Arthur John Masaracchia (December 20, 1950 – January 12, 2015), better known as A. J. Masters, was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer. He charted eight singles on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart, between 1985 and 1987. He also wrote songs for John Berry,

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill' ...

, and

Jennifer Hanson Jennifer Kathleen Hanson (born August 10, 1973) is an American country music artist, songwriter and record producer. She made her artist debut in 2002 with the release of her single “ Beautiful Goodbye”. The song went on to become a top 20 hi ...

Biography

Masters was born in

Walden, New York Walden is the largest of three villages of the town of Montgomery in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 6,818 at the 2020 census. It has the ZIP Code 12586 and the 778 telephone exchange within the 845 area code. Walden ...

but raised in

Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

. He played bass guitar in his brother's band, and had his first cut in 1978 when

Mickey Jones Mickey Jones (June 10, 1941 – February 7, 2018) was an American musician and actor. He played drums with acts such as Trini Lopez and Bob Dylan, with whom he played on his 1966 world tour. He became a founding member of The First Edition ...

recorded "I'm No Cowboy". Masters signed with Bermuda Dunes records in the 1980s, charting with eight of his releases for the label. The highest peak was number 48 with "Back Home", his second release, in early 1986. He also released an album of the same name in 1986. An uncredited review in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' gave ''Back Home'' a positive review, saying that Masters had "a light, intense, and flexible quality". A review of "I Don't Mean Maybe", his fourth single, praised his "full and assertive voice." Masters received an

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...

nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year. In the 1990s, Masters played guitar for

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. His eclectic style of music was often difficult to classify, encompassing the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country music, country, sou ...

and wrote the songs " Change My Mind", which was recorded by both

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...

and John Berry, "Someday" and "Moo La Moo" by

Steve Azar Stephen Thomas Azar (born April 11, 1964) is an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and philanthropist. Active since 1996, he has released a total of seven studio albums: one on the former River North Records, one on Mercury Nas ...

, "Last Request" by Frazier River, " Love Ain't Like That" by

, and "Half a Heart Tattoo" by

. He died on January 12, 2015, of prostate cancer.

Discography

*^A

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to "255 Harbor Drive".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masters, AJ 1950 births 2015 deaths American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Musicians from Compton, California People from Walden, New York Singer-songwriters from California Country musicians from California Country musicians from New York (state) Singer-songwriters from New York (state)