Ralph Anthony Smith is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. As a Nashville recording artist, Smith's debut album, '' If That Ain't Country'', on

Mercury Records Nashville Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records Nashv ...

. Produced three Top 40 singles on the ''

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 ...

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

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 ...

) charts. As a songwriter Smith has had over 250 songs recorded by other Nashville recording artist Such as George Strait, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Trace Adkins, Faith Hill and more.

Biography

Anthony Smith was raised in eastern Tennessee His musical interests began at the early age of 5. At age nine, he had joined his first band, and by age twelve he was arranging music at his church.Smith, Writer of Hits for George Strait, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Trace Adkins, Montgomery Gentry, Rascal Flatts and Many More, Shares Advice With SGA Members
Smith moved to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

in his early 20s and joined several bands. Luke Lewis, the boss of

Mercury Nashville Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records N ...

Records, received a demo tape of Smith's music, and signed the artist to a record deal. allmusic ((( Anthony Smith > Biography )))/ref> Meanwhile, Smith wrote songs for other artists, including " Run and " Cowboys Like Us" by

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

, " I'm Tryin'" and " Chrome" by

Trace Adkins Trace may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Trace'' (Son Volt album), 1995 * ''Trace'' (Died Pretty album), 1993 * Trace (band), a Dutch progressive rock band * ''The Trace'' (album) Other uses in arts and entertainment * ''Trace'' ...

, "Didn't I" and "

What Do Ya Think About That "What Do Ya Think About That" is a song written by Anthony Smith and Brett Jones, and recorded by American country music duo Montgomery Gentry. It was released in July 2007 as the third single from their album ''Some People Change''. Content Th ...

" by

Montgomery Gentry Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo founded by singers Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, both Kentucky natives. They began performing together in the 1990s as part of two different bands with Montgomery's brother, John Michael Mo ...

, and "What Brothers Do" by

Confederate Railroad Confederate Railroad (originally known as "Confederate RR") is an American country rock band founded in 1987 in Marietta, Georgia, by Danny Shirley (lead vocals), Michael Lamb (lead guitar), Mark Dufresne (drums), Chris McDaniel (keyboards), Warr ...

. "My Worst Fear" for

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...

" Kristofferson" for

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

"Chasing Down a Good Time" by

Randy Houser Shawn Randolph Houser (born December 18, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Universal South Records in 2008, he charted the single "Anything Goes". It was a top 20 hit on the '' Billboard'' country singles chart a ...

Smith's debut album was released on Mercury Nashville, the same year that he was granted a songwriting deal from BMI. The album, titled '' If That Ain't Country'', produced three Top 40 singles, of which the title track was the highest-charting. After exiting Mercury, Smith continued to write songs for other artists, including " Cowboys Like Us", another single release by George Strait. In 2007, two other singles that Smith co-wrote entered the country charts "Daisy" by

Halfway to Hazard Halfway to Hazard is an American country music duo composed of singer-songwriters David Tolliver and Chad Warrix. Though Tolliver and Warrix grew up in different towns in southeastern Kentucky, their band's origins are in Hazard, Kentucky, which ...

, and "

", another release by Montgomery Gentry. In 2008,

charted in the Top 20 with " Kristofferson", which Smith co-wrote with

Reed Nielsen Nielsen Pearson was an American duo consisting of Reed Nielsen and Mark Pearson. They are a one-hit wonder known for their only top 40 single, " If You Should Sail". Mark Pearson was also a member of The Brothers Four. Discography Albums * ''T ...

. In 2016, released the Houser single "Chasing Down a Good Time" which Smith co-wrote with

Jeffrey Steele Jeffrey LeVasseur (born August 27, 1961), known as Jeffrey Steele, is an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with recording his own material, Steele has become a prolific Nashville songwriter, having co-written more than 60 hit ...

. Later that year, he signed to a second recording contract, this time with

Stroudavarious Records R&J Records is an American independent record label specializing in country music. It was founded in May 2011 by James Stroud and Rick Carter. Stroud is a record producer and former president of Giant Records and DreamWorks Records. In 2008, Stro ...

. His first single for the label, "Bringin' Back the Sunshine", was released in July 2009, and debuted at No. 60 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Smith also released an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

for the label, then left in early 2010 to form his own label, Krankit Records. His first release on this label was "Love Is Love Is Love."

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Music videos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Anthony American country guitarists American male guitarists American country singer-songwriters Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Mercury Records artists R&J Records artists Country musicians from Indiana People from Warsaw, Indiana Guitarists from Indiana American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Indiana Singer-songwriters from Tennessee