Ep. 35 - BILL ANDERSON ("Whiskey Lullaby")

In 1995, Billboard magazine listed the Top 20 countrysongs of the previous 35 years. Bill Anderson wrote four of those20 songs, and has continued writing them ever since, becoming theonly country songwriter to land a Top 40 hit in seven consecutivedecades. After signing with the Decca label in 1959, Andersonreleased 37 records as an artist that reached the Top 10 onBillboard’s Country singles chart - eight of which climbedto the #1 position. Though wildly successful as a performer, Billis also a prolific songwriter who penned most of his own hits,including the classics “Po Folks,” “Mama Sang a Song,” “8 X 10,”and “Still,” which was named Billboard magazine’s Song ofthe Year in 1963. His initial songwriting success began in 1958when Ray Price took “City Lights” to the top of the charts for 13weeks. The song became a standard that charted repeatedly in the1950s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. Similarly, his “Tips of My Fingers,”reached the Top 10 four different times with versions recorded byRoy Clark, Eddy Arnold, Steve Wariner, and Anderson himself. Billteamed with Roger Miller to co-write “When Two Worlds Collide,”which was a hit for Miller in 1961, Jim Reeves in 1969, and JerryLee Lewis in 1980. Other major hits from Bill Anderson’s vastcatalog include Lefty Frizzell’s “Saginaw, Michigan,” ConnieSmith’s “Once a Day,” and Porter Wagoner’s “Cold Hard Facts ofLife.” After a hiatus, Anderson returned to songwriting in the1990s, co-writing hits including Vince Gill’s “Which Bridge toCross (Which Bridge to Burn)," Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss’s CMASong of the Year “Whiskey Lullaby,” and George Strait’s CMA and ACMSong of the Year “Give It Away.” Bill was elected to the NashvilleSongwriters Hall of Fame in 1975, and inducted into the CountryMusic Hall of Fame in 2001. He has received multiple Grammynominations and more than 50 BMI performance awards. Anderson wasnamed BMI Country Songwriter of the Year six times, and was thefirst country writer ever honored with the prestigious BMI Iconaward in 2002. The Academy of Country Music similarly recognizedhim with their inaugural Poets Award in 2008. His autobiography,Whisperin' Bill Anderson: An Unprecedented Life in CountryMusic, will be released by the University of Georgia Press inSeptember, and is now available for pre-order atBillAnderson.com. 

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