Trent Willmon (born March 6, 1973) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

artist,

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

, and producer. Active since 1998 as a songwriter in

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 ...

, Willmon was signed to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in 2004. He released two albums for the label (2004's '' Trent Willmon'' and 2006's '' A Little More Livin''') and charted six singles on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts before exiting Columbia in 2006. A third album, entitled ''

Broken In ''Broken In'' is the third album by American country music singer Trent Willmon. It was released in February 2008 on the independent Compadre Records label. None of its singles—the title track, "There Is a God" or "Cold Beer and a Fishing Pole"� ...

'', was released on the independent Compadre label in February 2008.

Musical career

Willmon was born in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Co ...

and was raised on a ranch near

Afton, Texas Afton is an unincorporated community in northern Dickens County, Texas, United States. History A post office was established in the community under the name Beckton in 1893, and the name was changed to Afton in 1900. The present name is derived ...

. After 2 years at South Plains College as an Animal Science major, he left to pursue music, playing with several Texas- based bands, including playing bass for bluegrass legend Karl Shiflett. In 1999 he signed a staff writing deal with SeaGayle Music. One of his first cuts as a songwriter was "It Doesn't Mean I Don't Love You", which he co-wrote with

Bobby Pinson Bobby Olen Pinson (born August 10, 1972) is an American country music artist. Signed to RCA Nashville in 2005, Pinson made his debut that year with his album '' Man Like Me''. Its lead-off single, "Don't Ask Me How I Know", peaked at No. ...

and Jeremy Spillman. It was recorded by the duo

McHayes McHayes was an American country music duo established in 2003 by Wade Hayes (guitar, vocals) and Mark McClurg (fiddle, vocals). Prior to the duo's foundation, Hayes was a solo artist, and McClurg was a member of Alan Jackson's road band, The Strayh ...

(which comprised 1990s country singer

Wade Hayes Tony Wade Hayes (born April 20, 1969) is an American country music artist. Signed to Columbia Records in 1994, he made his debut that year with his gold-certified album ''Old Enough to Know Better''. Its title track, which served as his debut s ...

and fiddler Mark McClurg), and reached 41 on the country charts in 2003. Willmon signed with

in 2004. His self-titled debut album was released that year, and it produced four singles. The first of these was "Beer Man", which peaked at 30 on the country charts. Following it were "Dixie Rose Deluxe's Honky-Tonk, Feed Store, Gun Shop, Used Car, Beer, Bait, BBQ, Barber Shop, Laundromat" at 36, "Home Sweet Holiday Inn" at 49, and finally "The Good Life" at 38. A second album, '' A Little More Livin''', followed in 2006. Although its lead-off single "On Again Tonight" became his highest chart entry at 27, the follow-up "So Am I" peaked at 59, and Willmon exited Columbia's roster. Willmon signed with

Compadre Records Compadre Records is a Houston-based independent record label that specializes in roots music. Compadre's artists include Billy Joe Shaver, Honeybrowne, Suzy Bogguss Susan Kay Bogguss (born December 30, 1956) is an American country music sin ...

in 2007. His third album, ''

'', was released on February 26, 2008. The album produced three singles in "There Is a God", the title track, and "Cold Beer and a Fishing Pole", though none of these entered the charts. In early 2008, he also made his acting debut in the film ''Palo Pinto Gold'', a cowboy film also starring

Roy Clark Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer and musician. He is best known for having hosted ''Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark was an important and influen ...

and

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, ...

. Willmon also co-wrote

Montgomery Gentry Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo founded by singers Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, both Kentucky natives. They began performing together in the 1990s as part of two different bands with Montgomery's brother, John Michael Mo ...

's 2009 single " Back When I Knew It All" and

Steel Magnolia Steel Magnolia was an American country music duo that won season two of the television talent show '' Can You Duet''. The duo consisted of Meghan Linsey and her fiance, Joshua Scott Jones. After becoming the top winner on the show, the duo sign ...

's 2010 single "

Keep On Lovin' You "Keep On Lovin' You" is a debut song recorded by American country music duo Steel Magnolia, which was written by Chris Stapleton and Trent Willmon. It was released in September 2009 as the first single from the album '' Steel Magnolia''. The ...

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Music videos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willmon, Trent 1973 births American country singer-songwriters Columbia Records artists Living people Musicians from Amarillo, Texas Singer-songwriters from Texas 21st-century American singers Country musicians from Texas