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Hendersonville High School.
RCA suggested she write
with veteran songsmiths like
Troy Verges, Brett Beavers,
Brett James, Mac McAnally, and
the Warren Brothers. These
collaborations were short-lived,
but she would form a lasting
relationship with another writer,
Liz Rose. Nearly 30 years Taylor’s
senior, Rose had come to
songwriting relatively late in life.
Nevertheless, their after-school
songwriting sessions were fruitful.
“I love writing with Liz,” said
Taylor, who explained that she
was the instigator of the songs’
ideas. “When we write, I usually
come in with a melody and some
lyric content, and then we’ll work
on creating the rest of the song.
She’s a really good song editor.”
A parting of the ways with
RCA came at the end of the
development deal after a
disagreement as to Taylor’s
future direction. The company
wanted her to wait until she
was 18 and then record an
album of other people’s songs,
while Taylor wanted to record
her own material immediately.
Manager Dymtrow was let go
because Taylor felt that she
wasn’t making enough progress.
In the meantime, she signed a
publishing deal with Sony/ATV
Tree. Arthur Buenahora, the Sony
executive who signed Swift said,
“The songs were great, but it was
her, really. She was a star. She lit
up the room.” He added, “I liked
her attitude. She was very easy to
root for.” Soon Taylor would find
a record company that felt the
same way and her career would
truly be under way.
ABOVE:
Taylor pictured with Liz Rose – one of her co-writers.
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