In 1956, an Ohio grandmother, Sadie Vimmerstedt, was angered when she read Frank Sinatra left his wife for Ava Gardner, then happy when Ava left Frank.
So, Sadie wrote ONE LINE of a song idea and mailed it to songwriter Johnny Mercer with only New York as the address.
It was sent to ASCAP, then to Mercer who told Sadie he would write it and split the credit and royalties with her. Tony Bennet recorded it. Sadie's first check was $50,000. ($511,572 today). The song line she had written:
"I want to be around to pick up the pieces, when somebody breaks your heart".
Just like last night listening to Roy Orbison's hits. Although there were many familiar ones in his unique singing style, there were a few I didn't recognize because they weren't played on the car radio. The only place I listened to popular songs like Orbison's.
Writing is a crapshoot. You're right about a line of music lyric becoming a hit song. One never knows. A substitute, with 80-1 odds won the Kentucky Derby yesterday. One of my poems, Mesa Verde, was picked up by the Educational Testing Service and I sold it to them for $1800. Once in a while, I attempt a song. If someone picks up the lyrics and it becomes a hit, I hope they will think of me like Mercer thought of Sadie. One never really knows…
Ron