‘Only in Nashville’ Yarns Turned Out to Be True

Jeff Pearson still drives his grandmother’s 1979 Datsun, the one he took from Orange County to Nashville when he started his quest toward making a name in country music.

But if the tangible rewards of success--such as a fancy new car--have yet to materialize, Pearson still thinks he has made substantial progress toward his goals.

It was three years ago this week that Pearson, encouraged by the success of his wry local hit “Orange County Cowboy,” packed up the Datsun and headed out to take his chances in the city where most of the country & Western big leaguers play.

He was back in Southern California last week on one of his periodic visits home. A working vacation, it culminates this morning at 11 when Pearson, backed by a band of old buddies from the county, will lead off the day’s bill at the big “Summer of ‘88” outdoor country music festival in Long Beach.

Since he arrived in Nashville, Pearson, like many aspiring country musicians, has taken a dual tack, writing songs for other singers while also trying to develop his own profile as a performer.

A few days ago, he was taking part in a collaborative songwriting session at the Palos Verdes Estates home/studio of Evan Pace, a staff writer for Chrysalis Music. During a break, he got on the phone and gave his progress report.

Since October, he said, he has been working as a staff writer for Collins Music, a song publishing house in Nashville. Among his successes: a song called “Family Pride,” a No. 1 country hit in Canada for Canadian singer Joan Kennedy. Efforts are under way, he said, to get the song recorded by an American artist for U.S. release.

As a performer, meanwhile, Pearson has been touring for the last two months, playing guitar and mandolin behind Paul Overstreet, a respected Nashville songwriter who is getting his own shot as a headliner. Overstreet’s credits include two Randy Travis hits, “On the Other Hand” and “Forever and Ever, Amen.”

More important, Pearson said, he and Overstreet have become songwriting collaborators; polygamy is the rule in country music, where songwriters mix and match their talents with several partners in hope of finding a compatible, and profitable, relationship. And, Overstreet is producing demo tapes that Pearson will use in a bid to win a recording contract of his own.

“It’s one of those ‘only in Nashville’ stories,” Pearson said of his connection with Overstreet. Soon after his arrival in Nashville, Pearson recounted, he saw Overstreet play a show at the Bluebird Cafe, a favorite haunt for country music contenders. The next morning, Pearson ran into Overstreet at breakfast and congratulated him on a good show. That led to a friendship that at first was centered more around a mutual interest in fishing than on plans to collaborate musically.

Pearson, 37, was raised in Santa Fe Springs and moved to the county at 21 so he could pursue a passion for surfing while plugging away as a country singer. He became a fixture on the county club scene before heading for Nashville.

After the move, he said, he supported himself as a singer but supplemented his income through odd jobs. There was the time he donned a horse costume and stood outside a condominium development, beckoning with his hooves for passers-by to stop and tour the place. “I did that on the weekends for about a month,” he recalled.

Pearson prefers his occasional outside work as a fashion model and an actor in TV ads.

On the songwriting front, during his first two years in Nashville he “was doing what’s called ‘hanging out.’ I was invited to hang out at Collins Music. If you fit in and you’re productive, you get signed.”

Since joining the publisher’s regular staff last fall, Pearson has followed a daily writing routine, reporting to the Collins complex of seven writing rooms in hope that perspiration will lead to inspiration.

Although his hours are flexible, he said, “we want to come in every day. A lot of people might think that it’s a sterile, non-creative environment, but it’s really stimulating.”

Unlike some staff writers, who prefer to be in a windowless cocoon, Pearson said he prefers a writing room with a view: “I need that window. I’ve got to know the outside world is still there.”

He said he will showcase his songs for record company scouts Sept. 15 in a performance at the Roxy in West Hollywood.

If the Nashville dream does come true for him, Pearson said, he won’t be in a hurry to replace his grandmother’s old Datsun with something more spiffy. More likely, he’ll invest in a rugged truck that would come in handy on fishing trips.

“You know how Elvis used to give Cadillacs to his friends? I’m gonna give bass boats to my friends,” Pearson said. “To me, the most important part of a car is the trailer hitch.”

Jeff Pearson leads off the “Summer of ‘88” music festival today at 11 a.m. Also appearing are Southern Pacific, T. Graham Brown, Mickey Gilley, Eddie Rabbitt and Charley Pride. The festival is at the Naval Hospital sports field, 7500 E. Carson St. in Long Beach. Tickets cost $15, $25 and $35. Information: (213) 866-4003.

month,’ Pearson recalled.