Roger Alan Murrah (born November 20, 1946) is a songwriter and independent music publisher who has written hits for artists including

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as " neotraditional country"), as well as penning man ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

, and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

."Indie Publisher Spotlight:Mentoring Role Helps Murrah Music Thrive"
Kevin Zimmerman, BMI ''MusicWorld'', June 27, 2006.

Biography

Early life

Roger Murrah was born on November 20, 1946, in Athens, Alabama.

Career

After working in the late 1960s as a staff writer, he opened his own studio in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

. He then moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

and in 1972 made his first appearance on the national charts with "It's Raining in Seattle" by Wynn Stewart. In 1990, he started his own publishing company, Murrah Music and in 1992 was named ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

s Independent Publisher of the Year. Murrah signees include: Mark Alan Springer, Neal Coty, Rachel Proctor,

Luke Bryan Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country singer, songwriter, and television personality. He began his music career writing songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington before signing with Capitol Nashville in 2007 ...

, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Steve Azar, Phillip White, Rachel Thibodeau, Michael Mobley, Jimmy Melton and Jon Henderson. His songs have been recorded by artists including: Al Jarreau, Alan Jackson, Barbara Mandrell,

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

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Wynonna Judd Wynonna Ellen Judd or simply Wynonna ( ; born Christina Claire Ciminella; May 30, 1964) is an American country music singer. She is one of the most widely recognized and awarded female country singers. In all, she has had 19 No. 1 singles, incl ...

Mel Tillis Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, ...

, Take 6, Alabama,

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

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, and Waylon Jennings. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005. Additionally, he has served five terms as Chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF), and two consecutive terms as president of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI).

Number one hits

* " Southern Rains" — Mel Tillis 1981 * "

Life's Highway Life's Highway is the fourth studio album by American country music artist Steve Wariner. It was released in 1985 by MCA. Three singles were released from it in 1986, and the first two singles, including the title track, went to number-one. Thi ...

" — Steve Wariner 1986 * " Hearts Aren't Made to Break (They're Made to Love)" — Lee Greenwood 1986 * " It Takes a Little Rain (To Make Love Grow)" — Oak Ridge Boys 1987 * "

This Crazy Love "This Crazy Love" is a song written by Roger Murrah and James Dean Hicks, and recorded by American country music group The Oak Ridge Boys. It was released in June 1987 as the second single from the album ''Where the Fast Lane Ends ''Where the ...

" — Oak Ridge Boys 1987 * "

High Cotton ''High Cotton'' is a collection of short fiction by Joe R. Lansdale, initially published in 2000. In his introduction, Lansdale cites it as the "Best of Lansdale", and has called this work a companion piece to the 2004 collection ''Bumper Crop'' ...

" — Alabama 1989 * " Southern Star" — Alabama 1990 * "

Don't Rock the Jukebox ''Don't Rock the Jukebox'' is the second studio album by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released on May 14, 1991, and produced five singles on the Hot Country Songs charts; the title track, "Someday", "Dallas", and "Love's G ...

" — Alan Jackson 1991 * " I'm in a Hurry (And Don't Know Why)" — Alabama 1992 * " If I Could Make a Living" — Clay Walker 1994"If I Could Make a Living" (Hot Country Songs chart)
''

'', February 4, 1995.

Awards

* 1988 BMI Songwriter of the YearBio
Alabama Music Hall of Fame * 1980's BMI Songwriter of the Decade * BMI Millionaire Airplay Award (for over one million radio performances of

's " We're in This Love Together.") * 3rd BMI Millionaire Airplay Award (for over three million radio performances of

's " We're in This Love Together.") * CMA Song Of The Year Nomination (1991)

's "

." * CMA Song Of The Year Nomination (1992)

's "

." * BMI 2nd Millionaire Airplay Award (for over two million radio performances of

's "

.") * BMI Millionaire Airplay Award (for over one million radio performances of Wynonna's " Only Love.") * BMI 2nd Millionaire Airplay Award (for over two million radio performances of

's "

.") * BMI Millionaire Airplay Award (for over one million radio performances of

's " Southern Star.") * BMI 2nd Millionaire Airplay Award (for over two million radio performances of

's " I'm In A Hurry (And Don't Know Why).") * BMI 2nd Millionaire Airplay Award (for over two million radio performances of

's " It's a Little Too Late.") * BMI Millionaire Airplay Award (for over one million radio performances of

' "

.") * BMI Millionaire Airplay Award (for over one million radio performances of

Travis Tritt James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 20 ...

's " Where Corn Don't Grow.")

References

External links

Murrah Music website

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame

In The Spotlight Feature Interview 2010

American Songwriter February 19, 2009

American Chronicle Feature 2006

Bluegrass Journal February 18, 2010

BMI Music World Feature Interview, June 2006

NAMM Oral History Program Interview, July 2009

MusicRow September 7, 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murrah, Roger 1946 births Living people People from Athens, Alabama Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee American country songwriters American male songwriters Songwriters from Tennessee Songwriters from Alabama