Hi, Rory Bourke here, songwriter and music publisher in Nashville. Welcome to my site. I'm here all the time.

After many years in the making, my wife and I are celebrating the release of her book, Kylie’s Ark: The Making of a Veterinarian. Rita Welty Bourke’s collection of stories, published by Lansinger Press, is available from Amazon in both paperback and Kindle versions and from iBooks in iPad/iPhone format. I have fondly named the cat on the cover “Russell.”

Writing is a lot like songwriting, except we generally don’t spend 1,460 days with our butts glued to a chair to finalize one creative work.

Thanks to Bourke Design of Portland, Oregon for the book design and marketing. Leslie has done a fantastic job.

If you love animals and have ever wondered what it takes to be a veterinarian, this book is for you. Download a free chapter at RitaWeltyBourke.com or get the full version on Amazon or iBooks.

Here’s a short video of Rita talking about Kylie’s Ark: The Making of a Veterinarian.

Keep writing. Best,
Rory

Hi everyone,

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. A couple of weeks ago, I had the great pleasure to perform at the Green Hills Starbucks in Greg Friia’s brainchild “Songwriters Singing For Coffee” round. I loved the casual way people arrived, drank some coffee, listened for as long as they wanted, and moved on, with others taking their spot. This video captures my performance of Anne Murray’s hit “Shadows In The Moonlight.”

My incredibly talented round partners included Greg Friia, Jimmy Nichols, Pete Sallis, Danielle Peck, and James Hedden. They made me feel very welcome.

Thanks to Julia Audretch for the video.

Keep writing. – Rory

Sometime in the early 70s, Henry Hurt, VP and General Manager of Chappell Music in Nashville signed me to his label. In 1975, Henry gave me the opportunity to write all the songs for a Hollywood-come-to-Nashville movie called Nashville Girl. The film follows a young girl’s journey on the rocky road to the top of the Country & Western charts. I wrote all the songs with Johnny Wilson & Gene Dobbins — two of Nashville’s best. Nashville Girl, part of The Roger Corman Co, was released in 1976. It was clearly a B movie and as far as I knew disappeared.

Last Monday, it was shown at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville as part of the 2-month Monday Night showings of “Nashville in the Movies.” Rita and I attended thinking we would be the only two people in the audience.

Surprise! There were 80 diehards of what is now considered a cult classic. One person told me it has just been released in Blu-ray. At home, I looked on Amazon to find both Blu-ray and DVD versions. It’s strange to look back on something I did that I thought wasn’t going to mean much. Almost 40 years later, I found out I was wrong. Thanks, Henry.

Check out this write-up in The Nashville Scene — An Impromptu Nashville Girl Reunion Four Decades Later at Belcourt.

Keep writing. – Rory

On Tuesday night, Craig Wayne Boyd performed “You Look So Good in Love” on the TV show, The Voice. Craig’s soulful rendition transported me back to Los Angeles, California in the early 80’s. Kerry Chater, Glen Ballard, and I sat in a room and enjoyed writing “You Look So Good in Love.” We thought we had something pretty good but never would have guessed the song would become a classic, thanks to George Strait.

Craig Wayne Boyd’s rendition brought something new to the song — a strong element of soulfulness. He made me believe him. I can’t help thinking what writing a great song is all about; it’s all about fun and sharing your talent with others. Of all the time I’ve spent writing songs, that songwriting session was one of my favorites. I wouldn’t trade that afternoon for anything. Thanks Craig and Blake Shelton for bringing it all back.

Keep writing. – Rory

Last summer, I sat down with Bart Herbison, Executive Director of the Nashville Songwriters Association International. My interview for “The Story Behind the Song” was published in this past Sunday’s Nashville Tennessean. Thought you’d be interested in reading.

Keep writing. – Rory