Mel Tillis

Mel moved to Nashville as an aspiring songwriter in 1957 after Webb Pierce had a Top 5 hit with “I’m Tired,” a song Mel says Webb first heard Ray Price singing backstage at the Opry.

Soon, Mel was writing hits for all sorts of singers: Bobby Bare (“Detroit City”), Ray Price (“One More Time,” “Heart Over Mind,” “Burning Memories”), Jack Greene (“All the Time”), Kenny Rogers and the First Edition (“Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town”), and Ricky Skaggs (“Honey (Open That Door)”).

At the same time, Mel launched a recording career that has yielded 67 Top 40 hits, including chart-toppers like his own version of “I Ain’t Never,” “Coca Cola Cowboy,” “Good Woman Blues,” and “Southern Rains.” In 1972, the Country Music Association named him Entertainer of the Year.

Mel also stepped out of the country music world and tried his hand at acting. He appeared in several television movies and the feature films like Every Which Way But Loose, W.W. & The Dixie Dance Kings, and Uphill All the Way.

Today, new generations continue to discover the songs of the man who received the Academy of Country Music’s Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award in 2010: Opry member Alison Krauss and Robert Plant revived his “Stick With Me Baby,” originally written for the Everly Brothers, for their Grammy-winning Raising Sand album, and Jamey Johnson covered “Mental Revenge” for his 2010 album, The Guitar Song.