Friday, August 24, 2007

Making It Big In The Music Biz By Accident

So, I'm perusing USA Today, today, and I run across an article about Lori McKenna.

This is the gal who was celebrated on Oprah, who, according to Oprah, sat in her kitchen writing songs that no one ever heard, blah, blah, blah, and suddenly, OUT OF THE BLUE!, she was discovered by Faith Hill.

Well, more power to Lori McKenna! However, the Oprah episode was patently false.

This is just one BIG reason why I don't watch Oprah. The fact is, she lies. All you Oprah fans out there, I just want to caution you -- don't believe everything you see on Oprah. Apparently, the true story wasn't interesting enough, so it got embellished.

Anyone who gave it any thought would have realized that it is entirely IMPOSSIBLE for someone who writes songs in their kitchen to SUDDENLY be discovered by Faith Hill, or anybody else. How, pray tell, would that happen? By osmosis? By extra-sensory perception?

So, Oprah decided that she needed to make the story more interesting. That really, pretty much, does a disservice to Lori McKenna. This is a gal who, yes, has six children, but goes out and plays her gigs, and pounds the pavement like any other songwriter, and, lo and behold, she gets lucky, or finds a patron who has some connections, who passes along her songs to Faith Hill.

Is there something lacking in this story? I don't think so. I think it's actually inspirational. It's a story about someone who's paid her dues, and fortuitously, reaps the rewards. How much more uplifting could that be? It's a story about talent realized.

Geez, Oprah. Just tell the story how it really happened. Then give away a couple hundred houses or something.

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