Local songwriter makes his way into the top country music charts

JACKSON, Tenn. — A local songwriter and performer has made his way into the top country music charts.

Born and raised in Jackson, John Pate developed a love for music and songwriting at the young age of 11 years old. He went on to enroll in the University of Memphis-Lambuth’s music program to start his future career.

“It was definitely the best decision I’ve ever made music wise, because it just prepared me for so much more to come,” Pate said.

Pate would attend school during the day, play a writers round in Nashville or Jackson at night, and would be back at school the next morning.

“There’s a lot of hard work that really does go into it, and it really opened my eyes to the different horizons that are out there,” Pate said.

Pate says his Program Director Dr. Jeremy Tubbs’ wisdom made all the difference.

“He said the reason that you’re here and the reason that I’m here is because I’m trying to help you and show you some different techniques and give you knowledge from experience rather than just theories of ideas of what the music industry is like,” Pate said.

After school, Pate moved to Nashville and now writes songs and connects with artists when he can. During the pandemic Pate connected with singer Jake Dodds and other songwriters. They worked together to write “She Goes to Work,” a song for front line workers, recognizing their tireless work. A year after writing the song, Dodds released it on TikTok and it went viral, leading to Pate’s first debut of a top country chart song.

“I woke up and saw them saying, ‘Hey we’re at number 11! Number 11! So I took a screenshot of it and shared it on Facebook. There were so many comments of past teachers, of friends, of family members,” Pate said.

Looking forward, Pate wants to continue his music at some capacity whether that’s writing songs for himself or others.

“The goal is one day, I have enough money from my songs to donate a building to Lambuth, so that’s the goal to donate a music building,” Pate said.

To find more information about University of Memphis-Lambuth’s music program click here. To listen to “She Goes to Work” click here.