Jason Blume
is a melody maker

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Jason Blume has lived in Nashville, Tenn., for 15 years, but people still say to him, "Y’all don’t sound like you’re from the South."
Blume tells them that, yes, he is from the South — South Philadelphia. He grew up near Seventh and Porter streets before moving to Castor Gardens and enrolling at Northeast High School (Class of 1973).
Today, at age 50, he is a successful songwriter in the heartland of country music.
"I’m a Phillybilly," he likes to say.
Blume, who as a teenager played the clarinet for Ukrainian-American and Duffy string bands, earned a psychology degree from Penn State. He worked for a year at Eugenia Hospital in Lafayette Hill before deciding that the mental health field wasn’t for him.
In 1979, he hopped on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and left Philadelphia for good. He arrived in Los Angeles with hopes of becoming a songwriter. Low on cash, he remembers looking under sofa cushions for change and using the 12 cents he found to buy a can of cat food.
Eventually, he found work, but he didn’t enjoy driving a rich person’s Mercedes to the car wash or to pick up groceries or dry-cleaning. Winning more than $27,000 in cash and merchandise as a three-time winner on Wheel of Fortune didn’t hurt.
But for Blume, it was a 13-year-long struggle to find good work in the music industry.
"I couldn’t get arrested," he recalled. "I banged my head against a lot of walls for a lot of years."
Finally, in 1992, he moved to Nashville to work for Zomba Music Publishing. Four years later, songs that he had written appeared on the pop, country and rhythm-and-blues charts at the same time.
The biggest hit was Change My Mind, which John Berry took to No. 5 on the country charts.
Blume also co-wrote Dear Diary with Britney Spears when she was a teenager. The song appeared on her 2000 release, Oops! . . . I Did It Again.
"The last time I talked to her, she was sweet and normal," he said.
Blume said he can understand how a young star like Spears can be overwhelmed with fame and money.
The songwriter fondly recalls his dealings with Spears, who frequently would tell him, "Thank you, Mr. Blume," for collaborating with her on the song.
"You’re thanking me? I should be thanking you. You just bought my house and car," he thought to himself.
Blume has also written songs for the Backstreet Boys, the Oak Ridge Boys, Collin Raye, Steve Azar and Jesse McCartney. His songs have appeared on television on Scrubs, Friday Night Lights, Guiding Light and The Miss America Pageant. He had a song in the Disney film Kim Possible and will have one in the upcoming movie, Kicking It Old School, starring Delaware County native Jamie Kennedy.
Karen Taylor-Good’s version of Blume’s On Angels Wings, about Alzheimer’s disease, had a good run in a contest among listeners of WXTU (92.5 FM).
Blume has also recorded songs he’s written for others on a CD he titled The Way I Heard It.
Yet, as much as Blume loves songwriting, he is equally passionate about teaching the craft at workshops.
In fact, he’ll be back in the area on Saturday for a workshop in New Brunswick, N.J.
While he’s home, he’ll visit with his cousins and nephew who live in the Philadelphia area. He’ll eat at the Country Club Diner and Reading Terminal Market, drive by Northeast High and his childhood home at 2035 Glenview St. and visit the King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute.
Blume worked for a dozen years at Zomba Music Publishing, a company that was sold and whose Nashville office closed three years ago.
Today, Blume owns Dreamer’s Moon Music, a publishing company.
"I wanted to branch out," he said.
Ned Blume, Jason’s father, died five years ago but is not forgotten.
The younger Blume — who has written three how-to books on songwriting — plans to write a book on his dad’s work as a therapist at Huntingdon Valley’s Growth Opportunity Center, helping people overcome agoraphobia, the abnormal fear of being in an open or public place.
"He changed a lot of lives," Jason Blume said.
The songwriting workshops take Blume around the country, overseas and on cruise ships. He believes that there are countless songwriters who have talent and work hard, but that a relative few are lucky enough to enjoy success. That’s why considers himself "the luckiest person on the face of the Earth."
The topic of this weekend’s workshop is Crafting Melodies that Listeners Can’t Forget — and Artists Want to Record.
Blume wants everyone who attends his workshops to become successful in the music industry, but he delivers a larger message.
In addition to inspiring songwriters at workshops, Blume often serves as a motivational speaker at conferences for musical organizations.
In his addresses, he tells audiences how his high school music teacher told him to forget about a career in the industry. Today, Blume is enshrined in Northeast High School’s Wall of Fame.
"I’m trying to inspire people and motivate them to follow their dreams. It’s really worth it to pursue what you love," he said. "Believe me, I know dreams can come true. It’s real for me." ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com

Tune in to Blume . . .

The Princeton chapter of the Nashville Songwriters Association will present a songwriting workshop with Jason Blume on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the First Reformed Church, 9 Bayard St., in New Brunswick, N.J.
The workshop is for aspiring songwriters of all levels and in all genres. The cost is $50.
To reserve a slot, call 1-615-665-2381. Sign-ups also will be taken at the door.
More information is available by visiting the Web site at www.jasonblume.com