For two decades, Craig Carothers wrote songs and performed in Portland, Oregon. Outside of his home town he was pretty much unknown. In the music business, however, he was developing a name for himself for creating songs that are simultaneously witty, aching and unforgettably melodic. Trisha Yearwood included one of Craig's best-loved songs, "Little Hercules," as a "bonus track" on her greatest hits album, which meant that several million people suddenly know about Carothers' talent.

After a couple of trips of musical re-con to Nashville, Craig moved to "Music City U.S.A." at the end of the 20th century. Not a country artist, Carothers knew that this was the number one place in America to find recording artists looking for songs. Since his relocation, Craig has had songs covered by a number of country artists, and one of his fans is Patty Larkin (also not country), who numbers Craig as one of her favorite vocalists...period. In his broad range as a songwriter, and his ability to go from ridiculous to sublime in the same tune, he reminds one of Loudon Wainwright III, one of his influences.

User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.