Alan Gordon ("Big Al") Anderson (born July 26, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In the 1960s, Anderson was the frontman of Connecticut-based band the Wildweeds, whose song "No Good To Cry" (written by Anderson) was a regional success in 1967. From December 1971 until December 1993, he was the lead guitarist in the band

NRBQ NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed circa 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re ...

, and released several solo albums. He also played electric guitar on

Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards may refer to: Musicians *Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, pseudonym of bandleader Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford *Jonathan Edwards (musician) (born 1946), American musician **Jonathan Edwards (album), ''Jonathan Edward ...

's 1973 album '' Have a Good Time for Me''. In the 1990s, Anderson's career shifted from touring musician to country music songwriter, settling in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

and writing hit songs for such artists as

Carlene Carter Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith (country musician), Carl Smith. Since 1978, Carter has ...

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He played in a number of local bluegrass music, bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after ta ...

Diamond Rio Diamond Rio is an American country music band from Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Marty Roe (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy Olander (lead guitar, banjo), Dan Truman (keyboards), Dana Williams (bass guitar, vocals), Micah Schweinsberg ( ...

and

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American country singer. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single "She's in Love with the Boy", which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Country Songs ...

, as well as

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 17 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, five for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those albums have reached number one on ...

's number 1 hit " The Cowboy in Me" and several album cuts. Anderson also reunited onstage with NRBQ on occasion, for 30th anniversary shows in 1999, and at reunion concerts held in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...

with all past and present members of the band in 2004 and 2007. He has released six solo albums, the most recent in 2012.

Discography

Albums

*''Al Anderson'' (

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the so ...

, 1972) *''Party Favors'' (

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record label ...

, 1988) *''Pay Before You Pump'' (

Imprint Records Imprint Records, originally known as Veritas Music Entertainment, was an American record label established in July 1995 that specialized in country music. The label was disestablished in 1997. History Roy Wunsch, a former CEO of Sony Music Nashv ...

, 1996) *''After Hours'' (Legacy, 2006) *''Pawn Shop Guitars'' (AAM Records, 2007) *''Strings'' (Amigo Grande, 2012)

Singles

List of country singles composed by Anderson

Anderson has written or co-written the following country singles: *

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

(with

Jann Arden Jann Arden (born Jann Arden Anne Richards; March 27, 1962) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, author and actress. She is best known for her signature ballads, " Could I Be Your Girl" and " Insensitive", which is her biggest hit to date, as well ...

), "Will You Marry Me" *

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...

(with

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...

), "License to Chill" *

(with

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

), " Trip Around the Sun" *

, " Every Little Thing" * Linda Davis, " A Love Story in the Making" *

, " Unbelievable" *

Joe Diffie Joe Logan Diffie (December 28, 1958 – March 29, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. After working as a demo (music), demo singer in the mid 1980s, he signed with Epic Records' Nashville division in 1990. Between then and ...

, "Poor Me" * Ty England, " Should've Asked Her Faster" * The Farm, " Every Time I Fall in Love" * 4 Runner, "Forrest County Line" *

, " Next Big Thing" " Down to My Last Bad Habit" *

Hot Apple Pie Hot Apple Pie was an American country music band founded in 2002. The band consisted of Brady Seals (lead vocals, keyboards), Keith Horne (bass guitar), Trey Landry (drums), and Mark Matejka (guitar). Matjeka was replaced in 2006 by Kevin Ray. Se ...

, "We're Makin' Up" *

Hal Ketchum Hal Michael Ketchum (April 9, 1953 – November 23, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. He released eleven studio albums from 1986 to 2014, including nine for divisions of Curb Records. Ketchum's 1991 album ''Past the Point ...

, " (Tonight We Just Might) Fall in Love Again", "

That's What I Get for Losin' You "That's What I Get for Losin' You" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Hal Ketchum. It was released in September 1994 as the second single from the album ''Every Little Word (album), Every Little Word''. The song re ...

" *

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

, " The Last Thing on My Mind" *

Raul Malo Raul Francisco Martínez-Malo Jr. (born August 7, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He is the lead singer of country music band the Mavericks and the co-writer of many of their singles, as well as Rick Tr ...

, "Crying For You" *

The Mavericks The Mavericks are an American band from Miami, Florida. The band consists of Raul Malo (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Deakin (drums), Eddie Perez (lead guitar), and Jerry Dale McFadden (keyboards). Malo and Deakin founded the band in 1989 along ...

(with

Flaco Jiménez Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez (born March 11, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and accordionist from San Antonio, Texas. He is known for playing Norteño, Tex Mex and Tejano music. Jiménez has been a solo performer and session musician, as ...

), " All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down" *

Delbert McClinton Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, h ...

& Dick50, "When She Cries at Night" *

, " The Cowboy in Me" *

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (sometimes abbreviated NGDB), also known as the Dirt Band, is an American band founded in Long Beach, California, in 1966. Since 2018, the band has consisted of Jeff Hanna and his son Jaime Hanna, both guitarists and voc ...

, "Bang, Bang, Bang" *

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American vocal quartet. The classic and most well-known lineup of the group, which performed together for over 40 years, consisted of William Lee Golden (baritone), Duane Allen (lead), Richard Sterban (bass), and Joe ...

, "Bad Case of Missing You" * James Otto, " Groovy Little Summer Song" *

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

, "Not Cause I Wanted To", "Ain't Gonna Let You Go", both on the album ''

Slipstream A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or water) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving object, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is moving. The term slips ...

'' *

LeAnn Rimes Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at the age of 13 and has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Christian, and o ...

, " Big Deal" *

Jeffrey Steele Jeffrey LeVasseur (born August 27, 1961), 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 ...

, "Somethin' in the Water" *

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...

, " Love's Gonna Make It Alright" * Aaron Tippin, " Without Your Love" * Mike Walker, "Honey Do" * Lari White, "Wild at Heart" *

, " Powerful Thing"

References

External links

bigalanderson.com Official Bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Al 1947 births Living people People from Windsor, Connecticut Country musicians from Connecticut American country rock singers American country singer-songwriters American rock guitarists American male guitarists NRBQ members Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Guitarists from Connecticut Guitarists from New York (state) Imprint Records artists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Connecticut