Wilbur Herschel Jennings was an American lyricist. He was known for writing the songs "Up Where We Belong", "Higher Love", "Tears in Heaven" and "My Heart Will Go On". He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and won several awards including three Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards.
David Allen Loggins was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his 1974 hit single "Please Come to Boston" as well as his 1984 duet with Anne Murray, "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do".
"Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" is a song written by Richard Leigh, and recorded by American country music singer Crystal Gayle. It was released in June 1977 as the first single from Gayle's album We Must Believe in Magic.
Jeffrey LeVasseur, known as Jeffrey Steele, is an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with recording his own material, Steele has become a prolific Nashville songwriter, having co-written more than 60 hit songs for such artists as Montgomery Gentry, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, Rascal Flatts, Billy Ray Cyrus, and others.
"I'll Get Over You" is a song written by Richard Leigh, and recorded by American country music artist Crystal Gayle. It was released in March 1976 as the second single from the album Somebody Loves You. The song was Gayle's seventh chart hit and her first number-one country hit in 1976.
John Gregory Bettis is an American lyricist, best known for his long-term songwriting partnership with Richard Carpenter of the Carpenters. He wrote the lyrics for "Top of the World", a hit for both Lynn Anderson and the Carpenters. He wrote several more hits for the Carpenters, including "Only Yesterday", "Goodbye to Love","Yesterday Once More" and "I Need to Be in Love". He later wrote hits for other artists including: Madonna, Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, Conway Twitty, Diana Ross, Westlife, Jennifer Warnes, Peabo Bryson, Maria Vidal, George Strait ("Heartland"), Juice Newton, Ronnie Milsap, Barbara Mandrell, Louise Mandrell, 38 Special, New Kids on the Block, Donna Summer, Barbra Streisand, Eric Clapton and Whitney Houston.
Dean Pitchford is an American songwriter, screenwriter, director, actor, and novelist. His work has earned him an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for three additional Oscars, two more Golden Globes, eight Grammy Awards, and two Tony Awards.
Steve Seskin is an American singer, songwriter, and musician whose songs have been recorded by recording artists Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Waylon Jennings, Tim McGraw, Collin Raye, and Mark Wills among others. The debut single from McGraw's Set This Circus Down, "Grown Men Don't Cry", was nominated for a 2002 Grammy award and also garnered the No. 1 position on the Billboard Country Single Chart in June 2001. Seskin also is known for performing at schools in support of the Operation Respect/Don't Laugh at Me project, named after "Don't Laugh at Me," a song he wrote with Allen Shamblin that was recorded by Mark Wills and Peter, Paul and Mary, among others.
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 music credits in film 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. In April 2023 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. 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.
Hugh Loring Prestwood was an American Hall of Fame songwriter, whose work was primarily in country music. He was discovered by Judy Collins, who gave him his first hit "Hard Time for Lovers", which was recorded in 1978. Prestwood has written several number one songs, such as Crystal Gayle's "The Sound of Goodbye" and Randy Travis's "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart", which won BMI's Robert J. Burton award for Country Song of the Year. Prestwood’s song, “The Song Remembers When”, recorded by Trisha Yearwood, was picked as the Nashville Songwriters Association’s Song of the Year and also won a Prime Time Emmy for “Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics.
Wilburn Steven "Bill" Rice was an American country music singer and songwriter. Rice charted six singles between 1971 and 1978, including the Top 40 hit "Travelin' Minstrel Man", but is better known for his songwriting. Rice has written songs for artists such as Johnny Paycheck, Reba McEntire, Lynn Anderson, Charley Pride, and Jerry Lee Lewis. He has more awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers than any other songwriter. Rice had also been nominated for two Grammy Awards.
James Layng Martine Jr. is an American songwriter whose compositions have appeared on the country and pop music charts over a four-decade span beginning in the late 1960s. His songs, "Way Down" and "Rub it In", have each been recorded by over 20 artists. In 2013, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Some of Martine's writing credits include Elvis Presley's million-selling "Way Down"; The Pointer Sisters' "Should I Do It" and Trisha Yearwood's "I Wanna Go Too Far".
"The Greatest Man I Never Knew" is a song written by Richard Leigh and Layng Martine Jr., and recorded by American country music artist Reba McEntire. It released in July 1992 as the fourth and final single from her album For My Broken Heart. The song reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in October 1992.
Hillary Lee Lindsey is an American singer-songwriter. She has written songs with or for a number of artists including Michelle Branch, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Shakira, Lady A, Gary Allan, Sara Evans, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Tim McGraw and Luke Bryan. In 2006 and 2016, respectively, Lindsey won two Grammy Awards for Best Country Song for Carrie Underwood's "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and for Little Big Town's "Girl Crush". In 2011, Lindsey received an Academy Award nomination for "Coming Home", recorded by Gwyneth Paltrow for the soundtrack of Country Strong, in the Best Original Song category. "Coming Home" also received a Golden Globe nomination that same year for Best Original Song along with "There's a Place for Us", making Lindsey a double nominee in 2011. As of 2018, she has had 20 number-one singles as a writer. She won her third Grammy Award for the song "I'll Never Love Again" from the soundtrack of the 2018 film A Star Is Born.
Elisabeth Wagner, known professionally as Liz Rose, is an American country music songwriter, best known for her work with Taylor Swift. She has co-written 17 of Swift's officially released songs, including "You Belong with Me", which was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year; "Teardrops on My Guitar"; "White Horse", which won both Swift and her a Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 2010; and "All Too Well ", which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2021 and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2023. She works regularly alongside songwriters Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey, collectively calling themselves The Love Junkies and notably writing songs for Little Big Town and Carrie Underwood, among others.
Christopher G. Tompkins is an American songwriter based in Nashville. Since 2002 he has co-written songs for pop, rock, and country artists Jimmy Buffett, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, and Nickelback and has written charting singles for artists such as Kenny Chesney, Florida Georgia Line, and Tim McGraw.
Rory Michael Bourke is an American country music songwriter and music publisher.
Todd David Cerney was an American songwriter and musician.
Luke Robert Laird is an American country music songwriter and producer. He has written over 20 number one Billboard singles, including Carrie Underwood's "So Small", "Temporary Home", and "Undo It"; Blake Shelton's "Gonna"; Sara Evans' "A Little Bit Stronger"; Rodney Atkins's "Take a Back Road"; Eric Church's "Drink in My Hand", "Give Me Back My Hometown", and "Talladega"; Little Big Town's "Pontoon"; Luke Bryan's "I See You" and "Fast"; Thomas Rhett's "T-Shirt"; Kenny Chesney's "American Kids"; Lady Antebellum's "Downtown"; and Jon Pardi's "Head Over Boots." He has also written and produced songs for Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Kacey Musgraves, Toby Keith, Ne-Yo, John Legend, Darius Rucker, and many others.
Barry Dean is an American country and pop music songwriter based out of Nashville, Tennessee. He has written multiple No. 1 singles including “Pontoon”, “Day Drinking”, "Somebody's Daughter", and "Think a Little Less", along with a Top 40 hit with “Girls Chase Boys”. He has been nominated for a Grammy for Best Country Song on Tim McGraw's "Diamond Rings and Old Barstools."
