Music Row songwriters find chemistry as performers

By Ken Tucker

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - There's a tried-and-true adage in Nashville that it all begins with a song. In the case of new Capitol Records Nashville trio Lady Antebellum, it began with several.

It was music that brought Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood together. Well, music and some flirtation.

Scott is the daughter of Grammy Award-winning artist Linda Davis, who is best known for her duet with Reba McEntire, "Does He Love You." She and husband Lang Scott were part of McEntire's band until 2000. While still in high school, Hillary Scott joined the family Christmas show at Nashville's Opryland Hotel and was instantly hooked. She remembers thinking, "This is really what I want to do for a living."

Charles Kelley -- the younger brother of pop artist Josh Kelley -- and Haywood attended middle school and high school together in Augusta, Ga. At the University of Georgia, where they both studied finance, they began collaborating on songs.

At the urging of his brother, Kelley moved to Nashville after graduation, and Haywood followed a year later. "We didn't really know what was going to happen, but we knew we wanted to write music and see where it took us," Kelley said.

With the guidance of award-winning singer/songwriter Victoria Shaw, Scott drew attention as a solo artist. But a major-label deal fell through in March 2006, coincidentally around the same time Haywood moved to town.

A few months later, at a downtown Nashville music spot, Scott recognized Kelley, whose music she had been enjoying on his MySpace page. Kelley asked for her number and promised they could write together. "A classic Nashville pickup line," he recalled with a laugh.

A chemistry emerged, and once the trio started writing, it was inseparable for months. Studio wizard Haywood produced and played every instrument on the early demos. "We could write a song at lunch time and have it done as a demo that night," Scott said.