Luke Laird is a small-town boy living a big-time dream, writing songs of his life that have climbed the charts all the way to Number One.

Laird, 29, is originally from Conneaut Lake, Pa., and lived in Grove City for eight years. Today he rubs shoulders with the best and brightest stars of country music in Nashville, where he is a songwriter for Universal Music Publishing. But with all the success, Laird still connects with his roots in Western Pennsylvania.

"I have done music my whole life and started playing piano at 5 years old and guitar in first grade," Laird said recently from his home in Nashville.

"I always made songs up when I was a little kid and it was the one thing that stuck with me through all of my other interests."

Laird has written songs for country music sensations Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts and Lee Ann Womack, and is now working with pop star Jessica Simpson as she tries to cross over into the country world.

Laird said he hit it off with Underwood last year while they wrote the Number One hit song, "So Small" with his friend Hillary Lindsey in Nashville. The two connected over the fact that they are both from small towns, but work in a cutthroat business.

"She had so much happen in just a couple years and it's a whirlwind," Laird said. "Her voice is just incredible and for such a small person, it's a huge voice. We kind of hit it off and ended up writing three songs that made it onto her album."

Laird graduated from Grove City High School in 1997 and his family lived in the borough from 1992 to 1999.

He attended college at Tennessee State University and received a degree in recording industry management. While there, he worked for the Country Music Association Awards and did an internship in Nashville with the Songwriters Guild.

After graduating from college in 2001, Laird worked for Brooks and Dunn, a popular country music duo, on two national tours, discovering that writing was exactly what he wanted to do.

"I really wanted to be on the more creative side and writing songs, so I was in town and would go and play for music publishers in Nashville," Laird said. "You try to get a publishing deal where they pay you to write songs, and I signed with BMG Music Publishing, which was bought by Universal, in 2002."

Laird said he never takes for granted his success in such a competitive field. He said the first recorded song he ever wrote was for country star Kenny Chesney, but the song never made the final cut to the album.

"I've got hundreds of songs that I have written and the odds of getting recorded are not that good," Laird said. "You can get really frustrated because even if it is recorded, there is no guarantee it will be released."

Laird said he tries to keep a positive outlook to stay motivated, and said the support system he finds within his own family is the key to his success.

"I don't see how you could pursue something like this without support from family and friends because it is such a shot in the dark to come out of nowhere, move here and write songs," Laird said.

Sue Laird, Luke's mother, said her son has loved music almost since the day he was born.

"When he was three I bought him a guitar at a yard sale," Sue Laird said. "It only had three strings instead of five, but he was so excited."

From there, she said Luke Laird sang a solo at the Christmas concert in kindergarten, and started asking for a new musical instrument with every passing holiday and birthday.

His guitar has been with him every step of the way.

"When he was a little bit older he started guitar lessons and his aunt bought him a new guitar," Sue Laird said. "He was so excited when he could switch from the little guitar to the full-sized guitar."

She said her son has also become a staple at family weddings, and he'll even take his guitar and lie in bed playing it at night.

"It's really neat to see him follow his dreams," she said. "He has worked hard at it and it didn't happen overnight. His hard work is paying off and he has really been blessed."

His parents also enjoy the perks of free concert tickets and the privilege of attending Number One parties in Nashville when his songs start climbing the charts.

His father, James Laird, said his son always excelled at whatever he was determined to accomplish. His days as an athlete at Grove City High School also helped him to build a spirit of determination, he said.

"He had 10 athletic letters at Grove City High School and was county champion in the triple jump and track, and was also named all-county in basketball and a top 10 finisher in cross country," James Laird said.

He said his son's perseverance has paid off, but it wasn't always a smooth journey.

"We feel humbled as parents but proud, but we have seen this thing over 10 years and how tough it is," he said.

"I said he could have been a brain surgeon in 10 years but he said, 'Yea, but I wouldn't be doing what I love to do — and today I am.'"