Three Chord Heroes

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Welcome to the Jimmy Payne website

Other sites you may find of interest relating to this page:

Dick Feller

Danny Dill

Don Wayne

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THREE CHORD HEROES

Photograph by Gayle Gilford Feller

You may have seen the name of the Three Chord Heroes many times throughout these pages - but who are they? When did they start? How did the name come about?

Jimmy says: "We are not really a band - we're just four singers on stage at the same time interacting with each other between songs and telling funny stories – sometimes about each other! We sometimes help with a little harmony and a little acoustic guitar."

We started out just doing songwriter rounds in local venues. We discovered that we enjoyed it so much and the fans really reacted so well to us, that I suggested we try to try to play some casinos! Well, that wasn't so easy to make happen. We really need an agent for that to work and we're still trying to find one."

Dick came up with the name of the Three Chord Heroes. We really only planned to use it until we came up with a better one - and so far we haven't come up with a better one!"

I have had more fun playing with these guys than I can ever remember having. They are so professional, and yet so loose on stage that nothing looks rehearsed. Well, nothing is really! There's no pressure on stage like there would be if you had to do a whole show by yourself... everyone is so different from the other."

During their concerts they play their own compositions that have been made famous by other country singers. For example, during Jimmy's part of the show he sings "Woman, Woman" and "The Weight Of My Chains" which have been recorded by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap and Tompall and the Glaser Brothers respectively.

The Three Chord Heroes at Lake Ida, Athens, Alabama in August 2004. The photograph shows Dick Feller, Jimmy, Don Wayne, Danny Dill and the Lake Ida master of ceremonies Jim Parker.

The Three Chord Heroes are Jimmy Payne, Dick Feller, Danny Dill and Don Wayne. This page is dedicated to the "Heroes" and tells you a little about each individual member.

The Heroes are all good friends and established songwriters with many hit songs to their credit.

Dick has written many great songs over the years and was responsible for writing "L. A. Angels" and "Boston" for Jimmy. I think it is true to say that some of his biggest song writing credits would be "Some Days Are Diamonds" which was recorded by John Denver and Bobby Bare to name but two; "Any Old Wind The Blows" that provided hits for Johnny Cash and Billie Jo Spears and almost all of the soundtrack for the Burt Reynolds movie "Smokey And The Bandit" - providing the hit "East Bound And Down "for Jerry Reed. Dick also wrote "Lord Mr. Ford" - another chart entry for Jerry Reed.

Dick Feller said, during a radio interview on WSM in Nashville: "Harlan Howard said that country music is three chords and the truth - so we hope that we at least have the three chords and maybe some truth. I know there are four of us and we are the Three Chord Heroes - but two of us know the same chord!"

Danny wrote the country classic "Detroit City" and the standard "The Long Black Veil." Bobby Bare's version of "Detroit City" became a huge hit for him and was covered also by a host of major country stars. Both songs have been recorded in 22 different languages!

Don is an established songwriter on the Nashville scene. He co-wrote "Saginaw Michigan" with Bill Anderson which provided a huge hit for the late Lefty Frizzell in 1964. He was also responsible for writing the multi-award winning hit "Country Bumpkin" for Cal Smith in 1974 and the clever "Belles Of Southern Bell" for Del Reeves in 1966. Don also co-wrote the title track of Jimmy's latest CD "When Mama Prayed."

Jimmy, Don Wayne and Danny Dill

Jimmy's original Epic recordings of the Dick Feller compositions "L.A. Angels" and "Boston" can be heard here in full. You can also listen to them on our music page, together with several sample tracks from the CD's "Pieces Of Life" and "When Mama Prayed."

The Jimmy Payne website would like to thank Jim Parker and Donny Grace for the Lake Ida photographs by Samir Darji featured on this page.

Jimmy Payne The Man, His World & His Music

THREE CHORD HEROES