- Peter Cooper

LOS ANGELES — Country Music Hall of Famer Bill Anderson has spent the past half-century writing hit country songs. In that time, he's seen musical movements come and go, big songs come and stay, and cutting-edge technology arrive (like the cassette tape). If anyone could think of a precedent for the rise of Taylor Swift, it'd be Whisperin' Bill.

"I've never seen anything like it, because I don't think there's ever been anything like it," Anderson said of the 20-year-old.

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Anderson had a feeling that Swift could do good things. He is a longtime friend of Swift's father, Scott Swift, so he was aware of young Taylor's musical aspirations early on.
"She came out to my fan club dinner at the Old Hickory Country Club when she was 14," Anderson said. "She got up with an acoustic guitar and sang, and everybody was amazed that she was such a good guitar player and that she was singing original stuff at that age."