Toby Keith smiles as he fields questions from the press at BMI. (Photo by John Russell)

Three-time BMI Songwriter of the Year Toby Keith remains one of the most successful musical entertainers of his time. With nearly 35 million albums sold, he has been deluged with critical praise and peer approval in the form of awards and he's consistently been one of the top-drawing live performers in the nation. His current hit single, "She's A Hottie," is featured as the only newly-produced track on his latest two-disc release, Toby Keith's 35 Biggest Hits, which compiles the smash hits spanning his career.

Local and national media outlets made themselves comfortable in BMI's conference room. (Photo by John Russell)

BMI's Jody Williams (left) presented a slew of Million-Air certificates to Toby Keith (right). (Photo by John Russell)

Pictured are (l to r): manager TK Kimbrell, CMT's Brian Phillips, Toby Keith, BMI's Jody Williams and Paradigm's Curt Motley. (Photo by Alan Mayor)

This free show will be held at The Stage (412 Broadway, Nashville), 6:00-8:00 PM (Ages 21 & up).

Influential radio and television personality Ralph Emery will be inducted in the "Non-Performer" category. From his night shift and Grand Ole Opry announcing duties on WSM/Nashville radio to the 30 year run of his popular morning television program "The Ralph Emery Show," Emery emerged as one of the main voices and faces of country music. His role as confidant and friend to country's stars coupled with his sheer longevity has established Emery as a true music historian as well: his first book, Memories: The Autobiography of Ralph Emery, resided on the New York Times best seller list for over six months. Radio and Records named Ralph Emery "Country Radio's Greatest Personality" in 2000.

Simple numbers may help tell part of Vince Gill's story: 16 albums, 17 Grammys and two BMI Songwriter of the Year titles are scattered throughout his career, illustrating his longevity in a music world sometimes eager to move on. Gill's sheer strength as a songwriter, producer, vocalist and instrumentalist tells the rest of his story. Throughout commercial successes and decades, he somehow remains staunchly true to his roots, yet artistically exciting and experimental. It's been four long years since Vince Gill's last album, and the already platinum These Days temporarily satisfies music lovers' seemingly inexhaustible desire for more, firmly solidifying Gill's place among the giants of any genre.

Legendary singer/songwriter Mel Tillis boasts 18 BMI Country Awards, two BMI Pop Awards and five million-performance songs in a catalog stacked with hits. As a recording artist, Tillis has scored 36 Top 10 singles, six of which peaked at No. 1. Multiple acting credits from both film and television color Tillis' resume, from guest appearances on TV's "Love Boat" and "The Dukes of Hazzard" to roles in major productions including "Every Which Way But Loose" (1979) with Clint Eastwood and "Smokey and the Bandit II" (1980) with Burt Reynolds, Jerry Reed, Sally Field and Jackie Gleason. Named the CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1976, Tillis is also a member of the Nashville Songwriters International Hall of Fame. This June, Tillis became a cast member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Emery, Gill and Tillis will be officially inducted this October during the traditional Medallion Ceremony at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

In the highly competitive world of music publishing, it can sometimes be difficult to find accord on even the most minor question.

Not so when the subject is Roger Murrah. In addition to a songwriting career filled with hits for such luminaries as Waylon Jennings, Alan Jackson and Alabama, Murrah’s Nashville-based indie publisher Murrah Music has become one of the country scene’s most important publishers — what Glenn Middleworth, Vice President of Creative for Famous Music-Nashville, calls “perhaps the best independent publishing house in town.”

Adds Karen Conrad, longtime Nashville publisher and consultant to BMG Songs Nashville: “Roger is one of those rare people who has great musical talent and business organizational skills. His contribution to the Nashville music industry as a songwriter and a mentor to other writers has been tremendous.”

“Roger has been a mentor and friend and taught me the difference between a good song and a great song,” says writer/producer Keith Stegall, now the Chief Creative Officer at Broken Bow Records. “Lyrically speaking, he taught me that less is always more.”

Murrah’s own modest demeanor belies his considerable achievements, which includes two consecutive terms as president of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), a term as chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Foundation (NSF, where he currently serves as chairman), a BMI Songwriter of the Year citation, and, for Al Jarreau’s “We’re in This Love Together,” a BMI Million-Air Award recognizing the hit’s one million-plus radio performances.

Not bad for someone who just wanted to be a singer.

Born in Athens, Ala., Murrah taught himself how to play music on a piano his father had traded a pick-up truck for. “I think he felt it was good to have around us — he traded trucks, cattle, everything, but that was definitely his most unusual trade,” he recalls with a laugh. “I learned just enough to write, and since I’d learned by ear I always kept it simple, didn’t ever really get too complicated.”

While serving in the Army in 1968, Murrah signed on as a staff writer with Muscle Shoals music publisher/producer Rick Hall. Following his military service, he and some partners opened a recording studio in Huntsville, Ala., ultimately forming a relationship with industry vet Bobby Bare; by 1972 Murrah had relocated to Nashville to sign with Bare’s Return Music, and a year later had married the former Kitty Goodman and notched his first nationally charted song, “It’s Raining In Seattle,” recorded by Wynn Stewart.

“I actually got into the business to be a singer,” Murrah notes. “I kind of backed into songwriting, but that took off once I was in Nashville. I was successful enough with it to not have to worry about my singing career. In the end it worked out for the best, because I wasn’t really cut out to be on the road all the time.”

Murrah’s ascent as a songwriter started gradually, but quickly picked up speed. “At that stage in your career the least things can be very exciting to you, giving you hope to tide you over for a couple of years,” he says. “It was a long and drawn out process, but it was all necessary to learn how to write. I was also pitching a lot of songs, which I enjoyed.”

So much so, in fact, that by 1987 he was co-publishing his own material with Tom Collins Music. “One day I stood on Tom’s front porch and, both figuratively and literally, looked up and down Music Row and nothing appealed to me that would work. So I decided to step out on a limb and try it myself. It was,” he says, “the best move I ever made in my career.”

Within two years of its 1990 inception, Murrah Music was named Billboard’s Independent Publisher of the Year, due in no small part to Murrah’s own songwriting for such acts as Mel Tillis, Conway Twitty and the Oak Ridge Boys, as well as by such developing writers as Rachel Thibodeau, Mike Mobley, Neal Coty and Jon Henderson.

Murrah’s interest in working with new talent — more than a few Nashville figures describe him as a “mentor” — is something that comes naturally. “I love helping to train new writers and help them come along. Sharing their first success gives me an opportunity to go through that again.”

Such an approach is what separates the independents from the majors, he says. “Big corporations are not so interested in training writers; they want and to some degree need to hit the ground earning. As a result, it’s difficult to impossible for large corporations to maintain a close personal relationship with writers, especially young writers. It’s more about the bottom line and the money. They become bankers, bankrolling writers.

“But a writer needs to feel there’s a contact there, there’s warm bodies. Being a writer myself, I can help them grow quicker, by working closely and helping to nurture them.”

Currently, Murrah Music represents 10 writers besides Murrah himself, and administers about 10,000 copyrights. The company is always on the lookout for catalog acquisitions, and represents songs by Mark Alan Springer, Phillip White, Jimmy Melton and Pat Terry.

And as he continues to work tirelessly with the NSF, whose goal is to build a Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame (he hopes to make a “major announcement” later this year), Murrah’s personality and reputation continue to impress others in the community.

“Roger has always been one of my favorite writers and has written some of my all-time favorite songs,” says Renee Bell, Senior VP, A&R, RCA Label Group, who estimates she’s known Murrah for nearly two decades. “He is an incredible mentor for writers, and this is why he has had one of the most successful independent publishing companies in town over the past 16 years.”

“I used to pop over to Tom Collins Music, which was right across the street from where I worked in the mailroom at RCA Records, back in the early ’80s,” says Famous’ Middleworth. “I loved to hang out and listen to Roger's new songs and Tom's stories and perspective about the publishing biz. I think that's when I decided I wanted to get into publishing.”

“When a songwriter becomes a publisher, very often he doesn’t stick with it and he goes back to being a songwriter,” Murrah reflects. “But I always enjoyed exercising both sides of my brain, as it were: When I’m working the business side I give the creative side a rest, and when I work the creative side I give the business side a rest.”

[bottom] Tom Annastas, Frances Preston, Kenny Loggins, Lari White, Suzy Bogguss, [top] Chuck Cannon, Jeffrey Steele, Tom Gross

A record-setting crowd of nearly 400 people gathered for the 10th anniversary of the signature fund-raiser for the T.J. Martell Foundation for Cancer, Leukemia and AIDS Research. The event directly supports the Foundation's Frances Williams Preston Laboratories at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, a facility named for BMI President & CEO Frances Preston.

Tim Rushlow, Trick Pony's Ira Dean, CMT's Lance Smith, Trick Pony's Keith Burns and Heidi Newfield, Bill Johnson

Ski races, outdoor activities like snowshoeing and sleigh rides, all-star concerts, informal late-night guitar pulls, a Celebrity Happy Hour fund- raising competition and much more gave participants entertainment options virtually round-the-clock. However, the cause behind the event was never far from mind.

VICC's Dr. Hal Moses, BMI's Frances Preston, and Tom Gross toast CITR's 10th Anniversary

"One in two of us in this room will face cancer in our lifetimes, so this is really important," Gary Chapman said, coaxing members of the audience to fill a passing pitcher with cash during the Celebrity Happy Hour. During this popular event, teams of singers, songwriters and others work hard to raise the most money in a two-hour period in five watering holes downtown; this year, they brought in more than $200,000 in exchange for singing favorite songs, signing autographs and posing for photos.

Raymond Hicks, Mimi Wallace, BMI's Joyce Rice, Deborah Allen, Vanderbilt's Dr. Wright Pinson

Country in the Rockies (CITR) kicked off Tuesday, Jan. 27 with an opening guitar pull featuring Gary Morris, Chuck Cannon, Lari White, Suzy Bogguss, Mandy Barnett, Jessi Alexander and Jon Randall. The following night, Paul Overstreet, Kathy Mattea, Trick Pony, Mel Tillis and his band The Statesiders continued the music in the Club Med Theater. The all-star finale on Jan. 31 featured Lorrie Morgan, Kenny Loggins, Robert Earl Keen and BMI Country Songwriter of the Year Jeffrey Steele. Other participating artists were Sherrie Austin, Deborah Allen, BlackHawk's Henry Paul, Dave Robbins and Anthony Crawford, Doug Crider, Dean Dillon, Bob DiPiero, Will Rambeaux, Tim Rushlow and western painter Kelly Donovan. Champion freestyle skier Wayne Wong returned to offer expert tips for Saturday's ski race and Tom Gross marked his 10th year as emcee of the week's activities.

VICC's Dr. Hal Moses, Orrin Ingram, Lee Ann Summers, VICC's Dr. Ray DuBois

Earning the nickname "King of Crested Butte," Aaron Barker was back for another year of hosting late-night guitar pulls. Barker also led a large group of artists in taking the music off the mountain and into the historic mining town of Crested Butte, where they performed concerts especially for the locals to thank them for their hospitality. "We look forward to this every year," 24-year Crested Butte resident Joe Snyder said. "The music is fabulous, and we are so grateful for the work that this event supports," he continued, noting that his wife, Brenda, is a two-year survivor of ovarian cancer.

Jessi Alexander, Stan Moress, Mandy Barnett, Jon Randall

In addition to a record-setting total number of participants, the event also drew a record 182 first-time guests. Suzy Bogguss, a veteran of six CITRs, said she was especially pleased to see so many new faces. "The cameraderie of this event and getting to know people from different worlds is what makes this event so special and so unique," she said.

Wayne Wong

Lorrie Morgan and Sammy Kershaw

Among other highlights of CITR X:

-- Barker's wife Theresa organized silent and live auctions of artwork, guitars and other instruments, jewelry, clothing, sports and celebrity memorabilia, and trips. Among the auction tidbits: a special CITR-edition Yamaha guitar was claimed for $4,000 by a Crested Butte resident on the eve of his wedding.

-- Mel Tillis shared funny stories with guests and fellow artists throughout the week, and even took up a new assignment as roving television reporter for Great American County, recording the festivities during Celebrity Happy Hour.

Mel Tillis, Chuck Cannon, BMI's Harry Warner

Carolyn Corlew, Charlie Daniels, Tom Gross

-- Charlie Daniels shared inspirational words about his experience as a cancer survivor and thanked everyone for their support of cancer research. Daniels, who headlined one of the concerts at CITR 7, was diagnosed with prostate cancer the following year and received his treatment at Vanderbilt-Ingram.

-- More than two dozen doctors, scientists and other staff from Vanderbilt were on hand to meet with supporters and share information about how money raised through Country in the Rockies is put to use in Nashville. The Vanderbilt team also presented a video highlighting accomplishments of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center - accomplishments made possible with the support of CITR, the Martell Foundation and others. The video was produced by Jackson/Kent, with Jon Kent as creative director and Vali Forrister as executive producer.

Sherrie Austin and Will Rambeaux

"We are so grateful for the support we receive from everyone who has participated in Country in the Rockies over the years," said Dr. Hal Moses, director of Vanderbilt-Ingram and the Preston Laboratories. "I'm looking forward to all the fun we're going to have and the progress we are going to make together over the next 10 years."

Dean Dillon, Aaron Barker, Gary Chapman

In addition to the ever-expanding list of guests and participating artists, the number of sponsors of the event grows each year as well. This year, sponsors included BMI, Club Med, CMT, Coca-Cola, Ortho-Biotech, the Smith-Free Group, AmSouth, Bank of America, Yamaha, Baldwin, Gibson, Gurley & Co, the Gary Group, American Airlines, Fischer, Leki, Cowboys & Indians, Dasani, Jack Daniel's, Hall Booth Smith & Slover, Travis Television, Icue Productions, Audio Visual Projection Services, and Country Music Across America.

Kelly Donovan with auction winners Paul & Julie Overstreet

Dates for 2005 have already been confirmed as February 1-6 at Club Med Crested Butte.

Photos by Alan Mayor

Among those in the lineup are BMI talents Jeffrey Steele, Harley Allen, Stephony Smith, D. Vincent Williams, Sara Evans, Jeff Bates, Lee Thomas Miller, Richie McDonald of Lonestar, Merle Kilgore, Brenda Lee and Delbert McClinton.

In a career that spanned six decades, Howard penned more than 100 Top 10 hits, including such classics as "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down," "I Fall To Pieces," "Heartaches By The Number," "Tiger By The Tail," "Busted," "Why Not Me," "Above And Beyond," "Somebody Should Leave" and "Blame It On Your Heart." A BMI writer for over 45 years, Harlan Howard provided hit songs to several generations of stars, from Kitty Wells to Patty Loveless, from Patsy Cline to Reba McEntire, from Mel Tillis to Pam Tillis. A who's-who of the country music world has sung his compositions: George Jones, Buck Owens, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, Glen Campbell, the Judds, Jimmy Dickens, Ray Price and Conway Twitty, to name just a few. But his songs have also enjoyed R&B and pop interpretations by a variety of artists such as Ray Charles, Joe Simon, Shirley Caesar, Brenda Lee, The Kingston Trio, Kay Starr and Burl Ives.

Howard was inducted to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973 and, in 1997, to both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Among his numerous accolades were 45 BMI Country Awards, four BMI Pop Awards and two BMI R&B Awards. His presence on Music Row was such that that for a dozen years (1983-95) the community celebrated the "Harlan Howard Birthday Bash," an all-star concert staged in the BMI Nashville parking lot as a benefit for songwriter organizations. Declining health forced him to discontinue these events after 1995, but, with his wife Melanie, he continued to run his song publishing business. Howard died in 2002.

Tickets for the 2003 Harlan Howard Birthday Bash are on sale now at all Ticketmaster at 615/255-9600 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. General Admission tickets are $25. In addition, premium tables for $1,000 can be purchased through Harlan Howard Songs at 615/321-9098. The table for 10 includes a stainless steel flask etched with Harlan Howard's familiar face, Birthday Bash memorabilia journals, table service and commemorative poster signed by the performers. For more information, please visit www.harlanhoward.com.]]> 2003-09-14T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233082 Artists, Anderson, Bill, Charles, Ray, Cline, Patsy, Cochran, Hank, Evans, Sara, Howard, Harlan, Jennings, Waylon, Kristofferson, Kris, lang, k.d., Loveless, Patty, Nelson, Willie, Neville, Aaron, Parton, Dolly, Preston, Frances, Smith, Connie, Tillis, Mel, Wagoner, Porter, Williams, Hank, Awards, Musical Styles, Country, Pop, R&B, BMI Country Awards, BMI Pop Awards By Robert K. Oermann

Legendary BMI writer Harlan Howard, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, died suddenly on Sunday evening , March 3, in Nashville. He was 74.

photo: Beth Gwinn

In a career that spanned six decades, Howard penned more than 100 Top 10 hits. The man behind such timeless songs as "I Fall To Pieces," "Busted," "I've Got a Tiger By the Tail" and "Heartaches By the Number" was once dubbed "the Irving Berlin of country music" because of the size of his catalog of classics. A BMI writer for over 45 years, Harlan Howard provided hit songs to several generations of stars, from Kitty Wells to Patty Loveless, from Patsy Cline to Reba McEntire, from Mel Tillis to Pam Tillis. A who's-who of the country music world has sung his compositions: ? George Jones, Buck Owens, Waylon Jenning, Dolly Parton, Glen Campbell, the Judds, Jimmy Dickens, Ray Price and Conway Twitty, to name just a few. But his songs have also enjoyed R&B and pop interpretations by a variety of artists such as Ray Charles, Joe Simon, Shirley Caesar, Brenda Lee, The Kingston Trio, Kay Starr and Burl Ives.

At the 1994 BMI Country Awards: Patty Loveless, Kostas, Sony/Tree's Donna Hilley, BMI's Roger Sovine, Harlan Howard, and BMI"s Frances Preston celebrate Song of the Year "Blame It On Your Heart"

Among his numerous accolades were 45 BMI Country Awards, 4 BMI Pop Awards and two BMI R&B Awards. BMI President & CEO Frances Preston, who met Howard almost 40 years ago, remembered, "When Harlan was inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame several years ago, he said he was surprised he was being honored by people in New York when he so rarely crossed Tennessee’s Cumberland River. Harlan himself may have stayed close to his Nashville home, but his songs were his ambassadors to the rest of the world and the world loved him for it.

Greeting Roger Miller and Waylon Jennings at the 1990 Harlan Howard Birthday Bash

"He understood the spirit of creative collaboration and was willing to share his melodies and his words with other songwriters -- those who were his contemporaries and those who came to "the master" to learn the art. He was generous with his gifts and another generation of successful songwriters is grateful to him for showing them the way.

"Harlan was my friend and I will miss him," concluded Preston.

With co-host Tammy Wynette and Mark Knopfler at the 1990 Birthday Bash

Harlan Perry Howard was born September 8, 1927 in Detroit, Michigan. After a difficult childhood in a number of foster homes, he dropped out of school in the ninth grade and became a manual laborer. After military service, he settled in Los Angeles in 1955 and began driving a forklift in a printing factory.

At the 1961 BMI Country Awards: BMI's Frances Preston and Robert J. Burton, Harlan Howard, Joe Allison and Buck Owens

As a boy, he'd been captivated by the music of Ernest Tubb and had begun writing song lyrics. In California, he socialized with other country-music lovers; one of his early writing partners was Buck Owens. His first publishing deal came courtesy of cowboy stars Tex Ritter and Johnny Bond.

With Buck Owens at the 1998 Birthday Bash

Grand Ole Opry star Charlie Walker launched Howard's hit writing career in 1958 with "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down." The following year, "Heartaches B y the Number" topped both the country and the pop hit parades in versions by Ray Price and Guy Mitchell.

After writing for Kitty Wells, Warren Smith and Jan Howard (his wife from 1957 to 1967), Harlan Howard moved to Nashville in June 1960. Along with fellow BMI writers Bill Anderson, Boudleaux & Felice Bryant, Willie Nelson, Mel Tillis, Danny Dill, Marijohn Wilkin, John D. Loudermilk and Roger Miller, he was among the first full-time songwriting professionals in the city.

Working at Pamper Music, he collaborated on songs with Hank Cochran, with whom he cowrote Patsy Cline's "I Fall To Pieces" and George Jones' "You Comb Her Hair." At one point in 1961 Harlan Howard had 15 songs on the country popularity charts at the same time , a feat not equaled since. BMI gave him 10 songwriting awards that year of the 39 songs on the "most performed" list and he was named Billboard magazine's songwriter of the year in 1962 and 1963.

Prominence as a writer led to recording his own albums in 1961, 1965, 1967 and 1971. But the finest collection of his songs came with a 1967 tribute LP by Waylon Jennings, titled Waylon Sings Ol' Harlan. During his career, Jennings recorded more than 40 of Howard's songs, far more than any other artist.

Howard was Jennings' songwriting mentor and his bonds with other artists were equally strong. Harlan Howard helped Bobby Bare obtain an RCA recording contract and lobbied for Conway Twitty's transition from teen pop idol to country superstar. He also opened doors on Music Row for current star Sara Evans.

Howard's peers began calling him "Mr. Songwriter" after Ray Charles won a Grammy Award with "Busted" in 1963. Originally recorded by Johnny Cash, that song is one of a number of Harlan Howard compositions that have been recorded multiple times. Others include "Life Turned Her That Way," "The Chokin' Kind," "Yours Love," "Above and Beyond," "I Fall To Pieces," "The Key 's In the Mailbox" and "Too Many Rivers."

In 1982, Opry star John Conlee revived "Busted" and introduced "I Don' t Remember Loving You" and "Nothing Behind You (Nothing in Sight)". Thereafter, a new generation of Nashville stars began singing his songs. Reba McEntire ("Somebody Should Leave"), The Judds ("Why Not Me"), Highway 101 ("Somewhere Tonight") and others extended Howard's hit streak through the 1980s.

In the 1990s Pam Tillis ("Don't Tell Me What To Do"), Doug Stone ("These Lips Don' t Know How To Say Goodbye"), Collin Raye ("All I Can Be") and more had hits with Harlan Howard songs. Trisha Yearwood and Aaron Neville won a Grammy Award for their 1994 revival of "I Fall To Pieces." At the 1994 BMI Country Awards banquet, Howard's "Blame It O n Your Heart," co-written with Kostas and recorded by Patty Loveless, was named BMI Country Song of the Year.

His presence on Music Row was such that that for a dozen years (1983-95 ) the community celebrated the "Harlan Howard Birthday Bash," an all-star concert staged in the BMI Nashville parking lot as a benefit for songwriter organizations. Declining health forced him to discontinue these events after 1995. He and fifth wife Melanie Howard continued to run his song publishing business, however, and they aided such developing writers as Jackson Leap and Bobbie Cryner.

Harlan Howard was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973 and, in 1997, both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Survivors, in addition to his wife, Melanie Howard, are sons Perry Howard (BMI Nashville Associate Director, Writer/Publisher Relations) and Carter "Corky" Howard, daughters Clementine Howard and Jennifer Howard Carmella, granddaughter Michele Carmella, and brother Milton Howard.

Visitation at Nashville's Roesch-Patton-Austin-Bracey & Charlton funeral home (1715 Broadway) is scheduled for Tuesday, March 5 from 11am - 2pm and 6pm - 8pm and again on Wednesday, March 6 from 11am - 2pm. There will be a private family service on Wednesday.

A memorial service has been set for Tuesday, March 19th, from 2-4 p.m. at the Ryman Auditorium.

The Howard family has requested memorial donations to The Harlan Howard Music Scholarship Fund, SunTrust Bank, 1206 17th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37212. (reference account number 7021676536).

Harlan Howard's Hit Songs

1958: "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down" ? Charlie Walker
1959: "Heartaches by the Number" ? Ray Price
"Heartaches by the Number" ? Guy Mitchell "Mommy for a Day" ? Kitty Wells
1960: "Excuse Me (I Think I've Got a Heartache)" ? Buck Owens
"Above and Beyond" ? Buck Owens
"I Don't Believe I'll Fall in Love Today" ? Warren Smith
"The One You Slip Around With" ? Jan Howard
"I Wish I Could Fall in Love Today" ? Ray Price
"The Everglades" ? The Kingston Trio
"The Key's in the Mailbox" ? Freddie Hart
1961: "I Fall to Pieces" ? Patsy Cline
"Heartbreak U.S.A." ? Kitty Wells
"Under the Influence of Love" ? Buck Owens
"Foolin' Around" ? Buck Owens
"Foolin' Around" ? Kay Starr
"The Blizzard" ? Jim Reeves
"Odds and Ends" ? Warren Smith
"Three Steps to the Phone" ? George Hamilton IV
1962: "Call Me Mr. In-Between" ? Burl Ives
"Second Hand Rose (Second Hand Heart)" ? Roy Drusky
"Mary Ann Regrets" ? Burl Ives
"Sally Was a Good Old Girl" ? Hank Cochran
1963: "Busted" ? Johnny Cash
"Busted" ? Ray Charles
"You Comb Her Hair" ? George Jones
"You Took Her Off My Hands" ? Ray Price
"Don't Call Me from a Honky-Tonk" ? Johnny & Jonie Mosby
"Another Bridge to Burn" ? Jimmy Dickens
"The Deepening Snow" ? Johnny Darrell
1964: "I Won't Forget You" ? Hank Snow
"Your Heart Turned Left" ? George Jones
"Go Cat Go" ? Norma Jean
"Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming In" ? Johnny & Jonie Mosby
"It Takes One to Know One" ? Jimmy Martin
"Life Turned Her That Way" ? Jimmy Dickens
1965: "Too Many Rivers" ? Brenda Lee
"I've Got a Tiger by the Tail" ? Buck Owens
"I Wouldn't Buy a Used Car from Him" ? Norma Jean
"Someone's Gotta Cry" ? Jean Shepard
"She's Gone, Gone, Gone" ? Lefty Frizzell
"What Makes a Man Wander?" ? Jan Howard
"Take Him Fishing" ? Tex Ritter
"Meanwhile Down at Joe's" ? Kitty Wells
1966: "The Hurtin's All Over" ? Connie Smith
"The Minute Men" ? Stonewall Jackson
"Evil on Your Mind" ? Jan Howard
"Streets of Baltimore" ? Bobby Bare
"Look Into My Teardrops" ? Conway Twitty
"Time to Bum Again" ? Waylon Jennings
"Green River" ? Waylon Jennings
"It's All Over But the Crying" ? Kitty Wells
"I've Cried a Mile" ? Hank Snow
1967: "Heaven Help the Working Girl" ? Norma Jean
"The Chokin' Kind" ? Waylon Jennings
"Life Turned Her That Way" ? Mel Tillis
"Any Old Way You Do" ? Jan Howard
1968: "It's All Over But the Crying" ? Hank Williams Jr.
"He's a Good Old Boy" ? Arlene Hardin
"Baby Me, Baby" ? Johnny Duncan
"California Sunshine" ? Waylon Jennings
"Yours Love" ? Waylon Jennings
"I Wish I Felt This Way at Home" ? Dolly Parton
1969: "The Chokin' Kind" ?Joe Simon
"Yours Love" ? Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton
"Thinking �Bout You Babe" ? Billy Walker
"Odds and Ends" ? Tompall & The Glaser Brothers
1970: "Watermelon Time in Georgia" ? Lefty Frizzell
"She's a Little Bit Country" ? George Hamilton IV
1971: "Sunday Morning Christian" ? Harlan Howard
"He Called Me Baby" ? Candi Staton
1972: "The Key's in the Mailbox" ? Tony Booth
1973: "Streets of Baltimore" ? Gram Parsons
1974: "No Charge" ? Melba Montgomery
"She Called Me Baby" ? Charlie Rich
1975: "No Charge" ? Shirley Caesar
1978: "Toddy for the Body" ? Bobby Bare
1980: "Sally Was a Good Old Girl" ? Hank Cochran
"She's Gone, Gone, Gone" ? The New South
1981: "All Fall Down" ? Kris Kristofferson
1982: "Busted" ? John Conlee
"I Don't Remember Loving You" ? John Conlee
"Nothing Behind You (Nothing in Sight)" ? John Conlee
1984: "I Don't Know a Thing About Love" ? Conway Twitty
"You're a Hard Dog to Keep Under the Porch" ? Gail Davies
1985: "Why Not Me?" ? The Judds
"Somebody Should Leave" ? Reba McEntire
1987: "Somewhere Tonight" ? Highway 101
"Too Many Rivers" ? The Forester Sisters
"Never Mind" ? Nanci Griffith
1988: "Life Turned Her That Way" ? Ricky Van Shelton
"I Wish That I Could Fall in Love Today" ? Barbara Mandrell
"I'm Down to My Last Cigarette" ? k.d. lang
1989: "Above and Beyond" ? Rodney Crowell
"She's Gone, Gone, Gone" ? Glen Campbell
1991: "These Lips Don't Know How to Say Goodbye" ? Doug Stone
"Don't Tell Me What to Do" ? Pam Tillis
"The Key's in the Mailbox" ? Barbara Mandrell
"All I Can Be (Is a Sweet Memory)" ? Collin Raye
1993: "Blame it on Your Heart" ? Patty Loveless
1994: "I Fall to Pieces" ? Trisha Yearwood & Aaron Neville
1997: "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail" ? Sara Evans
1999: "I Fall to Pieces" ? LeAnn Rimes

Grouped at BMI Nashville for an extended-Tillis family portrait are mom Doris, Sonny, sister Hannah, BMI's Harry Warner, dad Mel, wife Madelyn, sister Cindy, former brother-in-law Bob DiPiero, and sister Carrie.

Sonny Tillis grew up around hit songs as the son of the CMA Award-winning entertainer and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member, and eventually performed at the Mel Tillis Theater in Branson, earning honors for Songwriter and Opening Act of the Year in 1990. Since then, he has written songs for Pam Tillis, Reba McEntire, Gene Watson, Trace Adkins, Ty Herndon and Suzy Bogguss. "When I Think About Angels" is the second hit for the Dean/O'Neal/Tillis team, which also collaborated on the Tammy Cochran single "So What."

BMI's Perry Howard, Warner-Tamerlane's Tim Wipperman, Roxie Dean, Sonny Tillis, Mercury's Luke Lewis, BMI's Harry Warner and Paul Corbin.