Sandy Knox - Westlake Picayune

Sandy Knox heads home to Texas after successful song writing stint in Nashville

It was 1975. A warm, wet spring evening in sweet Atlanta, Georgia. Three giddy teen-age girls huddled in the brightly-lit employee elevator of the Stouffer Inn. They staightened their raincoats and studied their reflections. Too much rogue and mascara, they decided.

The police had halted their eager escapade the previous night. But the girls returned undaunted to hunt down the hotel room of rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley. this time the star-stuck trio prevailed.

The King had just left for his concert at the Omni when the girls reached the door. They rushed in and frantically rolled in his unmade bed, stealing pillowcases, water bottles and anything else their young arms could carry. Leading the way for this unruly troupe was Sandy Knox, a fiercely determined and resourceful 15-year old, with an intense passion for pop music.

This passion, in time, led Knox from her home in Houston to Nashville's music row. She became a songwriter, the rare sort who can afford to quit waiting tables. Knox eventually emerged as one of the elite, whose work was honored at the Grammy Awards and recorded by some of the biggest names in the business.

In 1993, Reba McEntire and Linda Davis recorded "Does He Love You," a song Knox co-wrote with Billy Strich. "Does He Love You" reached number one on the Billboard charts, and its performance won a Grammy for "Country Vocal Event of the Year." It also gathered four nominations at the Academy of Country Music Awards, and in October of 1994, won the CMA "Vocal Event of the Year."

Westlake Picayune - December 9, 1999	Story by Brooke Axtell
To The Billboards and Back
Sandy Knox heads home to Texas after successful song writing stint in Nashville It was 1975. A warm, wet spring evening in sweet Atlanta, Georgia. Three giddy teen-age girls huddled in the brightly-lit employee elevator of the Stouffer Inn. They staightened their raincoats and studied their reflections. Too much rogue and mascara, they decided. The police had halted their eager escapade the previous night. But the girls returned undaunted to hunt down the hotel room of rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley. this time the star-stuck trio prevailed. The King had just left for his concert at the Omni when the girls reached the door. They rushed in and frantically rolled in his unmade bed, stealing pillowcases, water bottles and anything else their young arms could carry. Leading the way for this unruly troupe was Sandy Knox, a fiercely determined and resourceful 15-year old, with an intense passion for pop music. This passion, in time, led Knox from her home in Houston to Nashville's music row. She became a songwriter, the rare sort who can afford to quit waiting tables. Knox eventually emerged as one of the elite, whose work was honored at the Grammy Awards and recorded by some of the biggest names in the business. In 1993, Reba McEntire and Linda Davis recorded "Does He Love You," a song Knox co-wrote with Billy Strich. "Does He Love You" reached number one on the Billboard charts, and its performance won a Grammy for "Country Vocal Event of the Year." It also gathered four nominations at the Academy of Country Music Awards, and in October of 1994, won the CMA "Vocal Event of the Year."
	Although the triple platinum hit may have been her most lucrative song writing endeavor, Knox has enjoyed tremendous success on several other compositions. "Why Haven't I heard from You" reached number five on Country Music charts and "She Thinks His Name Is John" climbed to number seven. But after having her work recorded by McEntire, Neil Diamond, Liza Minelli, Donna Summers, Dionne Warwick and Patti LaBelle, she decided to return to her native Texas. Her days pass more simply, more quietly since moving to the Westbank a year ago. But her audacious spirit is clearly still intact. When asked how she was able to break into the room of one of the greatest music legends of all time, she replies vibrantly, "When I want something, I can figure out how to get it."