pWhat do Tom Jones, Nick Cave, Joan Baez, John Denver, Ray Charles, Del Shannon, Keith Richards, B.B. King, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Carol Channing, Manowar and Linda Ronstadt... have in commonp pMickey Newbury.p pThey recorded his songs. Matter of fact, Newbury's material has been covered by over 1,230 artists. That is just about everybody.p pHis inspirational ballad An American Trilogy has been recorded by more than 550 artists. It was Elvis' showstopper.p pHis Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In is the rocker that launched Kenny Rogers' career into the stratosphere.p pNewbury, who grew up on Houston's tough North side, is the only songwriter to place four top hits on four different charts... simultaneously.p pThe train hopper was also instrumental in mentoring Kris Kristofferson, who says, God, I learned more about songwriting from Mickey than I did any other single human being. He was my hero and still is.p pShotgun Willie Nelson adds, He was one of the best