Meet John Chisum | Veteran songwriter, producer, and recording artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with John Chisum and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John, why did you pursue a creative career?
I was born into a musical family. Dad was an audiophile who literally loved and collected music of all types. I grew up hearing everything from Bluegrass to Classical music and everything in-between. Dad was an amateur musician who played banjo, guitar, mandolin, and fiddle. Mom played harmonica. Yep — my Mother played harmonica and she was so good at it that it wasn’t embarrassing. They were actually quite good, but their performances were limited to our living room on Friday nights when a few of their friends might come by for some cold cuts and a little Americana music making.

I came by my musical talents naturally and showed some promise early in my life. Sports were never a thing for me. I didn’t care about cars or building things with my hands. Music was always the stuff of my existence and my early childhood was filled with artists like David Bowie, The Beatles, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, Pink Floyd, ZZTop, and myriad other rock, folk, and esoteric bands. I loved the psychedelic lyrics and the hypnotic beats of the songs. I always paid attention to how the music sounded, the production values, and the ability to hear how the music was made was unconsciously instilled in me.

Music was just the natural outgrowth of my highly creative childhood. I’m now celebrating my 40th year as a professional songwriter, producer, and musical coach. I owe my ability to flow in and out of almost any musical genre to my Dad and Mom and their love for music. I’m not sure that I had any real choice in the matter of my career, though I could not have imagined I would be able to work in almost every facet of professional commercial music and still be at it into my fifth decade.

I’ve had my own faith-based coaching company for eight years now, Nashville Christian Songwriters, and we’ve enjoyed a global reach through our podcast “Song Revolution with John Chisum” with over 180 episodes so far. We also offer a lot of free and premium coaching programs for aspiring songwriters and artists ready to reach their greatest potential.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started Nashville Christian Songwriters nine years ago to share the success and knowledge I’ve gained from my forty years of professional songwriting and music business experience. I grew up in a highly musical family and longed to write songs the world might hear from my teenage years. Clueless as to how that could ever happen, I moved to Nashville to take a job that ultimately fell through leaving me and my young bride with only $40 to our name. Serendipitously meeting some people in the music business led to my first publishing contract. That was over 400 recorded and published songs ago.

Since then I’ve held posts at two major record companies and have managed dozens of professional songwriters. I learned early in my career not only how to craft pro-level songs, but how to teach others how to do it. One of the most satisfying parts of my career has been seeing people I’ve encouraged experience their own higher levels of success. I started my company to continue to download this successful songwriting approach to as many aspiring songwriters and artists as possible.

Today, I continue to encourage and equip hundreds of songwriters and artists through my blog, a popular podcast called “Song Revolution with John Chisum,” and three premium coaching and mentoring programs. I’ve recently launched an Artist Development program that is helping artists of all types establish their voice, production, brand, and online presence through a 90-day coaching experience. It’s so satisfying to be passing my knowledge and expertise on to successive generations through Nashville Christian Songwriters.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Nashville is rich in music history. While there are many touristy elements to our city, there are many truly beautiful historic sites such as The Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry for many decades. Built originally as a grand revival tabernacle by a converted riverboat captain, Thomas Ryman, the former Union Gospel Tabernacle is one of the most revered music venues in the world.

Now in the heart of Music City, the Ryman sits adjacent to dozens of music clubs strung along Broadway, a popular party street where country music hopefuls are heard playing up and down the street for tips and bands blare through the doors of honkytonks. One of my favorite treats for my guests would be music in the round at the world famous Bluebird Cafe where many country music greats have been discovered.

But Nashville is also home to The Tennessee Titans football team at Nissan Stadium, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, and the Frist Art Museum that features many local and international installations. As an important corridor of the Civil War, historical sites such as The Battle of Franklin and The Hermitage are worth visiting, as well as the quaint downtown of nearby Franklin, Tennessee, for a possible siting of a country music star or Hollywood actor in the local Starbucks.

There’s no shortage of food, sports, and history in the Middle Tennessee area and my guests would taste a wide variety of entertainment and fun with me!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I am a successful entrepreneur and coach today thanks to the generosity of so many people who invested in me early in my career, specifically the late Lari Goss, the late Gary McSpadden, Bill & Gloria Gaither, Darrell Harris, and a very special friend, Cindy Dupree. Cindy recognized my zeal and talent the first time we met. She opened the door to the now 40 years of music business and songwriting success that I have enjoyed! Maybe it would have happened another way, but Cindy was the one who saw the spark and was faithful to help others see it from the beginning – – thank you, Cindy!

Website: johnchisum.com

Instagram: johnchisumofficial

Linkedin: John Chisum

Twitter: johnchisumoffi2

Facebook: johnchisumofficial

Youtube: johnchisumofficial

Other: nashvillechristiansongwriters.com

Image Credits
Headshot by Laura E. Partain