Composers of songs for Kenny Rogers, the Oak Ridge Boys, Jimmy Wayne and George Strait are among the panelists who will participate in the free Songwriting Seminar@Winterfest in Pigeon Forge.

Tim Johnson, Joe West and Dave Pahanish, the trio responsible for Jimmy Wayne’s number one hit “Do You Believe Me Now,” are panelists.

Johnson has had cuts by Kellie Pickler, Mark Chesnutt, Tracy Byrd, Chris LeDoux and Darryl Singletary. West and Pahanish also co-produced nine of the tunes on Wayne’s album “Do You Believe Me Now.”

Pam Belford, who co-wrote George Strait’s “If I Know Me” and “Holding My Own,” will join the roster of panelists, along with Wood Newton, who has had hits with a Kenny Rogers recording of “20 Years Ago” and the Oak Ridge Boys “Bobbie Sue.”

Newcomers Meg Allison and Joshua Stevens will round out the singer/songwriters on the panel. Allison was in the top 10 of season five of “Nashville Star” and was named the Newest Rising Star of 2008 in Campus Activities magazine’s Reader's Choice Awards.

Stevens is also an alumni of “Nashville Star,” landing in fourth place on the 2007 season. He is newly signed to Robbins Nashville, with his debut single “Rock ‘N’ Roll and Pensacola” released last year.

He has had songs cut by Danielle Peck and Canadian artist Michael Carey. Another of his tunes, “That Could Happen To Us,” was in the Fox movie “Kissing Jessica Stein” and on the soundtrack album for the film.

Industry VIPs on the panels this year include Robbins Nashville label head Phyllis Stark, Warner Brothers Records vice-president of A&R Carole Ann Mobley; and independent songplugger Gayle Richardson who is the owner of OnTrack Entertainment.

Moderators for the panels will be Deborah Evans Price, a freelance journalist based in Nashville who writes for “Billboard” magazine and the Gospel Music Channel, among other outlets; and Hunter Kelly, the Nashville correspondent for ABC New Radio and ABCNews.com.

The seminar is coordinated by Vernell Hackett, a Nashville-based journalist who has interviewed many songwriters and publishers. She had a short story included in the book “Literary Cash” which is loosely based on Cash’s song “Tennessee Flat Top Box.” Hackett also co-wrote a book on Las Vegas ghosts, gamblers and gangsters with Michelle Honick and Liz Cavanaugh, which should be out in 2010.

The seminar, held in conjunction with the City of Pigeon Forge’s Saddle Up! Celebration, will take place at Music Road Hotel & Convention Center. It begins at 9 a.m. on February 21.

Panelists will discuss various aspects of songwriting and publishing and will take questions from attendees in the morning during three different panels. There will be two Song Critique Sessions in the afternoon, as industry professionals listen to songs written by those people attending the seminar.

Attendees should bring a CD with no more than three songs on it, along with the lyric sheets to the songs, and be prepared to play at least one of the songs for the folks who will do the critique sessions. The CDs and lyric sheets will be returned at the end of the sessions.

This is a free seminar sponsored by the City of Pigeon Forge. Those who wish to pre-register may do so by emailing songseminaratpf@bellsouth.net and putting Pigeon Forge Seminar in the subject line. Please include name, city and state, and e-mail address in the body of the email.

Lunch will be available for a nominal cost at the seminar site.

Information courtesy of Seymour Herald