Left photo: Producer extraordinaire, Paul Worley, kissing Cliffie, who was beloved and respected by everyone. Right photo: Cliffie not only loved being in photographs, he loved taking them too. Here’s one that he took of me and Paul Worley. Cliffie first met Paul Worley in 1989. At that time, Cliffie’s son, Curtis Stone, was an original member of a successful country/rock group called Highway 101, and Paul was their producer. Cliffie and Paul liked and respected each other because they had so much in common: Cliffie loved his bass and Paul loved his guitar. Both of them felt that their musical instruments were the foundation and centerpiece from which their respective and versatile careers were built upon. A brief background on Paul: He was born in Nashville and he graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelors Degree in Philosophy. Since he loved music and playing guitar more than anything, he came to Music Row and his first job at a recording studio was sweeping floors and making coffee 6 days a week, 10 hours a day. As he said in an interview, “I did what I had to do in order to live.” Paul wears many musical hats which include: session guitar player; songwriter; Vice President of Sony BMG; chief creative officer at Warner Bros. Records/Nashville; and an independent record producer. In the late 1970s, he became a session guitarist. Paul’s first production credits included Riders in the Sky’s “Three on the Trail” in 1976; and Gary Morris’ “Why Lady Why” in 1983. Down through the years, he produced (or co-produced) acts which include: Dixie Chicks, Highway 101, Desert Rose Band, Martina McBride, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Collin Raye, Sara Evans, the Band Perry, Big & Rich (Big Kenny and John Rich); and Lady Antebellum. Paul co-produced the Dixie Chicks’ first two albums with Blake Chancey; they earned and shared 2 Grammy Awards for Best Country Album recorded by the Dixie Chicks (1998 – “Wide Open Spaces” and 1999 – “Fly.”) Paul also played his beloved guitar on the Dixie Chicks’ debut single, “I Can Love You Better.” In 2002, he became the Chief Creative Officer at Warner Bros. Records and he was instrumental in signing “Big & Rich” (Big Kenny and John Rich). When Capital Records signed a group called “Lady Antebellum,” he left Warner Bros. in order to produce them because he believed in their talent. Paul Worley and Victoria Shaw co-produced the self-titled debut album, Lady Antebellum, which was released in 2008. In 2010, he and Lady Antebellum co-wrote “Need You Now,” and he produced their second album with that title, “Need You Now.” In early 2011, Paul shared four 2010 Grammy Awards with Lady Antebellum: Best Country Album, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Country Song. He founded “Skyline Music Publishing” (with fellow producer Wally Wilson and two other partners. He continues to be a highly successful independent record producer. (Check out Paul’s down-to-earth interview about his career on www.artistshousemusic.org).