Norris Denton "Norro" Wilson (April 4, 1938 – June 8, 2017) was 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 ...

singer-songwriter, producer, and member of 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 ...

. Wilson wrote or co-wrote numerous hit songs during more than 40 years in the industry, including songs for David Houston,

Jean Shepard Ollie Imogene "Jean" Shepard (November 21, 1933 – September 25, 2016), was an American country singer who was considered one of the genre's first significant female artists. Her commercial success ran from the 1950s to the 1970s while also be ...

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country singer. His eclectic style of music also blended influences from rockabilly, jazz, blues, soul, and gospel. In the later part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname t ...

Charley Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American Country music, country singer. Beginning his career as a Negro league baseball player in the early-1950s, he later pursued a career in country music, becoming the gen ...

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 ...

, and

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter, considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Lynn, Wynette helped bring a ...

, among many others. He also produced or co-produced songs for dozens of artists, including early

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

, Joe Stampley,

Margo Smith Margo Smith (born Betty Lou Miller; April 9, 1939 – January 23, 2024) was an American Country music, country and Christian music, Christian music singer–songwriter. She had several years of country success during the 1970s, which included two ...

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 (magazine), Billboar ...

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 ...

, and

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( ; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time and the best-sel ...

. Earlier in his career, Wilson also charted ten singles on the ''

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart. The biggest of his three Top 40 hits was "Do It to Someone You Love" (written by

Tom T. Hall Thomas Hall (May 25, 1936 – August 20, 2021), known professionally as Tom T. Hall and informally nicknamed "The Storyteller," was an American country music singer-songwriter and short-story author. He wrote 12 number-one hit songs, with 26 more ...

) which reached No. 20 in 1970. He also recorded two songs, "Hey, Mister!" and "Mama McClusky", that were the basis for Charlie Rich's 1973 number one song, "

The Most Beautiful Girl "The Most Beautiful Girl" is a song recorded by Charlie Rich and written by Billy Sherrill, Norro Wilson, and Rory Bourke. The countrypolitan ballad reached No. 1 in the United States in 1973 on three '' Billboard'' music charts: the pop cha ...

". He died on June 8, 2017, in Nashville from heart failure.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Awards and recognition

* 1975

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

(with Billy Sherrill, songwriters) for Best Country Song, " A Very Special Love Song" * 1996 Inductee into the

* 2008 Inducted into Kentucky Music Hall of Fame * 2018 Academy of Country Music Poet's Award

References

*Hight, Michael. "Norro Wilson". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. 1998. p. 596. *Hyatt, Wesley. ''The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits''. New York: Billboard Publications. 1999. *Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York), 1991 ()

External links

Nashville Songwriters Foundation Hall of Fame — Norro Wilson
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Norro 1938 births 2017 deaths American country singer-songwriters People from Scottsville, Kentucky Country musicians from Kentucky American country record producers Smash Records artists Singer-songwriters from Kentucky Record producers from Kentucky 20th-century American singer-songwriters Country musicians from Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Tennessee