Interview (Part 2) With Songwriter & “Permission to Fly” Author Layng Martine, Jr.!

Veteran songwriter and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member, Mr. Layng Martine, Jr., is in a different world now, one that no longer involves music. His book has become his passion and mission.  “If I meet someone and they sound in any way interested in my book, if I have one in my car, I give it to them,” the Permission to Fly author tells So Booking Cool in part 2 of our conversation. “I don’t want any money for it. I’m giving a lot of the money to the literacy groups…and I can’t think of anything more meaningful in the world than to be able to read or any more of a detriment to not be able to read.”

Martine, Jr. has spent the last ten years of his life focused on Permission to Fly: A Memoir of Love, Crushing Loss, and Triumph. He likens the feeling of the reception he’s received for his book to the one he first got for his New York Times essay. His autobiography sees him reveal life lessons, the people who have and/or continue to touch his life, and how others have treated him.

“More than anything in the world, we want to be respected, that’s the first thing, more than food almost,” the Columbia University alum says. “If someone respects us and treats us well, then God, I can go a long time just on that feeling. I don’t really need a hamburger as much as I need that. The idea that maybe this book is reaching people in that way, it’s just priceless.”

Check out the interview to learn more about the story behind the hit-turned-global-jingle “Rub it In”; his insight on artists and songwriters’ publishing rights; whether he ever felt he had to stick to one genre; the time he didn’t know Elvis Presley had been recording the lyrics he wrote for him; and more! For more information, visit Martine Jr.’s official website.