When You Hear Taylor Swift

Stone Harbor teen Taylor Swift on her way to country music stardom by Vincent Jackson

(This story first appeared in The Press of Atlantic City on Aug. 2, 2004.)

When Taylor Swift, 14, lived in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, she wanted to do two things — fit in with her friends and pursue a career as a country music singer and songwriter.

It wasn't a good fit. Her friends didn't like country music and didn't understand her desire to sing professionally.

"Back home in Pennsylvania, it was so hard to keep friends. I always had two lives ... They didn't like that I had this career thing," said Swift, a summer resident here since birth.

Some people lash out when frustration sets in. But Swift is better at expressing herself through music — she has already written more than 100 songs. So, on one rainy weekend evening in January when none of her friends had called, she picked up her guitar and began to write. Thirty minutes later, with the chord progressions memorized, she was done and ready to write the lyrics on her computer to a tune she titled "The Outsider."

"I wrote exactly what I was feeling," Swift said.

The song Swift created at that moment turned out so well that it made it onto the Maybelline "Chicks With Attitude" CD, which coincides with the "Chicks With Attitude 2004 Concert Tour" featuring Liz Phair, The Cardigans, Katy Rose and Charlotte Martin. The CD is given away free with the purchase of Maybelline products at Rite Aid and other stores.

In April, Swift and her family moved from Pennsylvania to a town outside of Nashville to make it easier for her to pursue her country music career. Along the way, Swift also acquired an "overall manager," Dan Dymtrow, who also serves as Britney Spears' management representative.

"She blew me away with her talent, creativity, songwriting and personality," Dymtrow said in an e-mail interview.

Dymtrow recommended "The Outsider" to Maybelline officials for the compilation CD. Once accepted, the song - which started with just Swift's voice and guitar accompaniment - was recorded with a full band and turned into a contemporary country track in Nashville.

When Dymtrow called to tell Swift that her song made it onto the CD, she was eating at a Taco Bell.

"I was ecstatic! I started screaming. Everybody looked at me like I was crazy," Swift said.

Swift's perseverance despite the negative input from her friends has paid off. The precocious teen known mostly in Pennsylvania and in southern New Jersey for singing at Henny's here two years ago when she was only 12, is now attracting national attention.

Recently, the clothing company Abercrombie & Fitch selected her for its rising stars campaign. A black and white picture of her holding her guitar is in the current Vanity Fair magazine (the August issue with the Reagans on the cover). The same picture is in the Abercrombie & Fitch catalog/magazine available at Abercrombie stores nationwide and in the "lifestyle/music" section of the company's Web site at abercrombie.com

Swift also landed a development deal with RCA Nashville in September. She has recorded two songs for a four-song demo package that she will use to seek a record deal with RCA. This fall, she will perform a showcase in front of the record company's executives.

None of this is too soon for Swift, who is happiest being busy.