From Kansas dot Com:

But all this kid from Brownsville, Texas, really wanted to do was write songs."It was just the way that my mind made sense out of my experiences," the 68-year-old said by phone from the Hawaiian home he shares with his wife and three youngest children. "Ever since I can remember writing things down, I was making up songs. There was something in my heart I felt. I was just in love with it. I realized that country music didn't have, outside of country music fans, a very good reputation as something worthwhile to do. That all changed. It brought me a performing career." link