You have to insulate yourself - I'm talking about from everything, people can be talking to you and you won't hear 'em - that's how you write a song. And I haven't been able to do that over here 'cause I'm so busy and then, when I am off, I want to get away from music.

He wrote the hits "I Ain't Never" (Tillis's own future hit) and "Crazy Wild Desire". Still later he operated WMML in Mobile Alabama. He is also known for his speech impediment which does not affect his singing voice.

Tillis's biggest hits include "I Ain't Never" "Good Woman Blues" and "Coca-Cola Cowboy". Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s his biggest success occurred in the 1970s with a long list of Top 10 hits.