If I have learned anything about country music, it is that songwriters occupy a unique and hallowed niche in the genre. They are the robust creative engine that drives singers' careers. Many artists write or co-write their own songs. There are also venerated songsmiths who primarily write. Claude "Curly" Putman Jr. (1930-2016) was inarguably one of the very best.
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His name is not well-known to the uninitiated, but he was really a colossal presence in the industry. Curly Putman's standing with regard to the country music canon is almost peerless. He wrote one of the great, truly emblematic country tunes of all time, "Green, Green Grass of Home." It is an inspired, timeless masterpiece.
That song has been recorded again and again by so many famous people. They include Tom Jones, Roger Miller, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Burl Ives, Kenny Rogers, The Grateful Dead, Charley Pride, Porter Wagoner, Joan Baez, Jerry Lee Lewis, and a host of others. It is an indelible part of country music history and lore.
Curly Putman co-wrote other important country songs. One of them was "He Stopped Loving Her Today." That track pretty much rescued George Jones' flagging career. Two other legendary tracks also bear his remarkable creative imprint - "My Elusive Dreams" and "D-I-V-O-R-C-E."
He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
Curly Putman Said His Songs Are 'Sad' But Lasting And Deeply Meaningful To People
Per American Songwriter via Variety, Putman acknowledged the morose yet enduring content of his songs. "...[E]verything I write is pretty sad. I believe that touches people of all kinds. 'Green, Green Grass of Home' and 'He Stopped Loving Her Today' were people-type songs, not just something that's gonna be out there one day and gone the next."
Four Classic, Unforgettable Songs Written Or Co-Written By Curly Putman
'Green, Green Grass Of Home'
This legendary story song concludes with an eyebrow-raising surprise. The narrator returns to his beloved home where his dear parents and girlfriend await. Presumably he has had a long absence. He muses fondly about all of them. Sadly though, he is only dreaming of the birthplace he misses so badly. He is actually incarcerated in prison and his execution is drawing near. His memories are his sole comfort in what appear to be the final hours of his life.
Despite the melancholy tone of the song, its drama, intensity, and eloquence have made it a fan favorite since the mid-1960s. One of the most renowned covers is by Tom Jones. His voice captures the poignance that Putman intended.
Per Songfacts via The Mail On Sunday, Jones shared this about it. "I think the lyrical content is important here. The guy in the song is really in a jail cell, but you don't know until the end. That got to me. Good God, it paints a picture and yet a lot of people who love 'Green Green Grass Of Home' don't even realize that. This is about a man who is going to be hanged and he's just reminiscing on the precious parts of his life."
'He Stopped Loving Her Today'
Per American Songwriter, this woebegone gem from 1980 that was co-written by Bobby Braddock was an epic success. "The accolades for the song were immediate, as it won Grammy, Academy of Country Music, and CMA awards. It continues to amass honors, including selection by the Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Board in 2009...." It came at a time when George Jones' life and career were both spiraling alarmingly downward.
The song, about a man who loves his cherished woman until the very day he dies, is undeniably powerful and moving. According to the outlet via Jones' autobiography, I Lived To Tell It All, "To put it simply I was back on top. Just that quickly. I don't want to belabor this comparison, but a four-decade career was salvaged by a three-minute song."
'My Elusive Dreams'
The song, co-written by Putman and Billy Sherrill, describes the geographical and emotional wanderings of a couple in search of something that cruelly escapes them, Call it happiness, roots, fulfillment, financial stability, or all of the above. They traipse from place to place, from Texas to Alabama to Nebraska and even Alaska. They have a child. (The song hints that the child dies.) His woman resolutely sticks by his side through failure after failure.
Maybe the narrator is a shiftless dreamer with no conception of practical matters. Or he is a hopeless idealist with his feet planted firmly in the air. Many of us have known someone like that. Always concocting things that never quite pan out. It's tragic. And commonplace.
The song was recorded in 1967 as a duet by David Houston and Tammy Wynette. It became a number one hit.
'D-I-V-O-R-C-E'
This Curly Putman-Bobby Braddock song was a big smash in 1968 for Tammy Wynette, This was territory that the singer knew all too well. She ironically had four divorces herself, including a very famous one from George Jones. The tune achieved number one status and snagged a Grammy nom in the category of Best Country Vocal Performance, Female.
It is piercingly emotional. The Boot intoned, "In this song, Wynette does what adults so often do around children: She spells the words she doesn't want her son to understand. Only she's not hiding a surprise like C-A-N-D-Y or T-O-Y S-T-O-R-E; she's hiding more serious things like C-U-S-T-O-D-Y."
