Patrick P. Welch’s “One More Time” Named December “Best Song Of The Month”

Patrick P. Welch, a folk & country singer/songwriter based in Hendersonville, North Carolina, has won the SongwriterUniverse “Best Song Of The Month” Contest for December, with his song, “One More Time.” Welch is a longtime songwriter & artist, and he continues to write and record quality songs that have placement potential.

“One More Time” is a heartfelt, country duet ballad that has an appealing melody and hooky chorus. The song starts softly with acoustic guitar and vocal, and then builds to a full arrangement in the first chorus. This demo features strong vocals by the male and female singers, and there are good harmonies in the chorus. Welch said that “One More Time” was written about the fond memories he had when his son, Justin, was a young boy growing up.

Welch was born and raised in Humboldt, Iowa, where he learned to play guitar and played a little piano. After high school, he got his Bachelor’s degree from Bethel College in Minnesota, and then he went to Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He earned his Master’s and Doctorate degrees. During this period he also developed his music, and he performed at churches and opened shows for Stephen Stills and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

Although he has always loved music, Welch became a pastor at a church for 32 years. He married his wife, Gail, and they’ve had children, grandchildren and now great-granchilden. He has released several albums, including Dream Hero Daddy in 1982.

It was in 2010 that Welch became very active as a songwriter, after experiencing some very serious medical issues. He explained, “I had to have quadruple bypass surgery, and I had a heart attack and stroke. But I still had muscle memory and I could still write songs and play guitar. I could no longer be a pastor at church, but I used my music to enter the world. I’ve written most of my songs since then.”

Currently, Welch occasionally plays open mics, and he performs live on Zoom concert sessions. However, he spends most of his time writing new songs and recording at his home studio. “My goal is to keep writing,” he said. “My hope is that a famous or younger artist will record my songs. I have a song called “Up And Left” that’s a good country song, and it’s funny and current.”

Welch has also signed music publishing agreements for some of his songs. Notably, his song “Sutton County Home” was selected by actress/singer Riley Keough (the granddaughter of Elvis Presley) to be in her 2022 movie, War Pony.