A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. A songwriter who mainly writes the lyrics for a song is referred to as a lyricist. The pressure from the music industry to produce popular hits means that song writing is often an activity for which the tasks are distributed between a number of people. For example, a songwriter who excels at writing lyrics might be paired with a songwriter with the task of creating original melodies. Pop songs may be composed by group members from the band or by staff writers – songwriters directly employed by music publishers. Some songwriters serve as their own music publishers, while others have external publishers.
Stephen Fain Earle is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music genre, Earle branched out into multiple genres of rock music, bluegrass, folk music and blues.
Arthur Smith was an American musician, songwriter, and producer of records, as well as a radio and TV host. Smith produced radio and TV shows; The Arthur Smith Show was the first nationally syndicated country music show on television. After moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, Smith developed and ran the first commercial recording studio in the Southeast.
Denise Lorraine Davis, better known by her stage name Rainy Davis, is an American songwriter, singer and record producer. Out of four Billboard charted singles, Davis is known best for her song "Sweetheart". The single was originally released on the New York-based independent label called Supertronics Records. However, after the song became a hit in the clubs, then on urban radio and eventually crossing over to pop radio, Columbia Records A&R Exec Joe McEwen offered Rainy Davis a production-artist deal for worldwide physical distribution, which included buying Davis's previous contract from Supertronics. Rainy Davis went on to record two albums for Columbia and received numerous awards for her contributions to hit songs over the years.
Richard "Ribbs" Gibbs is an American film composer and music producer whose credits include Dr. Dolittle, Big Momma's House, Queen of the Damned, the television series Battlestar Galactica and the first season of The Simpsons.
Ronnie McCoury is an American mandolin player, singer, and songwriter. He is the son of bluegrass musician Del McCoury, and is best known for his work with the Del McCoury Band and the Travelin' McCourys.
Fred Coury is an American musician best known as the drummer for the glam metal band Cinderella. Coury lists Neil Peart, Peter Criss, Bobby Blotzer, John Bonham, Eric Carr, Tommy Lee and Tommy Aldridge as his drumming inspirations.
Allen Crane is an American rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. Allen Crane was formed by session guitarist Mark Warner. Warner is the sole lyrical and musical creative force of the band.
Broken Promises is the Allen Crane debut CD which features guitarist Mark Warner and veteran Cinderella drummer Fred Coury.
Charles Randolph Goodrum is an American songwriter, pianist, and producer. Goodrum has written number one songs in each of the four decades since his first number one hit, 1978's "You Needed Me".
This Side of the Moon is the third studio album by American singer Elizabeth Cook, released on May 17, 2005, by Hog Country Production. Cook based the album on her experience with the Warner Bros. record label, which had released her second studio album, Hey Y'all in 2002. Initially signed to AOL-Time Warner, she was transferred to Warner Bros. and experienced problems with the label, including an album delay. Hey Y'all was commercially unsuccessful and was not heavily promoted; its songs were not played on country radio. Cook voluntarily left Warner Bros. in 2003, and used her disappointment working in Nashville's Music Row as inspiration for her follow-up album.
Robert Lee McDill is a retired American songwriter, active from the 1960s until 2000. During his career he wrote or co-wrote 31 number one country hits. His songs were also recorded by popular artists of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, including The Grateful Dead, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Anne Murray and B. J. Thomas. His movie credits include Primary Colors, The Thing Called Love, Texasville and the documentary Grizzly Man. In addition to four Grammy nominations, McDill received Songwriter of the Year awards from Broadcast Music Incorporated, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and the Nashville Songwriters Association International. In October 2012, McDill was awarded ASCAP's Golden Note Award in recognition of his "extraordinary place in American popular music." In September 2015 he received the Academy of Country Music's Poet's Award for lifetime achievement. He is the author of two books: Tales of the Old River Rod and Gun, Bloody Mary Society andGentleman's Club and The Ancestors and Descendants of Robert Nathanial McDill.
Christopher Stevens, is an American record producer, mix-engineer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Christopher "Deep" Henderson is an American music composer, arranger, and producer. In a musical career spanning over a decade, he has worked with such artists as Mýa, R. Kelly, Jene, Trey Songz, and Jamie Foxx. He is one of the composers and the producer of Jamie Foxx's grammy-winning "Blame It".
Michael Whalen is a composer of over 650 television and film scores and thousands of advertising jingles. He has won two Emmy Awards and his works are featured in places from TV shows to audiobooks. Projects include the 2011 human trafficking film Cargo and short films for Disney. As a recording artist and producer, his solo piano recording "All the Things I Could Not Say" was released in 2013, and he performs in NYC frequently, where he is an adjunct professor at The City College of New York, and the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Whalen is represented and published by Warner/Chappell Music.
David Vincent Williams is an American country music singer-songwriter. His songs have been recorded and released by major country recording artists, including "I’m Movin‘ On" by Rascal Flatts, Ty Herndon’s "Hands of a Working Man" and James Otto’s "Just Got Started Lovin' You." Williams is a BMI songwriter who has written over 550 songs.
David Arthur Garcia is an American record producer and songwriter. He has received four Grammy Awards, and has won nine GMA Dove Awards, for his songwriting and record production. He was honored with the ASCAP Christian songwriter on the year award, in 2015. He co-wrote and produced the smash hit single "Meant to Be" with Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line, and co-produced "Let You Down" by NF.
Andy Dodd is an American music producer and songwriter. His work spans two decades and sales of over 50 million albums worldwide. He is the co-owner of multiple production companies partnered with The Walt Disney Company.
Dave Tough is an American multi-instrumentalist, producer, engineer, songwriter and music industry educator. He is also a member of the band Xavier & Ophelia who released their debut album X&O in 2011. Tough has released two solo albums, one in 1999 and one in 2005, and he has won the grand prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest twice, in 2009 in the country category, and in 2013 in the electronica category. He has also written and produced songs for shows such as Hart of Dixie, Nashville, Hemlock Grove, and the Seth Rogen film Observe and Report. Tough has won two GMA Covenant Awards for his work producing, engineering, and writing songs with guitar instrumentalist Sean Spicer.
Jeff White is American bluegrass guitarist/mandolinist, songwriter, record producer and sound mixer. Jeff White has performed and produced albums with many artists including: Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, The Chieftains, Lyle Lovett, Tim O'Brien, The Travelin' McCourys, Michael Cleveland and The Earls Of Leicester. White won the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, for Best Bluegrass Album with The Earls of Leicester. One of Jeff's key mentors is award-winning fiddler Michael Cleveland. Jeff and Michael have earned four International Bluegrass Music Awards for Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year. Jeff produced several of Michael Cleveland's albums. Jeff has toured with banjo picking Earl Scruggs and Louise Scruggs. Jeff White has produced and released four solo albums: in 1996 The White Album, in 1999 The Broken Road, in 2013 Renegade Revelations and in 2016 Right Beside You.
