Jim McBride (songwriter)

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Jim McBride
Background information
Birth name	Jimmy Ray McBride
Born	Huntsville, Alabama U.S.
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Country, Gospel, and Bluegrass
Occupation(s)	Songwriter
Years active	1968-Present

Jim McBride (born April 28, 1947) is an American country music songwriter. He is well known as writer of several songs that have peaked within the top ten on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart.

His first song A Bridge That Just Won’t Burn released in October 1980 on MCA Records and it peaked at #3 on the Chart.^{[Charts 1]} His other top songs include Bet Your Heart on Me, Rose in Paradise, Someday, and Chattahoochee.^{[1][Charts 2][Charts 3][Charts 4][Charts 5]}

In 2017 he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

For a list of songs written by Jim McBride, go to Songs written by Jim McBride.

Biography[]

McBride was born as Jimmy Ray McBride on April 28, 1947, in Huntsville, Alabama to James Alvin and Helen Hillis McBride.^[2] McBride has two sons, Brent and Wes from his first marriage, which was to Linda Pierce. ^[3] McBride is currently married to Jeanne Ivey McBride; they were married in 2012 in Florida. ^[4]

Jim McBride wrote his first song when he was twelve and began writing at the age of eighteen. He spent his younger years reading about songs anywhere he could, especially in Country Song Roundup. In the 70's McBride took his songs to a friend in Nashville at Tree Publishing, Curly Putman, another songwriter from Alabama.^[2] His first song to chart was "We Let Love Fade Away" by Leon Everette, and co-written with Roger Murrah. It peaked on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart the week of February 3, 1979, at #89. ^{[Charts 6]}

McBride had other songs recorded by The Hagers, performers on Hee Haw. The Hagers would from time-to-time sing McBride's songs on Hee Haw.^[2]

McBride worked as a postman at the United States Post Office before moving to Nashville, TN in January 1981. According to American Songwriter, Jim told Roger Murrah and Bill Rice that if “” got cut as a single, he would quit his job and move to Nashville. Then, "Roger called me one night and said ‘I guess you need to pack your bags, we’ve got Conway’s next single.’ I quit the post office the day after Christmas, 1980 and then started work the first of January with Bill Rice and Jerry Foster." ^[2] “A Bridge That Just Won’t Burn” hit the Hot Country Songs chart the week of October 18, 1980, at #62. It stayed on the chart for seventeen consecutive weeks,and peaked at #3 the week of January 10, 1981. ^{[Charts 1]}

His first #1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs Chart was "Bet Your Heart on Me" recorded by Johnny Lee and released in September 1981. "Bet Your Heart on Me" hit Billboard's Hot Country Songs Chart at #55 the week of October 3, 1981, the Billboard Hot 100 Chart at #84 the following week, and the week of October 24th it hit the Top Country Albums chart at #55 and the Billboard 200 at #174. "Bet Your Heart on Me" peaked at #147 on the Billboard 200 the week of November 21, 1981, at #54 on the Hot 100 the week of November 14, 1981, at #9 on the Top Country Albums chart the week of December 12, 1981, and at #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart the week of December 5, 1981. "Bet Your Heart on Me" was on the Top Country Albums chart for 48 consecutive weeks (from Dec. 12, 1981 to Sept. 18, 1982), the Hot Country Songs chart for fifteen consecutive weeks (from Dec. 5, 1981 to Jan. 9, 1982), the Billboard 200 for eight weeks (from Oct. 24, 1981 to Dec. 12, 1981), and the Hot 100 for nine weeks (from Oct. 10, 1981 to Dec. 5, 1981). ^{[Charts 2]}

In March 1983, Alabama released McBride's song "Dixie Boy" on their album The Closer You Get (1993 CMA's Album of the Year). The album hit the Billboard Top Country Albums chart at #25 and the Billboard 200 chart at #29 the week of March 26, 1983. It hit the Top Current Albums chart the week of November 5, 1983 at #44, which was also its peak position. It also stayed on the Top Current Albums chart for thirty-eight weeks, the Billboard 200 chart for seventy weeks, and the Top Country Albums chart for 206 weeks (from March 26, 1983 to May 13, 1989), 181 of them consecutively (from March 26, 1983 to Sept. 6, 1986). The album peaked on the Billboard 200 chart at #10 the week of April 30, 1983. It also peaked on the Top Country Albums chart the week of April 16, 1983 at #1 and remained there for eleven consecutive weeks, hitting #1 again the week of July 16, 1983, again August 6, 1983 (remaining there for another four weeks), again the week of September 24, 1983, and once more the week of October 8, 1983 (remaining there for three weeks).^{[Charts 7]}

Then in 1987, Waylon Jennings released a song McBride co-wrote with Stewart Harris, "Rose in Paradise". "Rose in Paradise" would go on to hit #1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs Chart in April 1987; and #2 on the R&R Charts under the Country Music category for the year in 1987. "Rose in Paradise" hit the Hot Country Songs chart the week of January 31, 1987 at #51 and stayed on the chart for nineteen consecutive weeks (from Jan. 31, 1987 to June 6, 1987). ^{[Charts 3]} In that same year George Jones recorded a song McBride co-wrote with Keith Stegall, "I'm a Survivor" on the album titled Too Wild Too Long.

Also in 1987,^[5] Jim met Alan Jackson, who is the co-writer that McBride wrote with the most during the 90's and the 2000's.^[6]

Jackson and McBride wrote "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow" together, Jackson recorded it and it was released as a single in 1989, with another song written by the pair on the B-Side, "Short Sweet Ride". "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow" was also on Jackson's album, Here in the Real World, released in February 1990, along with two other songs written by McBride and Jackson. "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow" peaked at #2 ^{[Charts 8]} on the Billboard Chats: Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay both in December of 1990. While the album "Here in the Real World" peaked at #57 ^{[Charts 9]} on the Billboard Charts: Top Country Albums and Top Current Albums on May 25, 1991.

While writing with Jackson, McBride also had songs recorded by Jackson, Aaron Tippin, Travis Tritt, Conway Twitty, and Randy Travis. Then Jackson recorded a song he and McBride wrote together, "Someday", released as a single in 1991. In August 1991, "Someday", along with two more of McBride's songs were released on Jackson's album, Don't Rock the Jukebox. "Someday" hit the Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts at #50 the week of August 31, 1991. It peaked on both charts the week of November 9, 1991 at #1. "Someday" was on the charts for twenty consecutive weeks (from Aug. 31 to Jan. 11, 1992). ^{[Charts 4]}

Then in 1992, McBride and Jackson co-wrote "Chattahoochee", which was released on Jackson's album, A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'bout Love) along with three more songs written by the songwriting duo, "(Who Says) You Can't Have It All", "Tropical Depression" and "If It Ain't One Thing (It's You)". "Tropical Depression" peaked at #75 in August 1993 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs Chart. "(Who Says) You Can't Have It All" peaked at #4 in April on Billboard's Country Airplay Chart, and Hot Country Songs Chart. "Chattahoochee" hit the charts at #72 (Country Airplay & Hot Country Songs) the week of May 15, 1993. It was on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for twenty consecutive weeks (from July 10, 1993 through Nov. 20, 1993). "Chattahoochee" peaked at #1 on both the Country Airplay & Hot Country Songs the week of July 17, 1993 and stayed there for four consecutive weeks.^{[Charts 5] [Charts 10] [Charts 11]} The album, A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'bout Love) hit the charts on October 24, 1992 ranking #84 on Billboard 200, Top Album Sales, and Top Current Albums; in addition to #24 on Top Country Albums. The next week it jumped into #26 on the Billboard 200, Top Album Sales, and Top Current Albums and #10 on the Top Country Albums charts. It stayed on the Top Country Albums chart for 159 consecutive weeks (from Oct. 24, 1992 through Nov. 4, 1995), peaking at #1 the week of August 14, 1993 and staying in the #1 position for five consecutive weeks. It peaked on the Billboard 200, Top Album Sales, and Top Current Albums charts at #13 on the week of October 23, 1993.^{[Charts 12]}

In 2017, McBride was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.^[6]

Influences[]

Jim McBride grew up listening to the radio with his parents, especially his mother who always had it on. Jim's biggest influence was Hank Williams and singer/songwriter Don Gibson.^[6]

Awards, Inductions and Nominations[]

McBride has been awarded 14 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and BMI Awards.^[7]

Academy of Country Music Awards[]

1993[]

Academy of Country Music Awards. “Chattahoochee” by Alan Jackson, co-written with Jackson and released on May 17, 1993 on Arista Records won ^[8][9] Single Record of the Year and was nominated ^[8] for Song of the Year and Video of the Year.

Academy of Country Music Awards. Alan Jackson's album "A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'bout Love)" won ^[10][9] Album of the Year. The album was released on October 6, 1992, and produced by Keith Stegall with Scott Hendricks producing "Tonight I Climbed the Wall" on Arista Records. There were ten tracts on the album, of which McBride was the co-writer on four of them.^[11][12]

• "Chattahoochee" co-written with Jackson
• "(Who Says) You Can't Have It All" co-written with Jackson
• "Tropical Depression" co-written with Jackson and Charlie Craig
• "If It Ain't One Thing (It's You)" co-written with Jackson

2001[]

ACM Awards. "Angels in Waiting" by Tammy Cochran, co-written by Cochran & Stewart Harris, and produced by Blake Chancy on Epic Records was nominated ^[13] for both Song of the Year and Video of the Year.

Alabama Music Hall of Fame[]

1995[]

Alabama Music Hall of Fame, Creator's Award.^[14]

American Music Awards[]

1993[]

American Music Awards won Favorite Country Single for “Chattahoochee” and won Favorite Country Album for A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'bout Love).

ASCAP Awards[]

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (1914 - present).

1994[]

ASCAP Country Award, Song of the Year Award for "Chattahoochee".^[5]

Broadcast Music Country Awards[]

Broadcast Music, Inc. (1939 - present).

1981[]

BMI Country Award for "Bridge That Just Won't Burn", by Conway Twitty, co-written with Roger Murrah, and released in 1980 on Mercury Records.

1988[]

BMI Country Award for "Rose in Paradise", by Waylon Jennings, co-written with Stewart Harris, released on MCA records in 1987.

1996[]

BMI Country Award for "What I Meant to Say" by Wade Hayes, co-written with Don Cook and Sam Hogin, released on October 31, 1995 on Columbia records.

2002[]

BMI Country Award for "Angels in Waiting" by Tammy Cochran, co-written with Tammy Cochran and Stewart Harris, released on March 19, 2001, on Epic records.

Canadian Country Music Awards[]

2004[]

CCMA Awards, won Top Selling Album - Alan Jackson's Greatest Hits Volume II; a two disc set with 18 songs on the 1st disc and 8 songs on the 2nd. The second disc included "Tropical Depression", "Hole in the Wall", and "Buicks to the Moon".

Country Music Association Awards[]

1983

CMA Awards, Alabama's album The Closer You Get won Album of the Year.^[5] The other nominees were Highways & Heartaches by Ricky Skaggs, It Ain't Easy by Janie Fricke, Pancho & Lefty by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, and Wild and Blue by John Anderson. There were twelve tracks on the album including Jim McBride's song "Dixie Boy".

1990[]

CMA Awards, Alan Jackson's album "Here in the Real World" was nominated for Album of the Year. The album was released on February 27, 1990, and produced by Scott Hendricks and Keith Stegall on Arista Records. There were ten tracts on the album, of which McBride was the co-writer on three of them.

• "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow" co-written with Jackson
• "She Don't Get the Blues" co-written with Jackson
• "Short Sweet Ride" co-written with Jackson

1991[]

CMA Awards, Alan Jackson's album "Don't Rock the Jukebox" was nominated for Album of the Year. The album was released on May 14, 1991, and produced by Scott Hendricks and Keith Stegall on Arista Records. There were ten tracts on the album, of which McBride was the co-writer on three of them.

• "That's All I Need to Know" co-written with Jackson
• "Someday" co-written with Jackson
• "Just Playin' Possum" co-written with Jackson and Gary Overton

1993[]

CMA Awards, won Single of the Year for “Chattahoochee” by Alan Jackson, co-written with Jackson and released on May 17, 1993 on Arista Records.^[15]

CMA Awards, nominated for Song of the Year for “Chattahoochee” by Alan Jackson, co-written with Jackson and released on May 17, 1993 on Arista Records.^[15]

CMA Awards, Alan Jackson's album "A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'bout Love)" was nominated for Album of the Year. The album was released on October 6, 1992, and produced by Keith Stegall with Scott Hendricks producing "Tonight I Climbed the Wall" on Arista Records. There were ten tracts on the album, of which McBride was the co-writer on four of them.

• "Chattahoochee" co-written with Jackson
• "(Who Says) You Can't Have It All" co-written with Jackson
• "Tropical Depression" co-written with Jackson and Charlie Craig
• "If It Ain't One Thing (It's You)" co-written with Jackson

1994[]

CMA Awards, won Song of the Year for “Chattahoochee” by Alan Jackson, co-written with Jackson and released on May 17, 1993 on Arista Records. The other nominees were "Don't Take the Girl" by Tim McGraw, co-written by Larry W. Johnson & Craig Martin, "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" by Mary-Chapin Carpenter, co-written by Mary-Chapin Carpenter & Don Schlitz, "I Swear" by John Michael Montgomery, co-written by Gary Baker & Frank J. Myers, and "Little Rock" by Collin Raye, and written by Tom Douglas. ^[16]

CMA Awards, Alan Jackson's album "Who I Am" was nominated for Album of the Year. The album was released on June 28, 1994, and produced by Keith Stegall on Arista Records. There were thirteen tracts on the album, of which McBride was the co-writer on two of them.

• "Hole in the Wall" co-written with Jackson
• "If I Had You" co-written with Jackson

1995[]

CMA Awards, Alan Jackson's album "Who I Am" was nominated for Album of the Year.

1997[]

CMA Awards, Alan Jackson's album "Everything I Love" was nominated for Album of the Year. The album was released on October 29, 1996, and produced by Keith Stegall on Arista Records. There were ten tracts on the album, of which McBride was the co-writer on two of them.

• "Buicks to the Moon" co-written with Jackson
• "A House with No Curtains" co-written with Jackson

Country Music Television Music Awards[]

1967 - 1989 - Music City News Awards

1990 - 1999 - TNT Music City News Country Awards

2000 - Country Weekly Presents the TNN Music Awards

2001 - TNN & CMT Country Weekly Music Awards

2002 - 2004 - CMT Flameworthy Video Music Awards

2005 - present - CMT Music Awards

1991[]

TNN Music City News Awards, Here in the Real World, Album of the Year winner.

1992[]

TNN Music City News Awards, Don't Rock the Jukebox, Album of the Year winner.^[17]

1994[]

TNN Music City News Awards, "Chattahoochee" won Single of the Year and Video of the Year; and A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'Bout Love) won Album of the Year.

1995[]

TNN Music City News Country Awards, Who I Am, Album of the Year winner.

Grammy's[]

1994[]

Nominated for Best Country Song for "Chattahoochee".^[18]

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame[]

2017[]

Jim McBride was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on Oct. 23, 2017.^{[19][20][21][22][23][24]}

RIAA Certification[]

RIAA certification|RIAA certification
Artist	TITLE	FORMAT	RELEASE DATE	Gold (500,000 Units)	Platinum (1,000,000 Units)		Multi-Platinum (2,000,000 + Units)	IF Album (or Longform VIDEO), # of Songs written by Jim McBride / # of Songs on the Album	IF Album (or Longform VIDEO), songs written by Jim McBride
Alan Jackson[25]	Here In the Real World	Album	2/27/1990	9/12/1990	3/12/1991	2x	8/10/1994	3 / 10	"Chasin' That Neon Rainbow"
									"She Don't Get the Blues"
									"Short Sweet Ride"
	Here In the Real World	Video Longform	11/6/1990	1/22/1992				1 / 6	"Chasin' That Neon Rainbow"
	Don't Rock the Jukebox	Album	5/14/1991	7/19/1991	10/25/1991	2x	8/26/1992	3 / 10	"That's All I Need To Know"
						3x	11/29/1994		"Someday"
						4x	4/5/1995		"Just Playin' Possum"
	A Lot About Livin' (and a Little 'Bout Love)	Album	9/30/1992	12/1/1992	12/3/1992	2x	8/11/1993	4 / 10	"Chattahoochee"
						3x	12/1/1993		"(Who Says) You Can't Have It All"
						4x	9/13/1994		"Tropical Depression"
						5x	4/5/1995		"If It Ain't One Thing (It's You)"
						6x	7/16/1995
	Livin', Lovin', and Rockin' That Jukebox	Video Longform	10/26/1993	1/5/1994	6/21/1994			2 / 7	"Someday"
									"Chattahoochee"
	"Chattahoochee"	SINGLE	5/21/1993	12/1/1993				N/A
	Who I Am	Album	6/28/1994	8/30/1994	8/30/1994	2x	2/14/1995	2 / 14	"Hole in the Wall"
						3x	5/30/1995		"If I Had You"
						4x	1/13/1999
	Everything I Love	Album	10/29/1996	2/21/1997	2/21/1997	2x	1/26/1998	2 / 10	"Buicks to the Moon"
						3x	8/1/2001		"A House with no Curtains"
	Greatest Hits Collection	Album	10/24/1995	1/3/1996	1/3/1996			4 / 18	"Chattahoochee" (Extended Mix)
									"Chasin' That Neon Rainbow"
									"(Who Says) You Can't Have It All"
									"Someday"
	Greatest Hits Collection	Video Longform	11/21/1995	12/22/1999	12/22/1999			4 / 18	"Chattahoochee" (Extended Mix)
									"Chasin' That Neon Rainbow"
									"(Who Says) You Can't Have It All"
									"Someday"
	34 Number Ones	Album	11/22/2010	2/15/2011		2x	1/3/1996	4 / 37	"Chasin' That Neon Rainbow"
						3x	4/6/1996		"Someday"
						4x	3/31/1998		"Chattahoochee"
						5x	10/19/2001		"(Who Says) You Can't Have It All"
						6x	10/20/2006
Wade Hayes [26]	Old Enough To Know Better	Album	12/20/1994	9/5/1995				1 / 10	"What I Meant to Say"
Diamond Rio [27]	Close to the Edge	Album	10/27/1992	1/26/1994				1 / 11	"Sawmill Road"
Conway Twitty [28]	Number Ones	Album	5/6/1982	11/29/1988				1 / 10	"A Bridge That Just Won't Burn"
Aaron Tippin [29]	Read Between the Lines	Album	3/10/1992	7/22/1992	7/19/1993			1 / 10	"I Was Born With A Broken Heart"
Alabama [30]	The Closer You Get	Album	3/1/1983	5/3/1983	5/3/1983	2x	10/25/1984	1 / 10	"Dixie Boy"
						3x	7/30/1985
						4x	9/30/1996

References[]

Charts