Marty Dodson

Marty Dodson was born in Apple Valley, California, and moved around for several years until his family settled in Nashville, TN. Growing up, he was intimidated by the sheer number of people coming to Nashville to become singers or songwriters. So, he went to college and earned a degree in psychology.

After working ten years as a youth minister, Marty decided to change careers. Trouble was, he didn’t know what he wanted to be when he grew up. He fumbled around for several years, doing odd jobs and trying to decide on a direction for his life. Finally, a book he read helped him realize that what he REALLY wanted to be was a songwriter.

He had run into Gordon Payne, a member of the Crickets while working one of his odd jobs. Gordon helped him re-write one of his songs and demo it in a Nashville studio. Marty was hooked. He threw caution to the wind, quit the other jobs and began writing full-time.

Six #1 songs and more than 100 cuts later, Marty has become one of the most accomplished writers in Nashville. His songs have been recorded by artists such as Joe Cocker, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington, The Plain White T’s, The Oak Ridge Boys, Don Williams, Johnny Reid, and Billy Ray Cyrus.

Marty’s self-professed “greatest achievement” in his songwriting career to date was knocking Psy out of #1 in South Korea and winning “Song of the Year” honors for South Korea and all of Asia with his song “Bounce”.