Byron Hill (born December 12, 1953), is an American songwriter from

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 91st-most populous city in the Uni ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Living and working professionally in Nashville, TN for more than forty years, his songs have been recorded by many

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and pop artists.

Music career

After moving from his hometown of Winston-Salem, NC to Nashville in May 1978, Byron signed his first songwriting contract in September of that year with ATV Music Group in Nashville. The hits started for him as a songwriter in 1979 with Joe Sun's "Out Of Your Mind", and in 1981 with Johnny Lee's " Pickin' Up Strangers", with many other recordings and notable chart hit singles along the way including "The Pages of My Mind" by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

(1986), "Nights" by

Ed Bruce William Edwin Bruce Jr. (December 29, 1939 – January 8, 2021) was an American country music songwriter, singer, and actor. He was known for writing the 1975 song "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" and recording the 1982 cou ...

(1985), "Alright Already" by Larry Stewart (1993); "

Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous "Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous" is a song written by Byron Hill and Wayne Tester, and recorded by American country music artist Tracy Byrd. It was released in April 1994 as the first single from the album ''No Ordinary Man''. The song ...

" by

Tracy Byrd Tracy Lynn Byrd (born December 17, 1966) is an American country music artist. Signed to Universal Music Group Nashville, MCA Nashville Records in 1992, Byrd broke through on the country music scene that year with his 1993 single "Holdin' Heaven" ...

(1994); "

High-Tech Redneck ''High-Tech Redneck'' is an album by American country music singer George Jones. It was released in 1993 on the MCA Nashville Records label and went Gold in 1994. Recording By 1993, Jones had recorded two critically acclaimed albums for MCA but ...

" by

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

(1994); "Over You" by

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian country, pop and adult contemporary music singer who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray has won four Grammys including the Grammy ...

(1995); "If I Was A Drinkin’ Man" by

Neal McCoy Hubert Neal McGaughey Jr. (born July 30, 1958), known professionally as Neal McCoy and previously as Neal McGoy, is an American country music singer. He has released 10 studio albums on various labels, and has released 34 singles to country radio ...

(1996); "Politics, Religion And Her" by

Sammy Kershaw Samuel Paul Cashat (born February 24, 1958), known professionally as Sammy Kershaw, is an American country music singer. He has released 16 studio albums, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications among them. More than 2 ...

(1997); " The Strong One" by Mila Mason (1998); and "Size Matters" by

Joe Nichols Joseph Edward Nichols (born November 26, 1976) is an American country music artist. Between 1996 and 2001, he held recording contracts with the Intersound and Giant Records (Warner), Giant labels. In 2002, he signed with Universal South Records, ...

(2006). Several of his songs have been number one hits including

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 ...

's " Fool Hearted Memory" in 1982, Alabama's " Born Country" in 1992, and

Gary Allan Gary Allan Herzberg (born December 5, 1967) is an American country music singer. Signed to Decca Records in 1996, he made his country music debut with the release of his single "Her Man (song), Her Man", the lead-off to his gold album, gold-cer ...

's "

Nothing On But The Radio "Nothing On but the Radio" is a song written by Byron Hill, Odie Blackmon, and Brice Long and recorded by American country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions ...

" in 2005. His songs have since generated more than 900 recordings, earning 103 gold and platinum awards, ten

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

awards, thirty-six U.S. and Canadian top-ten chart hits including numerous hits in other worldwide markets. He has also been the producer of various American country artists including

Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that reac ...

(one album),

(three albums). He was awarded the 2008, 2010, and 2012 CCMA Producer of the Year award, and the 2012 CCMA Songwriter of the Year award for his work with Australian born Canadian artist

Gord Bamford Gordon Bamford (born April 17, 1976) is an Australian-Canadian country music singer. He has released ten studio albums. Bamford stands as one of the most decorated artists in Canadian country music with 26 Canadian Country Music Association (CCM ...

, and the 2013 CCMA Producer of the Year for his work with Canadian group The Boom Chucka Boys, and produced two albums on the CCMA award winning group

Hey Romeo Hey Romeo is a Canadian country music trio from Edmonton, Alberta. The band's members are Stacie Roper (vocals), Darren Gusnowsky (guitar) and Rob Shapiro (keyboard). Their 2007 single "Second Hand News", a cover of the 1977 Fleetwood Mac song, re ...

. Byron was inducted into the

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1970 by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that i ...

in 2018.

Featured songs in television and film

*'' Coast To Coast'', 1980,

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, includes " Pickin' Up Strangers" recorded by Johnny Lee. *'' The Exterminator'', 1980,

Avco Embassy Pictures Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company, which was active from 1 ...

, includes "Heal It" recorded by Roger Bowling. *''The Soldier'', 1982,

Embassy Pictures Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was active from 1942 to 1986. Embassy was responsible ...

, includes " Fool Hearted Memory" recorded by

. *'' Pink Cadillac'', 1989,

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros., both of which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex ...

, includes "Card-Carryin' Fool" recorded by

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country and gospel music singer and songwriter, as well as a film and television actor. Active since 1979, he has recorded over 20 studio albums and ...

. *''Elvis, Up Close and Personal with Sonny West'', 2008, Rochford Films, Scoring/Music composer/Music licensing consultant. *''Lake Effects'', 2011, Life Out Loud Films, includes "Stars Are Falling" recorded by Diamondback. * ''Nashville'' (2012 TV series), 2017, CMT, includes "Can't Remember Never Loving You" recorded by

Connie Britton Connie Britton (born Constance Elaine Womack; March 6, 1967) is an American actress. Her accolades include nominations for five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. She gained prominence for her roles in the television series ''S ...

Charles Esten Charles Esten Puskar III (born September 9, 1965), also known professionally as Charles Esten, and (when appearing as himself on improvisation shows or hosting) as Chip Esten, is an American actor, musician, singer-songwriter, and comedian. Es ...

. *''

Dark Was the Night Dark Was the Night may refer to: *Dark Was the Night (album), ''Dark Was the Night'' (album), a 2009 compilation album *Dark Was the Night (2014 film), ''Dark Was the Night'' (2014 film), an American thriller film *Dark Was the Night (2018 film), ' ...

'', 2018, includes "Playing with the Hand You're Dealt" recorded by Byron Hill. *''Stories in Rhyme: The Songwriters of the Flora-Bama Lounge'', 2020, includes the song "

Nothing On but the Radio "Nothing On but the Radio" is a song written by Byron Hill, Odie Blackmon, and Brice Long and recorded by American country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions ...

", performed by Brice Long. *'' The Farmer Wants a Wife'', Season 11, 2021,

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

, includes "Days With You" recorded by

Travis Collins Travis William Collins (born 4 May 1985, Campbelltown, New South Wales, Campbelltown) is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and guitarist. Three of his albums have reached the ARIA Charts, ARIA Albums Chart top 20, ''Hard Light ...

. *'' Tiger King (Season 2)'', 2021,

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, includes " Pickin' Up Strangers" recorded by Johnny Lee. *'' A Nashville Wish'', 2024, Vision Films Inc., includes "Born Country" recorded by Maxfield Camp.

Albums

Solo albums (as a featured performer)

*''"Gravity... and other things that keep you down to Earth"'' (BHP Recordings/BHP-4501), 1999 *''"Ramblings"'' (BHP Recordings/BHP-5002), 2004 *''"Stay A While"'' (BHP Recordings/BHP-5503), 2009 *''"Radio Songs"'' (BHP Recordings/BHP-5704), 2011 *''"Red Leather Couch"'' (BHP Recordings/BHP-6005), 2014 *''"That Old Mountain"'' (BHP Recordings/BHP-7006), 2024

Albums (as a guest performer)

*''"A Songwriters Tribute To George Strait, Vol 1"'' (Compadre Records/CRC-010), with various artists, 2004

References

External links

Byron Hill, Official Website

Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame

Dan Hodges Music, Byron Hill bio

The Writers Share: “The Song Was King”: A Conversation with Byron Hill
*
American Songwriter Magazine: 30th Anniversary of George Strait's first #1
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Byron 1953 births Living people Appalachian State University alumni American country singer-songwriters American country record producers Singer-songwriters from North Carolina Musicians from Winston-Salem, North Carolina People from Forsyth County, North Carolina Country musicians from North Carolina Canadian Country Music Association Songwriter(s) of the Year winners