Sawyer Brown 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 ...

band. It was founded in 1981 in

Apopka, Florida Apopka is a city in Orange County, Florida. The city's population was 54,873 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. ''Apopka'' comes from Seminole word ''Ahapopka'' for "potato-eating ...

, by Mark Miller (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard (keyboards, vocals), Bobby Randall (lead guitar, vocals), Joe "Curly" Smyth (drums), and Jim Scholten (bass guitar). The five musicians were originally members of country singer

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the ...

's road band, but chose to stay together after King retired in 1981. After competing on the television competition series ''

Star Search ''Star Search'' (later known as ''Ed McMahon's Star Search'') is an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./ Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 29 ...

'' and winning that show's grand prize, they signed to

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

in 1984. The band recorded for Capitol between then and 1991, and for

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of M ...

between 1991 and 2005, except for a short time in 2003 when they were signed to

Lyric Street Records Lyric Street Records was the Disney Music Group's country music record label, founded in 1997 by Randy Goodman. The label had its first successes in 1998 with singles by Lari White and Aaron Tippin, both formerly of RCA Records. Other artists w ...

. Duncan Cameron, formerly of the

Amazing Rhythm Aces The Amazing Rhythm Aces is an American country rock group, which has characterized its music as " American music" or " roots music"—a blend of rock, country, blues, R&B, folk, reggae, and Latino. The band is best known for its 1975 hit " Thir ...

, replaced Randall in 1991, and Shayne Hill replaced him in 2004. Sawyer Brown has released 18 studio albums and has charted over 50 times on the

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. ...

charts, including three No. 1 singles: " Step That Step" (1985), "

Some Girls Do ''Some Girls Do'' is a 1969 British comedy spy film directed by Ralph Thomas. It was the second of the revamped Bulldog Drummond films (following 1967's ''Deadlier Than the Male'') starring Richard Johnson as Drummond, made following the succes ...

" (1992), and " Thank God for You" (1993). The band's sound is largely defined by

country pop Country pop (also known as urban cowboy or even urban country) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends g ...

and

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

influences, with cover versions of songs 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 ...

, Michael Johnson, and

Dave Dudley Dave Dudley (born David Darwin Pedruska; May 3, 1928 – December 22, 2003) was an American country music singer best known for his truck-driving country anthems of the 1960s and 1970s and his somewhat-slurred bass. His signature song was "Six ...

also among their hit singles. Artists with whom they have collaborated include

Randy Scruggs Randy Lynn Scruggs (August 3, 1953 – April 17, 2018) was an American music producer, songwriter and guitarist. He had his first recording at the age of 13. He won four Grammy Awards and was named Musician of the Year at the Country Music ...

Joe Bonsall Joseph Sloan Bonsall Jr. (May 18, 1948 – July 9, 2024) was an American singer who was tenor vocalist of the Oak Ridge Boys from 1973 to 2023. Besides charting numerous hits as a member of the Oak Ridge Boys, Bonsall had a solo hit guesting wit ...

, and

Mac McAnally Lyman Corbitt McAnally Jr. (; born July 15, 1957), known professionally as Mac McAnally, is an American singer-songwriter, session musician, and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. Two of his sing ...

History

The group's members were originally part of

singer

's road band. When King stopped touring in 1981, the group decided to stay together. The band played up to five sets a night, six days a week (for a time at Knight's Corral, on Nolensville Rd., in Nashville, as "Bobby, Mark, and Sandgap"), until they auditioned for the TV show ''

'' in 1983. They won the grand prize of $100,000 and a recording contract. The band originally chose the name Savanna. When another band with a similar name emerged, the group decided to change its own moniker. They met at their manager's office 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 began looking through area

telephone book A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization that ...

s for inspiration. They blindly landed on the name of a nearby thoroughfare, Sawyer Brown Road, and derived the new band name "Sawyer Brown".

The band signed with

and scored a Top 20 hit with their first single, "Leona", in 1984. That success was quickly followed by their first No. 1 hit, "Step That Step". The band had their ups and downs on the charts throughout the 1980s, landing only sporadic Top 10 hits. However, by 1990 they had accumulated enough hits for a Greatest Hits package, and were successful on the touring circuit. Originally, Sawyer Brown was known for a primarily

sound dominated largely by novelty tunes; by 1991, however, the band began to express a more serious side to its music by adding ballads to its repertoire. That year, the band also dropped its affiliation with Capitol, and Curb Records assumed promotion and distribution of all subsequent albums and singles (except for 2003, when Sawyer Brown temporarily switched to

). Bobby Randall also left the band in 1991, and was replaced by Duncan Cameron. Cameron subsequently departed in 2004, with Shayne Hill assuming the role of lead guitarist. In 1991, after the release of their album ''Buick'', guitarist Bobby Randall left the group to remain close to his family and host a short-lived TV

talent show A talent show or talent contest is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are p ...

, ''Be a Star''. Bobby Randall joined to band called "Dallas County Line" formed in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

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 ...

, in late 1991 & early 2003 are disbanded. Duncan Cameron, formerly of The

, was chosen as his replacement just as Sawyer Brown was about to become country music's "it" band. The band then switched labels, moving to

and releasing the albums ''The Dirt Road'', ''Café on the Corner'', and ''Outskirts of Town'', which saw hit after hit for the band in the early to mid-1990s. Part of the band's new-found success was due to singer-songwriter

, who wrote several songs for the group. The McAnally-penned songs, mostly ballads, helped to re-define Sawyer Brown, who up until this point had been reviled by many critics for being a flamboyant "bubble gum" pop act that emphasized style over substance. "The Walk", the final single off the ''Buick'' album, is said to be the turning point for the group. Following "The Walk", the band scored a number of Top 5 and Top 10 hits, including 2 more Billboard No. 1s with 1992's "

", and 1993's " Thank God for You", which Mark Miller co-wrote with Mac McAnally. By 1995, Sawyer Brown had enough hits for a second Greatest Hits package. The album, titled ''Greatest Hits 1990 to 1995'', included two new singles, "This Time" and "I Don't Believe in Goodbye", which themselves became Top 5 hits. In the latter half of the 1990s, the group seemed to gradually fall out of favor with country radio, despite a crossover hit in 1999 with "Drive Me Wild". They parted ways with Curb in 2003 and signed with

. One single was released on Lyric Street before Sawyer Brown left that label as well. 2004 saw the group returning to Curb Records, just as Duncan Cameron decided to leave the group to pursue a lifelong dream of flying for

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., or simply Southwest, is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States that formerly operated on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in the Love Field, Dallas, Love Field neighborhood ...

. Guitarist Shayne Hill replaced Duncan's post as guitarist, although both Cameron and Hill are in the credits on ''Mission Temple Fireworks Stand''. The album's title track, featuring Robert Randolph, peaked at No. 55. The second single off that album, "They Don't Understand", was a minor Top 40 hit on the country charts, and Top 20 on the Christian single charts. Sawyer Brown has released twenty studio albums, of which three have been certified gold in the United States for sales of 500,000 copies. More than 50 of their singles have entered the U.S. ''

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 ...

charts, including three Number One singles. Sawyer Brown also received a Horizon Award from the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...

in 1985, as well as a Vocal Group of the Year award in 1997 from the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

and five Vocal Band of The Year Awards from the TNN Music City News Country Awards. Sawyer Brown wrote "The Nebraska Song" in honor of Brook Berringer, a

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

quarterback who died in a plane crash on April 18, 1996. (The song was actually written before his death.) The song appears on the group's album ''

Six Days on the Road "Six Days on the Road" is an American song written by Earl Green and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio songwriter Carl Montgomery, made famous by country music singer Dave Dudley. The song was initially recorded by Paul Davis (not the same as the bett ...

''. Mark Miller also served as a pallbearer at Berringer's funeral. In 1998, the band appeared at the Unforgiven: In Your House Pay Per View and performed a lip synced version of "Some Girls Do" with

Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he both wrestles and serves as Director of Business Development. He is also ...

. In the early 2000s, Mark Miller formed Christian music label

Beach Street Records Beach Street Records is a part of Reunion Records, under the Provident Label Group. The label was founded in 2003, by Mark Miller, lead singer of the country band Sawyer Brown.Banks, Adelle M. (February 23, 2008). "Casting Crowns, in Tampa on Sunda ...

. One of the first acts he began producing for the label was

Casting Crowns Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian and Christian rock band which began in Daytona Beach, Florida. The band was formed in 1999 by lead vocalist Mark Hall. They moved to Stockbridge, Georgia, and more members joined. Some members of the ...

. In August 2021, bass guitarist Jim Scholten left Sawyer Brown in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

Discography

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

, - ,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, " All These Years" , Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ,

American Music Awards

, - ,

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, rowspan=3, Sawyer Brown , Favorite Country Band/Duo/Group Video Artist , , - ,

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, rowspan=2, Favorite Country Band/Duo/Group , , - ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Music City News Country Awards & TNN/Music City News Country Awards

, - , rowspan=2,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

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1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, , - ,

, rowspan=7, Vocal Band of the Year , , - ,

, , - ,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, , - ,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, , - ,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, , - ,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Academy of Country Music Awards

, - ,

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, , - , " This Time" , Video of the Year , , - ,

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, , - , " Drive Me Wild" , Video of the Year , , - , rowspan=2,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, rowspan=2, Sawyer Brown , Top Vocal Duo or Group of the Year , , - , Entertainer of the Year , , - ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, Sawyer Brown , Top Vocal Duo or Group of the Year ,

Country Music Association Awards

, - ,

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, rowspan=8, Sawyer Brown , Horizon Award , , - ,

, rowspan=7, Vocal Group of the Year , , - ,

, , - ,

References

External links

Official website
* {{Authority control Country music groups from Florida Musical groups established in 1981 Capitol Records artists Curb Records artists Beach Street Records artists Lyric Street Records artists