Wayne Paul Walker (December 13, 1925 - January 2, 1979) was an American songwriter. [1] [2]
Walker was born in Quapaw, Oklahoma. [3] He wanted to become a country music performer but later found success as a songwriter in the 1950s and 1960s. [3]
Walker began his music career, influenced by his association with Webb Pierce and Tillman Franks. [3] His first hit, "I've Got a New Heartache," was a country hit for Ray Price in 1956, later revived by Ricky Skaggs in 1986. [3] His songwriting resulted in top 10 country singles in the 1950s and 1960s. [3] "All the Time," written by him, topped the charts in 1967 in Jack Greene's rendition, receiving Billboard's Country Song of the Year award. [3]
Some other country musicians who performed Walker's compositions include Kitty Wells and Ray Price. [3] "Are You Sincere" broke beyond the country genre, reaching #3 on the 1958 Billboard pop chart with Andy Williams and earning Walker a BMI Million Play award. [3]
Harold Ray Ragsdale, known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty hits such as "Gitarzan" and "The Streak". Stevens has received gold albums for his music sales and has worked as a producer, music arranger, and television host. He is also an inductee of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the Christian Music Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Joe South was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Best known for his songwriting, South won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1970 for "Games People Play" and was again nominated for the award in 1972 for "Rose Garden".
Roger Dean Miller Sr. was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country hits "King of the Road", "Dang Me", and "England Swings".
Cindy Walker was an American songwriter, as well as a country music singer and dancer. She wrote many popular and enduring songs recorded by many artists.
James William Anderson III, known professionally as Bill Anderson, is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television host. His soft-spoken singing voice was given the nickname "Whispering Bill" by music critics and writers. As a songwriter, his compositions have been covered by various music artists since the late 1950s, including Ray Price and George Strait.
Garland Perry "Hank" Cochran was an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting during the 1960s, Cochran was a prolific songwriter in the genre, including major hits by Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Eddy Arnold, and others. Cochran was also a recording artist between 1962 and 1980, scoring seven times on the Billboard country music charts, with his greatest solo success being the No. 20 "Sally Was a Good Old Girl." In 2014, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Lonnie Melvin Tillis was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, with a long list of Top 10 hits.
Matraca Maria Berg Hanna is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and has charted in the top 40 of the U.S. Billboard country charts with "Baby, Walk On" and "The Things You Left Undone," both at No. 36. Besides most of her own material, Berg has written hits for T.G. Sheppard, Karen Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Deana Carter, Patty Loveless, Kenny Chesney and others. In 2008 she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and in 2018 she received the Poet's Award from the Academy of Country Music Awards.
Noble Ray Price was an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone is regarded as among the best male voices of country music, and his innovations, such as propelling the country beat from 2/4 to 4/4, known as the "Ray Price beat", helped make country music more popular.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 2007.
Billy Wayne "Crash" Craddock is an American country and rockabilly singer. He first gained popularity in Australia in the 1950s with a string of rockabilly hits, including the Australian number one hits "Boom Boom Baby" and "One Last Kiss" in 1960 and 1961 respectively. Switching to country music, he gained popularity in the United States in the 1970s with a string of top ten country hits, several of which were number one hits, including "Rub It In", "Broken Down in Tiny Pieces", and "Ruby Baby". Craddock is known to his fans as "The King Of Country Rock Music" and "Mr. Country Rock" for his uptempo rock-influenced style of country music.
"Make the World Go Away'" is a country pop song composed by Hank Cochran. It has become a Top 40 popular success three times: for Timi Yuro (1963), Eddy Arnold (1965), and the brother-sister duo Donny and Marie Osmond (1975). The original version of the song was recorded by Ray Price in 1963. and popularized again by Mickey Gilley in (1999) has remained a country-crooner standard ever since.
Marijohn Wilkin was an American songwriter, famous in country music for writing a number of hits such as "One Day At a Time" and "My Long Black Veil". Wilkin won numerous awards over the years and was referred to as "The Den Mother of Music Row," as chronicled in her 1978 biography Lord, Let Me Leave a Song. It was honored as “One of the 100 Most Important Books about Nashville’s Music Industry.”
Robert Valentine Braddock is an American country songwriter and record producer. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Braddock has contributed numerous hit songs during more than 40 years in the industry, including 13 number-one hit singles.
James Dexter Weatherly was an American singer-songwriter who wrote mostly pop and country music. He played quarterback at the University of Mississippi while also writing music with his own bands. He subsequently chose songwriting over a football career. His notable songs include "The Need to Be" and "Midnight Train to Georgia".
"Crazy Arms" is an American country song which was a career-making hit for Ray Price. The song, released in May 1956, went on to become a number 1 country hit that year, establishing Price's sound, and redefining honky-tonk music. It was Price's first No. 1 hit.
Wayne Carson, sometimes credited as Wayne Carson Thompson, was an American country musician, songwriter, and record producer. He played percussion, piano, guitar, and bass. His most famous songs as a writer include "The Letter", "Neon Rainbow", "Soul Deep", and "Always on My Mind".
Roger Alan Murrah is a songwriter and independent music publisher who has written hits for artists including Waylon Jennings, Alan Jackson, Al Jarreau, and Alabama.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 2013.
Country Hall of Fame is a studio album by American country singer–songwriter Hank Locklin. It was released in February 1968 via RCA Victor Records and contained 12 tracks. The album was co-produced by Chet Atkins and Felton Jarvis. The album's name was derived from its single of the same, which became Locklin's first major hit in several years. It would also be his seventeenth studio recording released in his career and one of many to be produced by Chet Atkins. Country Hall of Fame received positive reviews from writers and publications.