Richard Leigh (born May 26, 1951 in Washington, D.C.) 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, ...

songwriter 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 ...

and singer. He is best known for penning " Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" (sung by

Crystal Gayle Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951) is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same as that of her oldest sist ...

). In 1978, he received 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 ...

for "Best Country Song" for the popular song. It was nominated in both pop and country categories and reached number one on both charts. His first number one song was " I'll Get Over You" (1976), also sung by Crystal Gayle. Other prominent singers who have brought his songs number one status over the years include Billy Dean, Mickey Gilley,

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful music artis ...

, Steve Wariner, and

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing seventeen number ...

. Kathy Mattea had another number one hit with " Come From the Heart" in 1990. In 1999, the

Dixie Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) an ...

recorded Leigh's " Cold Day in July" for their album ''

Fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

'', reaching Number 10 on the country music charts in 2000. Leigh was raised in Virginia, and lives in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

. He is a graduate of Virginia Highlands Community College and

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia ...

. It was while he was attending VCU that he penned and first sang "I'll Get Over You," while performing at the Crossroads Coffeehouse in Richmond, Virginia's Fan District. He has been nominated for songwriter of the year seven times and in 1994 he was inducted into the

Nashville Songwriters Foundation The Nashville Songwriters Foundation is a non-profit organization foundation for the Nashville music community. Songwriters are inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame each year and the foundation's purpose is to "educate, archive, and ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

. On April 11, 2011, Leigh was one of only four chosen nationally from the American Community College System to be awarded 2011 AACC Outstanding Alumni Award for excellence in ones chosen field. Since 2013 he has arranged with VHCC to host the Richard Leigh Songwriter's Festival,https://www.facebook.com/RichardLeighSongwritersFestival an annual competition for new songwriting talent. Proceeds from the event go to VHCC's Great Expectations program benefiting foster care students.

List of number one songs

Number Ones on ''Billboard's'' US Country Music Chart unless otherwise noted. *^AReached No. 1 on U.S. ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

'' country singles charts.

Notes

External links

Online Home of Richard Leigh

Interview
1951 births Living people American country singer-songwriters Grammy Award winners American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Washington, D.C. {{US-country-singer-stub