She has rubbed elbows with the likes of Miranda Lambert and Emmylou Harris, spent three days on Willie Nelson’s tour bus and calls Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee her friend.

Marshall Chapman, a Nashville singer/songwriter and author, visited OSU on Friday to sing a few songs from her new album, “Big Lonesome,” and to read excerpts from her second book, “They Came to Nashville,” before riding with Gee in the homecoming parade.

Gee, who met Chapman while serving as chancellor of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, introduced his friend to the intimate crowd that gathered at the Wexner Center.

“You’re going to hear the most fabulous person on the face of the earth right now,” Gee said. “I will readily admit she’s a friend of mine.”

Chapman sang a few songs from her most recent album, which she said was inspired by the death of fellow singer/songwriter Tim Krekel. Krekel, who passed away from cancer in 2009, was Chapman’s friend and collaborator.

“I wrote this song on the plane to Mexico,” Chapman said before singing a song titled “Down to Mexico.” She and Krekel had planned on playing gigs there together, but after Krekel’s death, Chapman went alone.

Chapman spent most of her visit talking about the creation of “They Came to Nashville,” a book that shares the stories of performers who gave up everything for a chance of fame in “Music City,” USA. The book, which is published by the Country Music Hall of Fame, tells the stories behind artists such as Kris Kristofferson, Nelson and Lambert.

“The book talks about how (the artists) came to Nashville and the first night they spent there,” Chris Fletcher, Chapman’s husband, said during an interview with The Lantern.

Despite the artists’ standing, most of those featured in the book got off to a rough start.

“Willie (Nelson)’s first night in Nashville, he performed at Tootsie’s,” Fletcher said. “He was so terrified after that, he got drunk and went out and laid in the middle of Broadway, praying that he would get hit by a car.”

Chapman met each artist featured in the book for face-to-face interviews, which proved to be a difficult feat despite her history in the music business.

“Getting the interview with Willie (Nelson) could have made a book by itself,” Chapman said.

After a couple of e-mails and phone calls, however, Chapman got access to the country performer.

In a voicemail message left on her answering machine, Nelson said “Why don’t you just come hang with us on the bus,” Chapman said. “And I thought, ‘Oh, Lord.'”

“If I seem a bit tilted up here, it’s because I was on that bus for three days,” Chapman said, laughing. “You don’t have to partake — being on the bus is enough.”

Chapman then proceeded to sing “Riding with Willie,” a song she began to write on the tour bus.

“I find the beginning of this song to be a little cosmic — different from my usual stuff,” Chapman said. “Probably because I wrote the beginning of it on the bus.”

“Big Lonesome,” which has 11 tracks, is Chapman’s 12th album. Besides her own songs, Chapman has written songs that have been recorded by the likes of Jimmy Buffett, Wynonna and Emmylou Harris. She has toured for several years on her own and has also opened for acts such as Buffett, Jerry Lee Lewis and The Ramones.

“They Came to Nashville” is Chapman’s second book. Her first book, titled “Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller,” was a 2004 Southern Book Critics Circle Award finalist and a Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance bestseller.

“Marshall has become a great commentator on country music,” Gee said.

Chapman’s talents aren’t limited to music and writing, however. She plays the role of a road manager in an upcoming film, titled “Country Strong.” The film, which will be released in theaters in January 2011, features Tim McGraw, Gwyneth Paltrow and Garret Hedlund.

Although it was her first role in a movie, Chapman was picked out of 36 actresses who auditioned for the character – a no-nonsense, foul-mouthed woman in her late-50s.  

Those who knew Marshall knew she would be perfect for the part.

“They said, ‘Oh hell, just call Marshall — she won’t even have to act,” Fletcher said.

Chapman, who said she had never even acted in a school play before, was quickly thrown into the big leagues of the movie business.

“Her first day on the set was her and Gwyneth Paltrow in a hotel room together,” Fletcher said. “It’s like, ‘OK, this is real now.'”

Chapman relates her style of music to old-style country. She said commercial country — the kind usually played on the radio — doesn’t interest her. She appreciates music with a meaning.  

“I’ve heard some rap that’s had a strong message,” she said. “But I have to have a couple cups of coffee to appreciate that.”

“They Came to Nashville” is available online and in bookstores. The release of “Big Lonesome” is Tuesday.