He spent a career in finance, but, Bud Tower gave it up to concentrate on a first love, music. 

by Mike Kravinsky

photo by Amy Tower

It is my observation that the music business, like other creative arts businesses, is tough. So many people go into it at a young age, only to wind up a few years later in something completely different. Two R&B stars I know of, went in two different directions after their moment of fame, one as a lawyer, another as a doorman. Success at one point doesn't mean a lifetime of work in the music business.

So, knowing how difficult the business can be, it's interesting to see someone who has had a successful career give that up to pursue music later in life. Bud Tower is someone who's beating the odds and is reaching a level of success in music after a long prosperous career in finance.

Tower, who at 18 wanted to be a rock and roll star, was talked out of it by his dad, who convinced him to go to college. Tower "towed the family line... I did what was expected of me."

"I felt like I was going to die at my desk", says Bud who beside having a family history of heart disease, tells the story of a former co-worker who indeed did die while working on a weekend, while no one was around. It was that moment that made him think, "what am I doing this for?... there's gotta be more to life?" He notes,  "I didn't hate my job... but I just didn't love it and (now) I love what I do." But, he didn’t directly jump into his new songwriting passion. He took a couple of years to explore all of his options while working fewer hours as a consultant.   

Having more time, Tower who had written music and sung since he was a child, began again and experimented with music. He entered a small songwriting contest in Tupelo, Mississippi, and won. The judge was a composer named Chuck Cannon, a well known country songwriter himself, (”How Do You Like Me Now” - Toby Keith  /  “I Love The Way You Love Me” - John Michael Montgomery), and he told Tower he should try to write professionally.

Cannon suggested Tower join the New Orleans Chapter of the Nashville Songwriter Association International. (At the time, Cannon was president of the entire “NSAI.”) Bud joined. At the meetings he would play his songs and get critiques from other members and visiting professional writers and publishers.  

From there, Tower would go to Nashville and its many clubs to get a sense of the scene. It took another two years to get a critical meeting. The suggestion from that meeting? Move to Nashville, which he did, all the while still consulting in finance.

Tower tells how his career change actually did save his life. "It was a Saturday morning, I was over at some friends’ house, and we were writing a song. I keeled over, and they had the presence of mind to get me to Vanderbilt Hospital." Tower was having a heart attack. He compared what would have happened if he were still working full time in his old job. "Had it been a Saturday morning at my old job, I'd have been the only one in there working... and I'd be dead."

Today he lives in New Orleans but takes regular trips to Nashville, calling both home. Tower describes country today as a "really big tent.” What he likes to write is pop, folk, and rock songs, but the lyrics have a strong country influence. "I'm more like an urban-type country writer, more pop oriented", says Tower.

Tower brings the energy of his former life to the music business. He started the New Orleans Songwriters Festival and runs a rhyming website  that helps musicians with lyrics. His advice for anyone looking to start a new career is (1) “don't destroy your old life in the process,” and (2), “seek out professionals who can monitor your progress and give you critical input.” It took Bud five years to get his first songs cut by major artists, but he found many small successes during that time (including some 30 indie artist cuts. His journey culminated with songs released by Hank Williams (“Red, White & Pink-Slip Blues” and the title cut of the Lynyrd Skynyrd 2009 album—“God & Guns.” He believes,  "The decision that changed my lifestyle, changed my life."

A nice video done by wsj.