EARLY YEARS
Byron Hill is the eldest of four children. He was raised in North Carolina in the 1950’s and 60’s by parents who loved music, and a father who often sang and played the guitar. The small community of South Fork, long since taken into the city limits of Winston-Salem, was the perfectly-imperfect setting for a family in the 1950’s and 60’s… a school, two churches, a volunteer fire department, a barber shop, a beauty shop, a doctor, a veterinarian, a drugstore, a grocery store, a couple of gas stations, and the freedom of innocent times for kids to run through fields, creeks, woods and fading farmland, while only a few miles from the textile mills, cigarette factories, and the location of the first Krispy Kreme doughnut shop in America. The chances were pretty good that someone in the family might find a way to put all that “Americana” into songs.

Both of Byron’s parents exposed him to many types of music around the home, everything from his mother’s old 78′s of “Route 66” by The King Cole Trio, “Peg O’ My Heart” by Ted Weems, “Ac-Cen-Tchu-Ate The Positive” by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters, “The ‘Possum Song” by Phil Harris and his Orchestra, Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra, Artie Shaw’s recordings of Cole Porter, Perry Como, Jo Stafford, “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)” by Tex Williams, and early LPs of musicals like Rhapsody In Blue, Swan Lake, Peter And The Wolf, and My Fair Lady, to his father’s liking for Tennessee Ernie Ford, Roger Miller, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Flatt and Scruggs, and Ray Charles. When Byron was about 10 years old, his parents bought him his first guitar, a Kay arch top. His father then began teaching him some old Carter Family songs. Later, a neighbor named Paul Huff, introduced Byron to some basic rock and roll riffs and popular music chords on the guitar. Byron’s uncle Don Naylor was a commercial advertising producer for McCann Erickson and a former radio personality at WGST and WAGA in Atlanta. Don encouraged Byron to record a few of his earliest songs on a portable tape recorder that Don used at work. 

“When I was about 16 years old, we wore Johnny Cash’s records out around our house. My Dad sat me down one day and asked me to listen to the great Kris Kristofferson song ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’ from Johnny Cash’s The Johnny Cash Show album. Though I had been writing bits and pieces of songs many years earlier, that is the song that started me on the path of being a real songwriter, a professional songwriter. I loved the song. Kristofferson’s description of that Sunday morning showed me that a song could be far more than something for people to sing along with, that you could actually paint a picture with words. So, aside from the great artistry from that period, I was gaining an even greater admiration for the songwriters behind the hits.”

While attending college at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, Byron began picking and hanging out with other singer/songwriter friends and eventually began to perform occasionally at the ASU student center “coffee house”. During his freshman year, he became friends with fellow dorm-mate Liston Smith, who introduced Byron to other styles of picking, in particular… the music of Doc Watson. Byron and Liston performed at ASU a few times together. In 1972, Byron teamed up with Gene Wooten (known in college as “Ken” Wooten) and began performing bluegrass around the Boone, NC area, including a regular gig at the Village Inn (now called the 4 Seasons at Beech) in Beech Mountain. Gene and Byron often joined in with other local talented pickers in the area, performing at fire halls, clogging and square dances, and other local events. Gene would eventually move to Nashville, and after landing a job Wilma Lee Cooper, he fast became a regular on the Grand Ole Opry. Gene’s work as a dobro player took him on the road and in the studio with numerous well known Bluegrass stars including the Osborne Brothers and Del and Ronnie McCoury. 

By 1971, Byron was already writing songs, but still learning the craft. “Dad and I seemed to always connect with great songs. I remember in the winter of 1973, I had dropped out of college for a while, and went to work at Hanes Dye & Finishing Company, a huge, cavernous post-Civil War era textile mill in my hometown. Early one very cold and dark winter morning, Dad was driving me to work. We were listening to the radio.  A new recording by Charlie Rich came on. It was ‘The Most Beautiful Girl in the World’. I think both of us reached for the volume knob at the same time to turn it up. I had never heard such a lush and haunting melody on Country radio. It absolutely gave us both goose bumps. What a song! I have always remembered that moment.”

“Great songs and records have always affected me that way…I can always remember where I was the first time I heard them. Many years earlier about 1964 I remember first hearing Petula Clark’s ‘Downtown’ while riding in the car with my mother on Country Club Road in Winston-Salem. It was raining and I was watching the droplets roll down the car window. And, of course I will always remember hearing ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ by the Beatles for the first time on a transistor radio, probably the same radio I first heard ‘This Diamond Ring’ by Gary Lewis and the Playboys.”

EARLY PERFORMING/SIGHTS ON NASHVILLE
“In 1975 I was in a little trio called Red Cloud, which consisted of me on guitar and vocals, Myra Holder on vocals and percussion instruments, and Bruce Doub on bass. We were locally popular at a couple of clubs including Aliza’s Cafe (on Tate Street) in Greensboro, and the Town Lounge (on Hawthorne  Road, later became the Rose & Thistle) in Winston-Salem, and traveled to gigs around the state at various venues including The Barnacle (boat bar) at Atlantic Beach, NC, The Village Inn (now the 4 Seasons At Beech) at Beech Mountain, NC, St. Andrews College in Laurinburg, NC and a couple of local fair gigs. We played a lot of obscure and original material, so the work was hard and the money was very limited. Towards the end of our run we added a fiddle player (and Wake Forest student) named John Yaskin.”

“I knew I needed demos of my songs, and I’d been writing and recording some in Pfafftown, NC with my West Forsyth High School marching band buddy, Wade Long. We both purchased identical Sharp “sound on sound” reel-to-reel tape recorders and started overdubbing and ping-ponging the heck out of songs we were creating. Between his house and my little apartment studio on N. Sunset Dr. in Winston-Salem, we created some very noisy but cool demos. I also did my demos at several other hometown friends’ houses . . . Jeff Ayers (then lead singer for Rhythm Method band, 3rd version) had some good gear and we brought in some great players at his house for some pretty cool sessions, including another high school friend, local guitarist extraordinaire Sam Moss. I remember we’d all have to stop everything to watch the then popular TV series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. I also recorded some demos with Gene Holder (Myra’s husband then, and bassist with the dBs) who had a new multitrack Teac, and I did a few demos at a local jingle studio (I wish I could remember the guy’s name). I’d also heard of and met Chris Stamey, a well-known musician/producer type guy in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro, NC area, and took a trip over there to record some with Chris in Don Dixon’s home studio called Winkleworks. I distinctly remember driving my old blue Rambler American to Carrboro and back home to Winston-Salem leaving a trail of dirty blue smoke the entire 90 miles along I-40, stopping a couple of times to put more motor oil in the engine.”

“Aside from writing some with Wade Long and Jeff Ayers, I also had the pleasure of writing a few songs in my early years with some other hometown area musicians . . . Terry Van Richardson (aka Van Ardson), Greg Saylor (local bluegrass bassist), William Garrett (who later became an engineer with The Cars’ studio in Boston, and then to Sony Publishing NYC, and now a very busy in-house producer with Spotify), T. Michael Coleman (longtime bassist with Doc and Merle Watson), Evie Yancey, and Len ‘Davis’ Tucker. David Niblock (a gifted musician who later became a well-regarded attorney in town) and I also played a few gigs together. Various local music influences came my way as well, like people I met from my time working in a music store and a record store to just special friends who were particularly enlightened. One person who greatly broadened my horizons was a longtime friend from my hometown named Sonny Thomas, who would host musical gatherings at his home go on to be one of the co-founders of the highly respected Fiddle & Bow Society, a group of musically dedicated folks who since 1981 have presented monthly shows of touring acoustic talent at various local venues in the Winston-Salem area.”

“Around this same time I was mailing my demos to almost any publishers who were mentioned in ‘Songwriter Magazine’ (this was an earlier Songwriter Magazine published in California by Flip Black, and not the same as the currently published American Songwriter Magazine). The very first publisher to show any interest in my songs was a guy named John Garrity of Wyandotte Music in Kansas City, MO. Then in 1976, after a positive response from publisher Jonathan Stone of ATV Music, I began making regular trips to Nashville. ATV Music at that time was up and running as one of the hippest new companies on Music Row, managed by Charlie Williams and Jonathan Stone under the guidance of West Coast Country Music legend Cliffie Stone and Sam Trust. The company was well stocked with gems from the catalogs of Bobby Bare’s company Return Music, and Paul and George Richey’s Brougham Hall Music catalog. Included were the songs of Billy Joe Shaver, Bobby Bare, Charlie Williams, Fred Koller, Shel Silverstein, Chuck Howard, Sr., Roger Bowling, Larry Butler, Jan Crutchfield, Frank Dycus, Glenn Tubb, Rayburn Anthony, Jake Mayer, Roger Murrah, as well as songs of many other great songwriters from Nashville and around the world.”

Jonathan Stone called Byron again in late 1977 suggesting that he move to Nashville and consider taking a tape copy job at ATV Music that they expected soon to become available. “Some especially helpful people in Nashville who encouraged me to make the move were Dianne Petty (then with ABC Music, who introduced me to Blake Mevis), Merlin Littlefield (who signed me to ASCAP after offering me a cold Coke in his office one very hot day when I was pounding the streets with my songs), and Mae Axton (whose door was always open and was like a mother/advisor to many of us songwriters who came to town). There was also Henry Strzelecki (the famous bassist/producer who showed interest in my songs during one of my first trips to Nashville), David Conrad (then with Pi-Gem Music, from my hometown), Tony Brown (another hometown contact, who had been on the road playing piano with Elvis and The Stamps and agreed to meet with me one day at Norbert Putnam’s Danor Music offices), who were all kind to meet with me during my early visits.”

Since leaving college and to make ends meet, Byron had worked a few full-time jobs in his hometown including the textile mill job at Hanes Dye & Finishing, then later found a hospital pharmacy tech job at Baptist Hospital. Eventually he had made the firm decision to pursue music and songwriting and took a guitar instructor job at a music store (Dixie Music), where he worked for three years, building an impressive list of acoustic guitar students. In preparation to move to Nashville, there were a couple of other part-time side-jobs he took at a record store (Ridgetop Records), and as a delivery truck driver (for a wine distributor) to reach his goal of saving enough money to make the move. Byron finally moved to Nashville in May of 1978.

FIRST PUBLISHING DEAL/ATV MUSIC NASHVILLE
“Like every songwriter who moves to Nashville, you come here with your influences. I was very fortunate to have come up in the business during a time when songs were king. The idea, the lyric, and the melody were regarded as very important parts of a recording. There was an ever constant emphasis placed on the song being better than adequate. I can’t stress enough how important my first job working in the tape copy room at ATV was for me. It allowed me to meet and learn from some of the best, and take what little I knew to the next level by being around the writers who really knew how to write songs. The songwriters who were in Nashville then lived by some pretty tough standards, and the Nashville publishers were real ‘song’ people who had ‘ears’….we used to say. It was a time when publishers, producers, record company people, and artists could hear a song and make decisions on it, even when presented with just a guitar/vocal. I’ve witnessed the country market go through several shallow cycles where the quality of the ‘song’ was less important than the ‘recording’ but you can always count on this market returning to what really matters….the ‘song’. This was firmly taught in Songwriting 101 when I rolled into town. I’m not sure I can ever repay Jonathan Stone for the great path of schooling and opportunity that he set me on, but I truly I owe my entire career to Jon’s open door, early encouragement, and belief in what I could do.”

“After working at ATV for a couple of weeks for free (imagine that!…they wouldn’t let me pay them!), I landed the job as a ‘tape copy guy’, taking the place of a songwriter I admired, Jake Mayer, who had finally written his way out of his job with a little masterpiece recorded by Charlie Rich called ‘I Still Believe In Love’. It was a terrific opportunity for me to perfect my songwriting. I wanted to write songs that were great, but I saw quickly that I didn’t have a total grasp of it. All the sudden, the hundred and fifty or so songs I had brought to Nashville seemed nearly worthless to me. The bar was raised. The catalog at ATV Nashville was so full of gems that I knew by default I would be ‘going to school’ on it. While I was the tape copy guy, Jonathan Stone hooked me up with my first professional level collaborator, Dennis Knutson, a very experienced writer who was moving to Nashville after many years of writing for Buck Owens. Dennis was a blue-collar genius, and thanks to his patience, he was someone I learned a heck of a lot from. I eventually hooked up to write with other writers of all types, including Arthur Kent (co-writer of ‘The End Of The World’), Bernie Wayne (co-writer of ‘There She Is, Miss America’), Roger Bowling (co-writer of ‘Lucille’, ‘Blanket On The Ground’, and ‘Coward Of The County’).”

“ATV at that time was a happening place, with a parade of top writers and artists coming through the doors all the time. It was a hangout. Writers would hang out late, and it was not unusual for a little craziness to be going on. Those were different times. I remember Billy Joe Shaver bringing his young son into my tape room for me to record Billy’s work tapes with his son on guitar. It was at the old 45 Music Square West office. My tape copy room was in the front corner office on the ground level. We set up a couple of microphones in the room and went straight to two-track. Billy Joe’s son was an unusually good guitarist for his age, and was only about 16 or 17 years old then. Eddy Shaver went on to form the band Shaver, with his dad, but tragically passed away in December 2000.”

Byron’s work at ATV evolved into more than he originally bargained for. “Moving up the business ladder at ATV was not as much my choosing as it was something that I was asked to do. In the summer of 1978, there was a huge shakeup at ATV Nashville. Everyone except me (as the tape copy guy), and the new General Manager Gerry Teifer was leaving the company. Jonathan Stone was headed back to Los Angeles, and some of the writers were not renewing their deals. It was complete change, literally only Gerry Teifer, his new administrative assistant Jean Williams, and me. I was only 24 years old when Gerry asked me if I could plug songs. Most famous songwriters pitched their songs, but some like Jerome Kern and George Gershwin had at one time also been staff ‘song pluggers’ who pitched catalog, so I quickly dismissed the reservations I had about it and immediately started contacting some of the writers who had great songs in the ATV catalog, asking for lists of their favorites and worked from there forward. Gerry Teifer became an important mentor to me. With his vast music business experience he instilled in me many of the values that guide my creative and business decisions still today.”

Byron’s first songwriting deal at ATV was signed in September of 1978 while he continued to plug the ATV catalog. “Around the beginning of 1979 we moved into larger offices at 1217 16th Avenue South (former offices of Tammy Wynette) and set to work building ATV Music Nashville back up. We expanded the office staff with the addition of songwriter J. Remington Wilde in the tape copy room, added a receptionist, and got back into action. We pitched the existing catalog hard, searched for any songs from the other worldwide offices that we thought might fit Nashville, and started building our writing staff by renewing and extending deals with Dennis Knutson, Roger Bowling, Billy Joe Shaver, and J. Remington Wilde. Later we added writers such as Dan Tyler, Mitch Johnson, Eddie Burton, Jerry Barlow, Brent Maher, Robert White Johnson, Jimmy Lee Sloas, Rick Schulman (aka Rick Finney), Ronnie Hughes, Mike Reid, Micki Fuhrman, Denny Henson, Max D. Barnes, Mentor Williams and others, while maintaining close working relationships with other Country songwriters who were associated with our past catalog or from whom we could get great songs. These writers included Bobby Bare, Paul Richey, George Richey, Frank Dycus, Roger Murrah, Billy Joe Shaver, Chick Rains, Byron Walls, Robert John Jones, Carol Anderson, Mary Beth Anderson, Rob Parsons, David Hodges, Jimmy Hodges, Mike Dekle, Carol Chase, Joe Nixon, Michael Kosser, Larry Bastian, Cyril Rawson, and some of the Los Angeles ATV Music songwriters like Jerry Fuller, Harry Shannon, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Steve Stone, John Parker, and others. We added a small four-track studio on the second floor, and started bringing in audio engineering interns from Middle Tennessee State University to help (among the earliest were Barry Sanders, Clarke Schleicher who went on to engineer many of the Dixie Chicks’ recordings, and Paul Goldberg). Songwriter J. Remington Wilde moved into the third floor apartment. ATV became a busy place. A couple of times we added extra song pluggers to the staff, including the very talented songwriter Jim Rushing (who wanted a plugging gig and a salary for a while after running his own company), and later Bernie Walters. After the day’s work of meetings and pitching songs was done, the lights remained on in the studio and offices well into the night. We worked hard, we worked late, we had a lot of fun, and ATV Music again became a recognized force on Music Row.”

“By late 1982, some unexpected changes happened. Gerry Teifer had been transferred to New York and I became General Manager of ATV Nashville. Within the next year, the company was under the control of Australian financier, Robert Holmes a Court, who had been purchasing shares in ATV since 1981. It was the beginning of the end for ATV Music as a working company worldwide. Budgets were cut, very few writer deals were renewed, many offices were closed, and the company was being prepared for an eventual bigger sale. Knowing the fate of ATV, and frustrated with a very tight budget, I decided to leave the company in 1984 to continue my work independently as a publisher, producer, and songwriter. The company stayed intact for a little longer, but those of us who knew what was going on, were seeking other gigs or starting our own companies. It was the end of a great thing for all of us. I remember when entertainer Michael Jackson eventually purchased the company in 1985 for $47 million dollars, and how shocked I was to hear that Jackson intended to just box up the catalog and close down all remaining offices…offices which housed a historic catalog and great staffs of people in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Rome, and Sydney, many of whom I had met, visited, and become friends with. It was one of my first hard-learned lessons in the music business….that nothing lasts forever. I remember some parting words that Sam Trust had for me when I left, stating something to the effect of ‘knowing what all is going on with the company, I can’t say that I blame you for leaving’. Ironically, less than year after I’d left and after everyone was finally let go, I walked into our old ATV offices in Nashville with some investment partners to purchase the building. Eerily, the copy machine was still on and little had changed. The building had been simply abandoned by the staffers, but the furniture, the equipment, the studio gear, and many of the files were undisturbed. Even the awards were still on the walls.”

During his years at ATV, the hits happened for Byron as a writer with “Out Of Your Mind” by Joe Sun (1979, co-written with Dennis Knutson), “Pickin’ Up Strangers” by Johnny Lee (1981), and many other cuts and several smaller singles along the way, including George Strait’s first #1 “Fool Hearted Memory” (1982, co-written with Blake Mevis). Many other early cuts followed, including recordings by artists such as Juice Newton, Conway Twitty, Mel McDaniel, Ricky Skaggs, Margo Smith, and Reba McEntire. Some of Byron’s most prolific co-writing partnerships were started during this time, with Athens, GA songwriter Mike Dekle, and with UK songwriter Tony Hiller.

LATER DEALS/MILESTONES
In 1984, Byron began four years as an independent songwriter/publisher, having hits with Ed Bruce’s #4 single “Nights” (1985, co-written with Tony Hiller), and the Ray Charles’ single and album title “The Pages Of My Mind” (1986, co-written with J. Remington Wilde), as well as songs recorded by Kenny Rogers, Anne Murray, George Jones, Tom Wopat, and others.

Since then, Byron has been a staff songwriter for various other companies including Collins Music (now Sony/ATV Music), MCA Music Publishing (now Universal Music Publishing), Reba McEntire’s Starstruck Writers Group (now Warner Chappell Music), Almo-Irving Music (now Universal Music Publishing), and Dan Hodges Music LLC. Throughout the years of publishing deals, his hits continued with Alabama’s #1 single “Born Country” (1992, co-written with John Schweers); “Alright Already” by Larry Stewart (1993, co-written with JB Rudd); “Lifestyles Of The Not So Rich And Famous” by Tracy Byrd (1994, co-written with Wayne Tester); “High-Tech Redneck” by George Jones (1994, co-written with Zack Turner); “Over You” by Anne Murray (1995, co-written with Tony Hiller); “If I Was A Drinkin’ Man” by Neal McCoy (1996, co-written with JB Rudd); “Politics, Religion And Her” by Sammy Kershaw (1997, co-written with Tony Martin); “The Strong One” by Mila Mason (1998, co-written with Cyril Rawson); “Nothing On But The Radio” by Gary Allan (2004, co-written with Odie Blackmon and Brice Long); “Size Matters” by Joe Nichols (2006, co-written with Mike Dekle); and numerous top-10 hits in Canada recorded by multiple CCMA award-winning Canadian artist Gord Bamford, including “Blame It On That Red Dress” (2007), “Stayed Til Two” (2008), and “Postcard From Pasadena” (2008), “Drinkin’ Buddy” (2009), “Day Job” (2010), “Put Some Alcohol On it (2010), “My Daughter’s Father” (2010), “Hank Williams Lonesome” (2011), “Is It Friday Yet” (2012), “Disappearing Tail Lights” (2012), “Must Be A Woman” (2013), and “When Your Lips Are So Close” (2013). Other artists who have recorded Byron’s songs include Connie Britton & Charles Esten (from the Nashville series on CMT), Jason Aldean, Mark Chesnutt, Randy Travis, Keith Whitley, Rhonda Vincent, Lonesome River Band, Don Williams, Dionne Warwick, Doc & Merle Watson, Trace Adkins, Asleep At The Wheel, Drew Fish, Curtis Grimes, John Michael Montgomery, Toby Keith, Gene Watson, Porter Wagoner, Joe Diffie, Hank Thompson, Bill Medley, Blackhawk, Highway 101, Jeff Bates, Rhett Akins, The Oak Ridge Boys, Ricky Van Shelton, The Whites, The Seekers, Charley Pride, Hey Romeo, Mo Pitney, The Grascals, The Seldom Scene, and many others.

Byron’s songs have generated more than 900 recordings, and have been released on 103 industry certified Gold and Platinum albums and singles. His songs have earned ten ASCAP awards, thirty-six U.S. and Canadian top-ten chart hits, and have become hits in many other worldwide markets. To date, eighteen members of the Country Music Hall Of Fame have recorded Byron’s songs. His songs have been recorded throughout the world, released by artists in England, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Holland, Canada, Australia, and South Africa. Many of his songs have been used in feature films, television network shows and syndicated television and radio programming including: Nashville (TV Series-CMT), The Farmer Wants A Wife (Fremantle Australia), Tiger King 2 (Netflix), American Idol (Fox), America’s Most Talented Kids (NBC), America’s New Country, Austin City Limits, B.J. and the Bear, Inside Fame (CMT), Insider (CMT), Power Picks (CMT) Country Music Across America (GAC), Country Music Spotlight, Feed The Children (AOL-TV), Joe Nichols’ My Military Diary (GAC), Later With Greg Kinnear (NBC), Live From The Bluebird Cafe (Turner Network), Music With Altitude (CMT), Most Wanted Live (CMT), On E! (E!), Santa Barbara (NBC), Video Joint, World News Now (ABC), Fox Sports Network (FSN), Live At The House Of Blues (GAC), NFL on Fox (Fox), The Singing Bee (NBC), Cribs (CMT), The Fall Guy (ABC), Car Talk (NPR), Words & Music (WTVF), Headline Country (GAC), The Statler Brothers Show (TNN), Burn Notice (USA Network), The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet (Fox), Knight Rider (NBC), Club Dance (TNN), Celebrities Offstage (TNN, Spike TV), Hee Haw (CBS), Crook & Chase (TNN), Nashville Now (TNN), Music City Tonight (TNN), ABC In-Concert (ABC), Path To Stardom – Hot Country Nights (NBC), The Country Music Awards, The Academy of Country Music Awards, The Canadian Country Music Awards (CBC), Talent Roundup (CMT), Opry Live (GAC), At The Ryman, CMT Greatest Moments (CMT), I Love The 90s (VH-1), The Greatest – 40 Days That Shaped Country Music (CMT), FLW Outdoors, Foxworthy’s Big Night Out (CMT), Behind The Hits (AFN-Armed Forces Network), Coast To Coast (Paramount Pictures), The Exterminator (Avco-Embassy Films), The Soldier (Embassy Pictures), Pink Cadillac (Warner Brothers Pictures), Elvis: Up Close and Personal with Sonny West (Rochford Films), Gord Bamford’s Christmas In Canada (CMT), George Strait: The Cowboy Rides Away (CMT), Lake Effects (Hallmark/Life Out Loud Films), Dark Was The Night (Amazon Prime), Stories In Rhyme: The Songwriter of the Flora-Bama Lounge (Lynn Rabren & Company), A Nashville Wish (Vision Films Inc.), The Thief of Shooting Stars (Horcynus Productions/Italy).

In 1993 and 1994, Byron was asked to be Director of A&R for BNA Entertainment Nashville (one of the BMG companies under the same ownership as Arista, and RCA Records) working with a roster of great artists that included Marc Beeson, Lisa Stewart, Zack Turner and Tim Nichols (as the duo Turner Nichols), Lorrie Morgan, John Anderson, Doug Supernaw, and Kim Hill. Byron tells the story… “My friend Gary Overton recommended the job to me, so I met with Ric Pepin (then Vice President and General Manager of BNA Entertainment). The next day Ric and I flew to NY for me to interview with Joe Galante and by the end of the day I had accepted the job as a BMG employee. From day-one, the moment I stepped into the job, the fate of BNA and the entire roster was a foregone conclusion. It was frustrating for me and the artists. Joe Galante was making plans to return to Nashville, and there would soon be many changes that would affect everyone at all the BMG Nashville labels, BNA, Arista, and RCA. I learned a lot at BNA, and had the pleasure of getting to know some great people. Label head Ric Pepin and his entire staff were some of the most hard-working people I’d ever met in this town. Working with great creative producers like James Stroud, Richard Landis, Keith Stegall, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Randy Scruggs, Emory Gordy Jr., and Barry Beckett, often made my job look easy. I especially enjoyed getting to know head of promotion Chuck Thagard and his incredible staff. Though I found label work particularly challenging compared to the world of music publishing, the project that I enjoyed the most while at BNA was A&R-ing the Keith Whitley ‘Tribute Album’, working with all the guest artists, producer Randy Scruggs, and Lorrie Morgan. I had remained under contract with MCA Music as a songwriter during this time, but had somewhat neglected my songwriting while at BNA, so when my stint at BNA was over, I simply walked back across the alley to MCA Music, and the more familiar and less-stressful world of writing songs, publishing, and artist development.”

Byron’s work as a producer includes charted singles and albums on Jim Seal (1980, NSD Records), Roger Bowling (1981-1982, Mercury Records, Avco Embassy Pictures, select recordings only), Renate Kern (1981, Ariola Records/Germany), Kathy Mattea (1983-1984, Mercury Records), Nancy Wood (1983-1984, Lovelight Records/Germany), Richard Gachner (1984, WEA/France, Polydor Records/France), Marie Bottrell (1991, BMG Records/Canada, Cardinal Records/Canada, select recordings only), three albums on multi-platinum artist Gary Allan (1996-2000, Decca Records), Gil Grand (1998, Monument Records/USA & Canada), CCMA 2011 & 2012 Group Of The Year Hey Romeo (2010-2012, Royalty Records/Canada), the sister duo Missouri Mile (BHP Recordings/USA), The Boom Chucka Boys (2012, Sony Music/Canada), Mike Dekle (1982-2009, Parlay Records, a longtime producer/co-writer association which has resulted in five albums, chart singles, and many covered songs), Michael Cosner (BHP Recordings/USA), five albums for multiple CCMA Award winning Canadian country artist Gord Bamford (2004-2014, Royalty Records/Canada, Sony Music/Canada), and Tyler Resch (BHP Recordings/USA). Byron was awarded the CCMA Producer Of The Year award for 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2013. Other more recent projects include an album on Tyler Resch (2018, and ongoing), a special ragtime/vaudeville vintage style project on The Changeouts (2021), and more.

In 2018, Byron was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Byron is a member of the following music industry organizations: the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI, lifetime member, presently on the Board of Directors), The Recording Academy (NARAS, lifetime member), the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP, since 1975), the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (NaSHOF, inducted 2018), the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), the Country Music Association (CMA), The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (supporting member),  the Americana Music Association (AMA), the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), The Fiddle & Bow Society (in NC), Leadership Music (class of 2008), the American Federation of Musicians (AFofM, as a producer), and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists/Screen Actors Guild (AFTRA/SAG, lifetime member).

Byron performs as a singer/songwriter in and around Nashville and on the road. Byron’s albums are available online at most online outlets, and at Byron’s website at www.byronhillmusic.com.