Think of influential country music songwriters, and Dean Dillon is likely near the top of the list. It’s Dillon who, for decades, has been the writer behind some of country music’s most legendary songs.
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These four songs were all written by Dean Dillon and came out several years ago. But they are such great songs, they could easily become hits today.
“All The Good Ones Are Gone” by Pam Tillis
Out in 1997, Pam Tillis includes “All The Good Ones Are Gone” on her Greatest Hits album. Dillon and Bob McDill are the writers of the hit single.
A song of regret, “All The Good Ones Are Gone” begins with, “She’ll turn 34 this weekend / She’ll go out with her girlfriends / They’ll drink some margaritas, cut up and carry on / There’ll be guys and there’ll be come ons / She’ll probably get hit on / But she thinks all the good ones are gone.”
“The Best Day” by George Strait
Dillon wrote several of George Strait’s biggest hits, including “The Best Day”. On Strait’s 2000 Latest Greatest Straitest Hits, Dillon wrote “The Best Day” with Carson Chamberlain.
“The Best Day” is a sweet story about a son enjoying a day out with his father, at various stages throughout the boy’s life. The song says in part, “He said, ‘Dad, this could be the best day of my life’ / Been dreaming day and night about the fun we’ve had / Just me and you doin’ what I’ve always wanted to / I’m the luckiest boy around / This is the best day of my life.”
“Set ‘Em Up Joe” by Vern Gosdin
Vern Gosdin wrote “Set ‘Em Up Joe” with Dillon, plus Buddy Cannon and Hank Cochran, for Gosdin’s iconic Chiseled In Stone album. “Set ‘Em Up Joe”, the song is a tribute to country music pioneer, Ernest Tubb.
“Set ‘Em Up Joe” says, “All my neon neighbors, they like what I play / ‘Cause they’ve heard it every night since you’ve walked away / Every day they replace old B24 / ‘Cause every night I run a needle through ‘Walking The Floor’ / Every night I run a needle through ‘Walking The Floor.’”
One year after the release of “Set ‘Em Up Joe”, Gosdin would have the final No. 1 single of his career, with “I’m Still Crazy”. In 2010, Jamey Johnson covered “Set ‘Em Up Joe” on Guitar Song.
“A Lot Of Things Different” by Kenny Chesney
Dean Dillon and Bill Anderson are the writers of “A Lot Of Things Different”. It became a No. 1 hit for Kenny Chesney in 2002.
“A Lot Of Things Different” says, “I wish I’d have gone to church on Sunday morning when my grandma begged me to / But I was afraid of God / And I wish I would’ve listened when they said, ‘Boy, you’re gonna wish you hadn’t / But I wouldn’t / Oh, I’d done a lot of things different.”
Songfacts: A Lot of Things Different | Kenny Chesney
Anderson felt that when Chesney recorded the song, he was still too young to fully appreciate its message. He recalled: “When we wrote ‘A Lot of Things Different’ in 2001, I was at the point then that I could look over my shoulder and say, ‘Golly, I’d do that different if I had the chance to do that again.’ You gain wisdom. I told Kenny – I may have made him mad, I don’t know – but I told Kenny, ‘Someday, you’re going to know what that song’s all about.’ He recorded it young, and Kenny hadn’t had the time to look back and regret things, and hopefully he never will. I was joking with him and kidding that, at my age, I’ve lived enough to wish I had done some things different.”
Dillon has written plenty of songs. Still, it’s “A Lot Of Things Different” that remains one of his favorites.
“In my humble opinion, it’s one of the best things that I ever had a part of,” Dillon tells Songfacts. “I know there’s songs you write and you walk away that day going, ‘Well, that’s a pretty good job today.’ Pat yourself on the back. I remember walking away that day after Bill and I wrote that thinking, ‘Man, that’s why you sit down and write right there, songs like that.’”
Photo by Erika Goldring/WireImage
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