Kent Blazy (born in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

songwriter. His credits include several singles for

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

(including Brooks' first number one hit, "

If Tomorrow Never Comes "If Tomorrow Never Comes" is a song by American country music artist Garth Brooks. Written by Garth Brooks and Kent Blazy, it was released in August 1989 as the second single from his self-titled debut album. The track was his first number-one s ...

"), as well as singles by

Gary Morris Gary Gwyn Morris (born December 7, 1948) is an American singer and stage actor who charted a string of hits on the country music charts throughout the 1980s. Morris is known for the 1983 ballad " The Wind Beneath My Wings", although his cred ...

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 ( ...

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 ...

and Chris Young. Blazy has a total of seven No. 1 hits to his credit.

Biography

Kent Blazy was raised in

. At an early age, he played

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

and sang in various local bands, citing

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

and

Joe Ely Joe Ely (; born February 9, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was "one of the main movers" of Austin, Texas' progressive country scene in the 1970s and '80s. He has had a genre-crossing career, performing with Bruce ...

as influences. He later played for Canadian singer

Ian Tyson Ian Dawson Tyson (25 September 1933 – 29 December 2022) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who wrote several folk songs, including " Four Strong Winds" and " Someday Soon", and performed with partner Sylvia Tyson as the duo Ian & Sylvia. Ea ...

. Later on, Blazy met former

Exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

member Mark Gray, who suggested that Blazy move to

Nashville, Tennessee 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 ...

. Eventually, he signed to a publishing contract, but the publishing company closed; despite the loss of contract,

sent Blazy's "Headed for a Heartache" into top 5 on the country charts. By the late 1980s, Blazy met with a then-unknown

, who gave him the idea for a song entitled "

." He and Brooks co-wrote the song, which went on to become Brooks' first number one hit. Brooks continued to record Blazy's material throughout the 1990s, including the singles " Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)," " It's Midnight Cinderella", " She's Gonna Make It," " Somewhere Other Than the Night" and the

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 ...

duet "Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)". He also co-wrote "

That's What I Get for Lovin' You "That's What I Get for Lovin' You" is a song written by Kent Blazy and Neil Thrasher, and recorded by American country music group Diamond Rio. It was released in April 1996 as the second single from their album ''IV (Diamond Rio album), IV''. It ...

" by

and " Can't Get Enough" by

in the late 1990s. Blazy, along with songwriters

Pat Alger Patrick J. Alger (born September 23, 1947, in LaGrange, GeorgiaCarlin 2003, p. 3.) is an American country music songwriter, singer and guitarist and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (2010) and the Georgia Music Hall of ...

, Tony Arata and Kim Williams, recorded an album entitled ''A Songwriters' Tribute to Garth Brooks'', which included their renditions of songs that they had written for Brooks. This album was released in 2001 via VFR Records. Other songs that Blazy has co-written include " You Can Let Go" by

Crystal Shawanda Crystal Shawanda (born July 26, 1983) is a Canadian blues and country music artist. CMT documented her rise to fame in the six-part series ''Crystal: Living the Dream'', which was broadcast in February 2008. Signed to RCA Nashville in 2007, she r ...

and "

Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song) "Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Chris Young. It was released in February 2009 as the second single from his 2009 album '' The Man I Want to Be'' (2009). Young wrote the s ...

" by Chris Young from 2008 and 2009 respectively, as well as ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'' season 8 finalist

Danny Gokey Daniel Jay Gokey (born April 24, 1980) is an American singer and former church music director. He was the third-place finalist on the eighth season of ''American Idol''. After his placing on the show, Gokey signed to 19 Recordings and RCA Nashv ...

's debut single " My Best Days Are Ahead of Me."

References

External links

Kent Blazy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blazy, Kent American country songwriters American male songwriters Living people Musicians from Lexington, Kentucky Country musicians from Kentucky Songwriters from Kentucky Year of birth missing (living people)