At Talent Is Timeless, we celebrate the creativity, resilience, and artistry of members from all walks of life. This month, we’re spotlighting Tracy Newman, an 82-year-old songwriter from Los Angeles, who joined the community in 2024 and tied for third place in the Annual Contest – Lyrics category with her song Table Nine.

The inspiration for Table Nine came from an unusual source — Tracy’s plumber. “He told me about meeting Merle Haggard at a local restaurant at midnight one night, and sitting with him for an hour. Being a woman, I was jealous — because that would have been almost impossible for me to do. It would have seemed like a ‘pick-up,’ you know? That inspired the song.”

When she learned her lyrics had placed in the contest, Tracy says: “Winning anything? I was pleasantly surprised to be noticed! Are you kidding?” 

Tracy’s love for songwriting goes all the way back to high school, when she and a friend would sing together and write what she laughingly describes as “bad songs.” Her early career included both exciting highs and difficult setbacks — including signing what she later discovered was a very bad deal. “That turned me off for a few years,” she admits. “But the writing has always been for myself, so I got back on the horse.”

Her creative journey took an unexpected turn when she became a staff writer for half-hour comedy shows on television, where she mastered the art of telling a story in 22 minutes. “When I stopped writing TV, I realized I could tell a good story in 3–4 minutes,” she says.

Tracy has had some remarkable highlights in her songwriting career — including Mel Tillis and Nancy Sinatra recording a duet of her song I Would Fly. “That was super-exciting at the time, even though the record didn’t do much,” she says. But perhaps even more thrilling is the surprise of hearing her songs pop up in the repertoires of other artists. “I’m always surprised when I go to someone’s gig and they’re doing one of my songs. I can’t get over that. It’s the absolute biggest thrill.”

Joining Talent Is Timeless has been another boost. Though she’s no stranger to contests, she admits she wasn’t sure at first about the quality of listening in this new community. “But the songs you’ve chosen in this round are really great, so everyone is giving it their all. That gives me great confidence in TITA.” As for advice to fellow songwriters over 50, Tracy keeps it simple: “Do it.”

You can listen to Tracy’s winning song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Curd80c2YBw&list=RDCurd80c2YBw&start_radio=1

And Connect with Tracy on Talent Is Timeless here: https://www.talentistimeless.com/members/thetracer123/