Episode 32: Wayne Kirkpatrick- Multi-Grammy, and Tony Award winning Songwriter, Producer, Playwriter.

With several decades in the music industry, Wayne Kirkpatrick has had a monumental career that shows no signs of slowing down. In the early 80s, Wayne formed partnerships and friendships with Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith and would go on to co-write with both of them for many years and many albums, helping to write some of the most popular songs in the CCM space. The impact Wayne has had in the careers of those two great talents cannot be overstated. 

Along with Tommy Simms and previous Journey to the Stage guest, Gordon Kennedy, Wayne co-wrote "Change the World," which was made popular by Eric Clapton, for which Wayne won a Grammy for Song of the Year. That group of three writers (Kirkpatrick, Simms and Kennedy) wrote all of the music for Garth Brook's album, "In the Life of Chris Gaines."

Songs Wayne has written have been sung by artists like Faith Hill, Peter Frampton, Joe Cocker, Rich Mullins, Bonnie Raitt, Trisha Yearwood and many many more.

Wayne and his brother Karey Kirkpatrick, who is a very successful movie director, producer and screenwriter (Chicken Run, The Rescuers Down Under, James and the Giant Peach and many more) wrote the smash-hit Broadway musical, "Something Rotten," which was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, and winner of one. Currently the Kirkpatrick brothers are taking the new musical adaptation of "Mrs. Doubtfire" (for which they wrote the music and lyrics) to stage in England with plans to bring it to the States and to Broadway.

This conversation with Wayne is filled with stories from the "inside" of the CCM world. Wayne pulls the curtain back on the herculean effort it takes to write a musical, revealing a personal side to the adventure so rarely seen by the public. I hope you all enjoy it. 

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Podcast theme song, "Arise and Shine" written by Chris Taylor. Used by permission.  

 

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