Fred Koller

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Fred Koller (born March 5, 1950, in Chicago) is an American singer-songwriter. He has been active in the music business since 1973. Fred lives and works in Nashville with his wife Trish and their cat Buddy.

Contents

Music career

Koller has written over 300 songs which have been recorded. He was awarded the BMI Millionaire Performance Award for both "Angel Eyes" and "She Came from Fort Worth". Koller also won BMI Awards for "This Dream's on Me", "Goin' Gone", "Life As We Knew It" and "Will It Be Love By Morning". He is the former Vice President of The Nashville Songwriters Association International. Koller has taught for Songwriters Guild of America and was a staff instructor for both the Kerrville Folk Festival and the Augusta Heritage Festival.

Books and bookselling

Koller opened his first bookstore in Capitola, California, in 1975. It was located a few blocks from the ocean on Bay Ave. and was called Words and Music. The shop stocked an eclectic collection of used records, books and sheet music. After two years the store moved to an old fisherman's cottage where Fred and his first wife, majolica artist Farraday Newsome, lived upstairs.

In 1979 Fred sold his bookstore and moved back to Nashville, Tennessee. He opened Rhino Booksellers in Nashville in Oct. 2001. There are presently two locations.

Koller is the author of How to Pitch and Promote Your Songs [1] which is in its third edition. He also contributed to The Homespun Songwriter's Workshop and taught Homespun Tapes: Developing Your Lyrics.

Fred and Shel

Children's author Shel Silverstein was spending a lot of time on his houseboat in Sausalito, California, and would often visit to write songs and explore Santa Cruz, California.

In 1974, Silverstein and Koller began writing their first song together. Silverstein was already famous for his Playboy cartoons, children's books and several songwriting hits for artists like Doctor Hook and Johnny Cash. Their collaboration grew into a friendship that would last for the next 25 years.

On one two-week trip together to Santa Cruz, California [2] they wrote a dozen songs like "Don’t Knock The Music (You Were Made To)" and "Lovely Margarita," which features a transvestite strip tease artist unveiling the "secrets of an ancient world's delight." Other encounters produced "Little Green Buttons," which introduces listeners to a woman saving a dying marriage with carefully placed tattoos, and "The Happy Caucasian," which chronicles a modern-day Johnny Appleseed who spreads joy and jubilation all across the nation while "singing out good news." Country singer Bobby Bare recorded a version of "This Guitar Is for Sale," and Robert Earl Keen, Conway Twitty and Bare have all recorded versions of the first song Koller and Silverstein wrote together, "Jennifer Johnson and Me". A few more were recorded on Fred's "Night of The Living Fred" release.

Discography

Songwriting credits

Song TitleArtist
Ain’t It Been Love Vern Gosdin
Alabama Bad Marshall Chapman
Angel Eyes Jeff Healey Band, New Grass Revival, John Hiatt
Bachelor Girl Baillie & the Boys
Blind Luck Peter Case
Boomtown Lacy J. Dalton
Breaking Up This Happy Home Brendan Croker
Caught in the Spotlight Bobby Bare & Lacy J. Dalton
Circumstantial Evidence Jerry Lee Lewis
Count the DaysDon Dixon
Daddy Was a Sensitive Man Reverend Billy C. Wirtz, Ironweed
Don’t Knock The MusicSean Seman
Don’t The Good Times Rosemary Clooney
Drink American Peter Stampfel
Driving You Out Of My MindJoyce Woodson
Eli Whitney Kay Adams
Elvis Was A Narc Pinkard & Bowden
Everytime The Whistle WhinesTony Sarno
Everything You’d Never Want to BeJoe Brock
Exactly What I Thought She’d Do Omar & the Howlers
Fan The FlameBenita Hill
Feels RealAfrikan Dreamland
Fool Like That Gina Jeffreys
Fourth Wife Blues Reverend Billy C. Wirtz
Gauloise BlueJonathan Pointer
Give Me Some Of ThatFred James, C. J. Chenier, Jr.
Giving Up The GhostDon Dixon, Darlene Love
Goin' Gone Pat Alger, Mary Black, Forester Sisters, Nanci Griffith, Kathy Mattea, Alison Krauss (live versions exist), Woodstock Mountain Revue
Goodnight Little Houseplant Bobby Bare, Shel Silverstein
Habits of The HeartThe Woodys
Heart To Heart Gail Davies
Heart Of A Woman Terri Gibbs
House of Cards The New Seekers
I Don't Have The RightJ. T. Hall
I’d Rather Wear Out Than RustThe Hard Travelers
If Love HurtsMary Ann Brandon, Saffire – The Uppity Blues Women
I Get The Picture Keith Whitley
I Got Your Number Dave Edmunds, Al Anderson, Albert Lee, Blues and Trouble, Eddy Raven
If You Came Back Tonight Lorrie Morgan
I’ll Be There For You Brendan Croker, Celeste Krenz
I’m Going To Town Robert Earl Keen
I’m Still Feeling BlueJ. D. Myers
In My Dreams Asleep at the Wheel
I Never Got To Say Goodbye Bill Staines
It Doesn’t Matter What The People Say Peter Case
It Makes No Difference NowJoyce Woodson
I Wanna LiveAnnie Hughes
I Want My Rib BackCharlie Sizemore, Keith Whitley, Gene Watson, Kenny Chesney, Adam Harvey
I Want To Know Robert Earl Keen
I Was Going HomeHundred/Seventy Split
I’ve Loved Enough To KnowJim Rushing
Jennifer Johnson and Me Bobby Bare, Mac Davis, Dr. Hook, Goose Creek Symphony, Paul Overstreet, Conway Twitty, Robert Earl Keen
Juanita David Allan Coe, Burl Ives
King Gets A Day Job Reverend Billy C. Wirtz
Lady Jane Max D. Barnes
Last Time I Looked Peter Case
Let’s Talk Dirty In Hawaiian Jonathan Edwards, John Prine, Wild Jimbos, Tom Rush, Those Darlins'
Life As We Knew It Kathy Mattea
Little Green Buttons Lui Collins
Lone Star State of Mind Pat Alger, Nanci Griffith, Don Williams, Lorrie Morgan
Love Can Be a Dangerous Thing Pat Alger
Love Will Always Find Its Way Pierce Pettis
Lovers On the Rebound Marie Bottrell, The Younger Brothers
Make It Pretty For MeLilian Askeland, Bobby Bare, Tom Bresh, Suzanne Klee, Helen O'Conner, Tex Williams
Man's Best Friend is His Automobile Barry and Holly Tashian
Margarita Hell Reverend Billy C. Wirtz
Mary Goes RoundStu Stevens
Melancholy Moon Tim O'Brien
Midnight Chauffeur Marshall Chapman
Missionary RidgeClaire Lynch
Monroe's Mule John Cowan
My Baby’s Like a JukeboxJason Sever, Bub Tyler
Niagara FallsBill Lloyd
Neutral Ground Pierce Pettis
Never Be The Same Pam Tillis
New Day Laurie Lewis
New Old Friend The New Seekers, The Hard Travelers
Not To Old To CryKenny Serrat
Off To A Crawling Start Keith Whitley
Old Blues Singer Lowell Fulsom
On Grafton Street Frances Black, Nanci Griffith
Open Your EyesBrian Austin
Pale WindLarry Crane
Piece of PaperLarry Crane
Pretty Painted Ladies Bobby Bare, Chris LeDoux, Plainsmen, Sons of the Pioneers
Pull Together David Mallett
Red Neck State of Art Brendan Croker
Rock In My ShoeTim O'Brien
Rock Stars Lament Bobby Bare
Room 309 Reverend Billy C. Wirtz
Sassafrass Coon Creek Girls
She Came from Fort Worth Kathy Mattea, Pat Alger
She Loves Me She Loves Me Not Hal Ketchum
She's Just a Place To Fall Vern Gosdin
Shop Shop The Bama Band, Erin's Pride, James White
Sidestepping The BluesStonewall Jackson
Skip A Stone Beccy Cole
Somebody Else’s TuneMarge Calhoun
Some of ThatFred James, C. J. Chenier
Something To Hold On ToJoyce Woodson
Stand StillBrothers Brooks
Stars on The Water Priscilla Herdman
Stolen ArtJeff Wilkinson
Strong Young BreezeSean Seman
Summer Melody Stoney Edwards, The Kendalls
Taking My Chances With You The New Seekers
Tell Me I'm MistakenJ. T. Hall
The TV Tells Me So Smothers Brothers
Tell Me What You Want Brendan Croker
The Town With No DowntownJeff Wilkinson
The First Time Danny O'Keefe
There’s No GuaranteeAl Anderson
This Dream's on Me Gene Watson
This Guitar is For Sale Bobby Bare, Wes McGee, John Prine
This Time I'm Gonna Be LovedJ. T. Hall
This Town Pat Alger
Til The Coast Is Clear Hal Ketchum
True Western Movie Chris LeDoux
Twenty-NineTodd Dereemer
Walking With My Memories Loretta Lynn
We’re HistoryAtlanta
Wheel of Fortune Peter Rowan
When It’s Gone Tom Paxton
When The Sun Comes UpTammi Fassert
When You Ran With Me Hank Flamingo
Where The Fast Lane Ends Sonny Throckmorton, The Oak Ridge Boys
Where the Blue BeganHundred/Seventy Split
Whicita Way John Cowan
Whiplash Will Bobby Bare
Will It Be Love By Morning Michael Martin Murphey
Winding Down Lacy J. Dalton
With Out The Love The New Seekers
Words Said In The Dark Pierce Pettis
Yard SaleJonathan Pointer
Yes Mr. Rogers Bob Gibson, Shel Silverstein
You Can’t Take The Texas Lacy J. Dalton
You Don’t Mean A ThingAl Anderson

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References

  1. Koller, Fred (2001). How To Pitch and Promote Your Songs. Allworth Press. 1581151942
  2. Koller, Fred. "About the songs". No Song Left to Sell. Burlington:Gadfly.