Billy Sherrill
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Billy Sherrill | |
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Birth name | Billy Norris Sherrill |
Born | countrypolitan | November 5, 1936
Occupation(s) | Record producer, arranger, songwriter |
Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger associated with
Early years
Born in the town of
Early career
In 1962, Sherrill moved to Nashville, where he was hired by Sam Phillips to manage the Nashville studios of Sun Records.[1] When Sun sold its Nashville studio the following year, Sherrill moved to Epic Records, as an in-house producer. Given his limited exposure to country music, his production incorporated many elements of pop music production, creating his own style of sweeping productions, influenced by Phil Spector, Don Law, and Chet Atkins. His sound has often been described as a country equivalent to Spector's Wall of Sound. He chose many of his artists' songs, rewriting them in some cases to suit the singer's style.[2]
His first success was with
Work with Tammy Wynette and George Jones
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Sherrill's association with Wynette began in 1966, when the then-unknown performer auditioned for him. He signed Wynette to Epic, and involved himself in nearly every aspect of the aspiring singer's career, helping her choose her stage name. He suggested she adopt the name "Tammy". He helped her to develop her stage persona, and co-wrote many of her early country hits, including "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad", "
By 1971, George Jones had arrived at Epic Records. Jones' recording contract with Musicor Records was still in force in 1971 but a desire between both Jones and his then-wife, Tammy Wynette, to record together led to a buy-out of Jones' contract with Musicor. Soon after, Jones and Wynette began recording together with Sherrill as their producer. Sherrill often played double duty as a songwriter, usually in tandem with Norro Wilson and George Richey. Richey became the future husband of Wynette. Although Billboard chart statistics show that Sherrill had his biggest commercial successes with artists Wynette and Charlie Rich, with Jones Sherrill had his longest association. Sherrill's biggest hit with Jones was "He Stopped Loving Her Today".
In the 1989 video documentary, Same Ole Me, Sherrill recalled a heated exchange during one recording session when Jones insisted on adapting the melody from "Help Me Make It Through the Night": "I said 'That's not the melody!' and he said "Yeah, but it's a better melody.' I said 'It might be — Kristofferson would think so too, it's his melody!'" In the same documentary, Sherrill claimed that Jones was in such bad physical shape during this period that "the recitation was recorded 18 months after the first verse was" and added that the last words Jones said about "He Stopped Loving Her Today" was "Nobody'll buy that morbid son of a bitch" (These comments were repeated during the Ken Burns Country Music series in 2019 though Sherrill had died four years earlier.). Sherrill, once he vacated as the head of CBS/Epic, continued to produce the recordings of Jones throughout the 1980s. Sherrill appeared in the video of Jones' "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" (1985), acting as the bus-driver. Sherrill is credited as Jones record producer for 19 years, 1971–1990.
When news surfaced that the couple were in divorce proceedings, which would eventually last quite a few months, the song that capitalized on this the most was "
In 1991, when Jones left for MCA Records and recorded under Kyle Lehning it was the first time in 20 years that someone other than Sherrill was in the control booth. Lehning became Jones' third record producer. Pappy Daily had produced all of Jones recordings during 1954–1971, and then Sherrill took over the role for the next 19 years. During Jones' stay at MCA almost every album would feature a different producer. Norro Wilson and Buddy Cannon show up more often during the MCA years as Jones' record producers.
Work with Charlie Rich
Another artist who benefited greatly from his association with Sherrill was
Later career
By 1975, Sherrill was regarded as "the most reliable hitmaker in Nashville".
In 1980, he was appointed Vice President of CBS in Nashville. After leaving to become an independent producer, he returned in 1986 before retiring a few years later.[2]
Influence and awards
In the 1981 made-for-television movie based on Tammy Wynette's book Stand By Your Man, Sherrill was portrayed by James Hampton.
In 2008, Billy Sherrill was inducted into the
.Death
Sherrill died after a short illness on August 4, 2015, at the age of 78. He was survived by Charlene, his wife of 54 years, and their daughter.[8]
References
- ^ ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
- ^ a b c d e f g Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic. Retrieved 6 August 2015
- ISBN 0-89820-100-4.
- ^ Songs written by Billy Sherrill, MusicVf.com. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 137.
- ^ Lewis, Randy (December 10, 2013). "'Lost' Early-'80s Johnny Cash Album Slated for March 25 Release". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Daniel Kreps (2008-10-29). "Kid Rock, Keith Richards Help Induct Crickets, Muscle Shoals Into Musicians Hall of Fame | Music News". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2017-10-08. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
- ^ "Legendary producer Billy Sherrill dies". The Tennessean. 4 August 2015.
External links
- Alamhof.org
- Billy Sherrill at IMDb
- Nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com
- Mmguide.musicmatch.com
- Billy Sherrill discography at Discogs
- Billy Sherrill at Find a Grave