Phil Coulter appeared on RTÉ One's Today show on Wednesday where he spoke about how Luke Kelly inspired him to write a "deeply personal" song.
The Derry-born musician, songwriter and producer talked to presenter Maura Derrane about his memoir Bruised, Never Broken, which is now available in audio-book form on Audible, and spoke about the inspiration behind his famous song Scorn Not His Simplicity.
He said: "My first son was born with Down's Syndrome and I suppose that was some type of therapy for me in the months that followed, to come to terms with all of that.
"I had a voice in my head through all of that, the voice of Luke Kelly. I was producing The Dubliners at the time and Luke was constantly badgering me to write songs that go a little deeper than Puppet on a String or Congratulations or The Bay City Rollers or Elvis Presley, to write grown-up songs."
He continued: "There's a big difference between writing a song like Puppet on a String and Scorn Not His Simplicity, because that's very deeply personal.
"You're peeling off layers of yourself and letting people into your innermost thoughts, your vulnerability almost.
"That was a difficult journey for me, and I may not have done it without Luke Kelly."
Derrane played a video of Ryan Hennessy from Picture This performing the song and observed how he was bringing it to a new audience.
"There's a kid in his 20s, that's two generations after Luke Kelly, it's very flattering to me to think that the song has endured," Coulter said.
The famous songwriter also touched on the reason he thinks he has had such a successful career in music.
"My first smart move was being born in Derry because music was part of the fibre of life up there," he commented.
Although his "early adventures on the piano weren't very successful" he later started "picking out tunes by ear".
"I discovered something which has been a great lesson throughout all of my life, the best motivation is when you want to do something," he said of learning the piano at a young age.
"So I wanted to learn. I could pick out little melodies with my right hand but I wanted to figure out how the two fit together.
"From then on music has been very much part of my whole life, I couldn't imagine my life without music."
