Billy Montana (born William Schlappi on September 28, 1959, in

Voorheesville, New York Voorheesville is a village within the town of New Scotland in Albany County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Albany and part of the city's historic metropolitan area. The population was 2,789 at the 2010 census. The village is named ...

) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer-songwriter. Between 1987 and 1995, Montana released one studio album and charted six singles on '' Billboard''s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. As a songwriter, Montana's songs have been recorded by

Lee Brice Kenneth Mobley Brice Jr. (born June 10, 1979), known professionally as Lee Brice, is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Curb Records. Brice has released five albums with the label: '' Love Like Crazy'', '' Hard to Love'', ...

, Garth Brooks,

Sara Evans Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the ''Billboard'' country songs cha ...

, Jo Dee Messina,

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and reloc ...

Jon Pardi Jonathan Ryan Pardi (born May 20, 1985) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Capitol Nashville, he has released four studio albums: ''Write You a Song'' (2014), ''California Sunrise'' (2016), ''Heartache Medication'' (2 ...

, Sister Hazel and

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

, among others.

Career

Singer

In the late 1980s, Montana and his brother, Kyle, formed a country music group with Bobby Kendall, Dave Flint and Doug Bernhard.Curb Music at BMI
/ref> Billy Montana & the Long Shots signed with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

and charted three singles on ''Billboard'''s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart before disbanding without releasing an album. Their highest charting single, "Baby I Was Leaving Anyhow," peaked at No. 40 in 1987. After the group disbanded, Montana moved to Nashville in 1989 to pursue his dream of songwriting. In 1994, Magnatone Records signed Montana to a solo record deal. allmusic ((( Billy Montana > Biography )))/ref> His debut album, ''No Yesterday'', was released in April 1995. Three singles were released from the project and charted on ''Billboard'''s Hot Country Singles & Tracks, the highest of which peaked at No. 55. One of the album's tracks, "A Clean Mind and Dirty Hands," was named Song of the Year by

Farm Journal ''Farm Journal'' is a United States agricultural trade magazine that was established in 1877, and is the leading United States farm magazine. History Wilmer Atkinson founded the publication in Philadelphia in March 1877 as a small eight-page mont ...

in 1996 as the song best depicting genuine farm life.

Songwriter

Montana was signed to a songwriting deal with Moraine Music in 1994. He was picked up by Curb Publishing in a joint venture in 2000. The following year, Jo Dee Messina released Montana's " Bring On the Rain" as a single. The song topped ''Billboard'''s Hot Country Singles & Tracks in March 2002 and was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

. Montana has since written No. 1 songs for Sara Evans ("

Suds in the Bucket "Suds in the Bucket" is a song written by Billy Montana and Tammy Wagoner and recorded by American country music singer Sara Evans. It was released in May 2004 as the third single from Evans' 2003 album '' Restless''. It became her third number- ...

"), Lee Brice (" Hard to Love"), and Garth Brooks (" More Than a Memory"). "More Than a Memory" debuted at No. 1 on ''Billboard'''s Hot Country Songs chart in September 2007, becoming the first song in the chart's entire history to accomplish that feat.Soulja Boy 'Cranks' Hot 100 No. 1 With Debut Single
/ref>

Family

Billy Montana's son,

Randy Montana Randy Schlappi (born September 23, 1985), known professionally as Randy Montana, is an American country singer signed to Mercury Records Nashville. His first album, ''Randy Montana'', was released in 2011. Early and personal life Randy Schlappi ...

, signed to

Mercury Nashville Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records N ...

in 2010. The younger Montana has reached Top 40 on the country music charts with "Ain't Much Left of Lovin' You" and "1,000 Faces".

Discography

Albums

Singles

*^ACredited to Billy Montana & the Long Shots.

Music videos

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montana, Billy 1959 births Living people American country bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters People from Voorheesville, New York 20th-century American bass guitarists Country musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians Singer-songwriters from New York (state)