John Scott Sherrill

John Scott Sherrill is an American songwriter whose work is primarily in the field of country music. He has written songs for such artists as John Anderson, Brooks & Dunn, Jimmy Buffett (Steamer), Johnny Lee, George Strait, Steve Wariner, Patty Loveless, Josh Turner, Waylon Jennings, Alison Krauss, Peter Wolf, Mick Jagger, Michael McDonald and Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.^[1] He is the son of Christian writers John and Elizabeth Sherrill. In the 1980s, Sherrill recorded with Bob DiPiero and Dennis Robbins as the band Billy Hill.

Biography

John Scott Sherrill is a Country Music Award-winning American songwriter with a career spanning over 30 years. He is well known for his lyrics about love, loss and the human condition. Sherrill has had 11 #1s and numerous other hits. His career began in the 1970s and has been quite eclectic, as he has worked with a diverse group of artists.

Early Life

Sherrill was raised in Chappaqua, a hamlet of New Castle, NY and in Uganda and Bolivia by parents who were book and magazine writers. He was drawn at an early age to folk, country and rock music. He played coffeehouses in Boston and also spent time as a musician in Amsterdam.

Career

While attending Franconia College in New Hampshire, Sherrill was part of a commune and band called The Family of Pan. After several members ran off to join the Guru Maharaj-ji, Sherrill headed to California, stopping in Nashville long enough to visit Rob Galbraith, a Combine Music Publishing writer recommended to him by Harry Chapin’s brother Steve. His brother was a fraternity brother of Scott Siman. Siman would record demos on Sherrill while in college and help introduce him to the community at Combine Music. After Combine was sold in 1986, Sherrill and Bob DiPiero, a fellow Combine Music writer, formed the writing core of Little Big Town. After ten years of success it too was sold. Big Yellow Dog and Sony/ATV Tree have been the publishers of his songs this century.

Sherrill was a founding member of Billy Hill, a band previously called John Scott Sherrill and The Wolves In Cheap Clothing, which was signed to Warner Bros. in 1988. Though the Nashville group is memorable it was short lived.

Today Sherrill is known for his song-writing career primarily in Country Music. His breakthrough hit was Johnny Lee’s “When You Fall In Love” which he co-wrote with his friend, Steve Earle. This was also Earle’s first songwriting hit.

He has also written for Brooks & Dunn, George Strait, Alison Krauss, John Anderson, Peter Wolf, Mindy Smith, Patty Loveless and Mick Jagger, among many others, and co-written with Michael McDonald, Steve Cropper, Peter Frampton and Dave Loggins. Songs written by Sherrill that topped the charts include Anderson’s “Wild And Blue”, Loveless’ “Nothin’ But The Wheel”, John Michael Montgomery’s “No Man’s Land”, Brooks & Dunn’s “How Long Gone”, Steve Wariner’s “Some Fools Never Learn” and Neal McCoy’s “No Doubt About It”. Alison Krauss released “If I Didn’t Know Any Better” and Josh Turner took “ Would You Go With Me” to the top of the charts. Sherrill also penned the title cut for Dierks Bentley’s breakthrough CD “Modern Day Drifter.” Three well-known Country Music publishers such as Combine Music, Little Big Town Music as well as Big Yellow Dog Music have published the aforementioned as well as many of Sherrill’s other songs.

Back 40 Entertainment now handles Sherrill’s music publishing.

Awards

Other Awards

TRIPLE PLAY Award (Three #1 songs in one year)

2007 ACM Song The Year Nominee for "Would You Go With Me"

2006, 2008, 2011 and 2013 Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame Nominee

GOLD & PLATINUM SELLING SONGS

References

External links

• http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=411700714
• http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/335087
• http://www.nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/2013/2013-nominees-for-the-nashville-songwriters-hall-of-fame-announced.aspx
• http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/20001004_bmi_stands_amazed_at_48th_annual_country_awards Because You Loved Me
• http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/20061122would_you_go_with_me_would_you_go_with_me_crew_celebrates_trip_u Would You Go With Me