Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Thornton Cline

Thornton Cline shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Thornton, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
Several recent moments come to mind. I learned recently that five of my artists on Clinetel Records Nashville are contenders for this year’s Grammy Awards. And one of my artist will be the star of a new 90-minute documentary film and it will be all about her life.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Thornton Cline, CEO of Clinetel Records Nashville distributed by Sony/Orchard with 11 artists on the roster and 38 number one worldwide radio hits since 2016 on Billboard, Worldwide and Euro Music Charts. As a songwriter, I’ve had over 150 major and indie artists such as Engelbert Humperdinck, Gloria Gaynor, Gary Puckett (and the Union Gap), Rebecca Holden, Tammy Trent, Billy and Sarah Gaines, Tim Murphy, among many others. I was inducted in 2021 into the TSAI Songwrites Hall of Fame in Nashville with two gold and one platinum records and honored with “Songwriter of the Year” twice. I’m author of 44 traditionally published books. This year, my song, “Always a Hero” was placed in the box office movie, “Was Once a Hero” alongside John Carter Cash’s music.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who taught you the most about work?
I give so much credit to my parents, particularly my mother who signed me up for piano lessons at age five. My parents believed in me and encouraged me beyond belief. They saw my potential way before I did. They taught me my strong work ethic. No one ever gave me anything. I had to work hard for it. I worked hard to pay for my first car, I earned an all expenses trip to Disney World by selling the most newspaper subscriptions when I was 15. I worked like a dog to pay for everything. It taught me that I am not entitled to anything. I have to work long hours and hard to make it happen. Just because you have talent doesn’t mean you’re going to succeed. I learned that success is one percent talent and 99% hard work. And of course I give God credit too.

When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
Music has always been my friend and the great comforter to me. Whatever vibe I was in at the time as a child, I would express myself through my piano playing and through writing songs. I was bullied earlier in my life because I was a red-haired kid who played the violin and piano. Some kids thought that I should be playing football and doing “manly”things instead of playing the violin and piano. Thank goodness my parents taught me the value of self worth. Even though these bullies hurt me, I didn’t really care what they thought. My mind was made up to play violin, piano and write songs. From childhood to adulthood, music has healed me and made me who I am today.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
I am authentic and am the same person you see in public and in private. I believe my friends can attest to that assessment of myself. I try to treat everyone equally, with respect and treat people the way I would want to be treated. I approach others humbly, always asking what I can do for them, not what they can do for me.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I would hope people would remember me for how I made them feel and how I treated them. Hopefully, they would remember the positive moments and perhaps they would want to pay it forward to the next generation.. That would be so amazing if that could happen. Hopefully, I contributed something to making this world a better place.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Clinetelrecordsnashville.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thorntoncline?igsh=MTliNnlndm56dGJpMg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BUx9HgUzq/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Other: https://Thorntoncline.com

Image Credits
Photos by Thornton Cline