs and I have no regrets.
But now 100 gigs a year is more than I want to do now- altho I still love that – it takes away time and energy that I would rather put into the studio and writing songs. Hence spending the money on the Sync course and club is my last hope for any money when I can’t physically play this much anymore. Having said that – even If I don’t get a single placement – this experience has already been worth it. I have learned so much and I have finally got my catalog organized (just finally joined ASCAP last year!)
So thanks, Chris and team, for what you do! My main point, now that I remember it, is that I have been doing what I love and plan to keep doing it until I drop – and I feel so grateful that I was able to make that a bit scary decision 34 years ago and live a very interesting and rewarding life on the edge
This is wonderful Chris. 16 years into a full-time music career and I still have to make myself get away from my office and spend time outside or with the family. Through all the frustrations, I always have a drive to show up, create, and learn. It’s been in me for so long but I was so scared to take the steps and face my fears. In the past two months, I’ve had multiple connections from industry people who are “ahead of me” in years in the business and they are as eager to work with me as I am with them. It’s humbling and it just makes me want to show up again and again.
Chris, thank you for taking the time to research and to share these truths. I resonated deeply with what you shared about putting the dream first, learning to live with less, and embracing your calling. All I know is that, if I don’t believe in my music, no one will and I have tokeep my eyes on my goal to make a full time living again (this is my 2nd time to the rodeo LOL) and rather than looking at it like…drudgery, overwhelm, or a “lost cause” , but rather from gratitude, patience, contentment and joy. I may not have much money, but I “get” to follow my calling because I teach voice lessons, I “get” to write the songs for my next album, I “get” to dream and design how I want this next chapter of my career as a live singer songwriter to play out, and I “get” to have artistic control as an indie and all of that is priceless!
Great pep talk! I love making music every day!