You’ve seen her–mic in hand, camera in face–nearly avoiding hits from cars, running through back streets and brush, flying down staircases—chasing after the bad guys. That’s Lisa Guerrero’s day job after all– long time investigative journalist on Inside Edition. She’s not afraid to seek out the truth and ask tough questions with a little bit of sass, a whole lot of spunk, and hair and makeup that never seem to mess up (for that, we are slightly jealous). Her career takes her all over the place so much that she often jokes she lives in airports.
And while cities like New York and LA keep her schedule full, she may be making more stops in Nashville sooner rather than later. But it’s not to hustle after criminals and witnesses who don’t want to be seen. She’s chasing another dream; a dream she didn’t even realize she had until recently. The dream almost everybody pursues in Nashville—music of course.
Lisa Guerrero is now a bonafied country music songwriter. You read right! Lisa Guerrero has written and recorded a country song. . . .and it’s beautiful!!! “Everybody Loves a Comeback”, a song penned with GRAMMY nominated songwriter and founding Trick Pony member Keith Burns, dropped this past Friday to all digital outlets. Did we also mention the song was written ten years ago?! Don’t forget. We’re in a “10 year town” —that is completely normal for us.
But what’s not exactly normal is the combination of one of Nashville’s top acts and one of TV’s most well known journalists writing a song together in the first place. So how exactly did this all come to pass? Simple. It stemmed from a bet—but not between Lisa and Keith. They barely knew each other back then. Another artist in the Nashville circles had bet Lisa that she couldn’t write a country music song. And of course, one should know better than to challenge a determined investigator.
“A bunch of country artists and pro athletes were at a two day golf charity event in Bowling Green, Kentucky. I was joking around with some artists saying ‘how hard can it be to write a song?’ A producer hanging out with us said ‘I bet you can’t do it.’ And I told him I could have one done in 24 hours. Now as a journalist, I write my own material and I’ve written a book, but I’ve never written a song to that point. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I love the way country music tells stories about raw human emotion. At the time I was married to a baseball player (who’s still one of my besties) and he was trying to make a comeback in his career. I thought about a divorced woman trying to get back into the work force and I thought about a solider in Afghanistan trying to get back home. The next day I handed him (the guy who made the bet) lyrics from what was really a long poem called The Comeback, about people who wanted to make comebacks. I won the bet of course and collected my $20,” recalled a confident Lisa when chatting with The Country Note.
And with a $20 bill in her pocket, Lisa thought that was the end of it. That is, until her challenger handed the lyrics to Keith Burns, who was also there for the same event. Keith’s long history with songwriting and performing in Nashville has produced several Top 40 and Top 10 songs for artists like Joe Diffie, Sammy Kershaw, Hootie and the Blowfish, and of course, his band with Heidi Newfield and Ira Dean, Trick Pony. Keith co-wrote and provided main vocals for Trick Pony’s, “Just What I Do”, which was nominated for both a Grammy and an ACM back in 2003. Upon receiving the paper with a long poem scattered all over it, Keith got emotional and asked Lisa if he could take it back to Nashville and work on it. Two weeks later, Lisa received an email with a working tape of her words that he switched around and edited just a bit and then put music too.
“He kept my hook and my overall theme and he kept a lot of lines. But he made it into a true country music song. It was beautiful,” gushed Lisa, moments before she made her stage debut with Keith in Nashville at 3rd and Lindsley on July 23rd. Wearing fitted jeans, a light colored sequin top, and a pair of classic cowgirl boots, Lisa brought us up to speed on the unexpected journey of the ten year song.
“A few months ago, I was in the process of launching my own YouYube channel (@lisaguerrerotv) and I was thinking about content. The whole theme of my channel is getting people to try new things and be brave enough to think outside the box. So I thought, ‘I’m gonna be brave and track down Keith Burns and see if he even remembers me and remembers the song.’”
And if you can’t tell already, Lisa pretty much completes any mission she sets her mind too. Keith happened to be in the studio with famed producer and drummer James Stroud (Reba McEntire, Toby Keith, Darryl Worley) working with a sister duo and rising act, Presley and Taylor. In addition to writing and performing, Keith and his wife Bonnie have also started B3E Music, a management and publishing company, responsible for the careers of Presley and Taylor, Will Dakota, and more. Keith played the song for Stroud. Stroud invited Lisa to Nashville the following week and the magic burst open, like fireworks on the 4th of July.
“Keith and I rewrote the song to focus just on the soldier trying to come home to his wife so it turned into a heartfelt military song. The next day, I’m singing backup in the studio with Presley and Taylor. I didn’t even know if I could sing, especially at that level! It turned out more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.” Lisa beamed with excitement, as did Keith, sitting beside her, before their Thursday night July show.
Lisa describes the entire process as a “miracle” and says she and Keith have become good friends and are now working on other songs. They are also giving proceeds from “Everybody Loves a Comeback” to charity, which is fitting, considering that’s how the story began. A part of the proceeds will go to Keith’s choice, a military organization called Folds of Honor. And Lisa’s half will help fund journalism scholarships thru IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors Association).
In addition to performing the song a few weeks back in front of family, friends, and fans, Inside Edition just aired a story this past week, which you can watch here. And the 30 minute behind the scenes documentary is available on Lisa’s YOUTUBE channel, which you can watch below:
And while Lisa is super excited about exploring this new creative side of hers, she says she is not giving up her day job just yet! In fact, she has spent the last two weeks filming all over the place, doing what she does—catching bad guys. Also, a special congrats to Keith for another song he wrote a while back– “As Long As There’s a Bar”. It has been recorded and officially released by his former boss, Joe Diffie, as of earlier this month.
“Everybody Loves a Comeback” can be found on several digital platforms, including right here. To keep up with all things Lisa Guerrero, follow her on IG and Twitter @4lisaguerrero. And for all things Keith Burns, head on over to keithburnsmusic.com or follow him in IG @keithburnsmusic.
“Everybody Loves a Comeback . . . . Baby, Come Back Home”