Ray Price and Brenda Lee also charted hits with Tillis' material around this time. Other Tillis hits include " Honky Tong Song" and "Tupelo County Jail". He wrote "I'm Tired", a No. 3 country hit for Webb Pierce in 1957. Tillis eventually moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and began writing songs full-time. Rose encouraged Tillis to return to Florida and continue honing his songwriting skills. He used his railroad pass to visit Nashville and eventually met and auditioned for Wesley Rose of the Nashville publishing house Acuff-Rose Music. Īfter leaving the Air Force in 1955, Tillis returned to Florida where he worked a number of odd jobs, eventually finding employment with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Tampa, Florida. While stationed as a baker on Okinawa, he formed a band called The Westerners, which played at local nightclubs. He attended the University of Florida, but dropped out and joined the United States Air Force. As a child, Tillis learned the drums, as well as guitar, and at age 16, won a local talent show. His stutter developed during his childhood, a result of a bout of malaria. While he was still young, the family moved to Pahokee, Florida (near West Palm Beach). Mel Tillis was born in Tampa, Florida, United States, to Burma ( née Rogers 1907–1990) and Lonnie Lee Tillis (1907–1981).