T.C.B. or T.Y.A.

"One of the best songs I ever wrote," Patterson says, "was a female song called 'Do You Still Feel the Same Way?' It went, 'Now that you got what you want, do you still feel the same way?' We recorded that for Tommy Young at Jewel/Paula, and it went to No. 1 in Memphis and Philadelphia.

"I like to try to write a song that appeals to both men and women, which is hard to do, and at the same time tell a story from beginning to end and have a significant message in the song," Patterson says. "I like to tell a story. Once you hear the first line, you're going to want to hear how it comes out. That comes from listening to all that country and western growing up."

Patterson moved back to Dallas from Shreveport in 1973 and began releasing and recording his own albums, the last of which was The Storyteller in 1976. After that, Patterson became an independent record promoter in the South, working for labels like Malaco and Profile. It would keep him in the music business, but out of music, for two decades.

"When I got out of the singing business, I learned a lot of about what radio stations looked for in a record and how they categorized records," Patterson says. "But, being a writer and performer, I don't like to categorize anything. Music is music. I can't wait to get back to makin' it.