Alan Gordon Anderson (born July 26, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In the 1960s, Anderson was the frontman of the band The Wildweeds, which had success with the song "No Good To Cry", which he wrote. Between 1971 and the early 1990s, he was the lead guitarist in the rock band

NRBQ NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed around 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re ...

, also releasing several solo albums. He also played electric guitar on Jonathan Edwards's 1973 album '' Have a Good Time for Me''. In the 1990s, Anderson shifted his focus to country music, writing hit songs for such artists as

Carlene Carter Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith. As of 2020, since 1978, Carter has recorded 12 alb ...

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

Diamond Rio Diamond Rio is an American country music band. The band was founded in 1982 as an attraction for the Opryland USA theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, and was originally known as the Grizzly River Boys, then the Tennessee River Boys. It was fou ...

and

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American singer, actress, author and television personality. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single " She's in Love with the Boy," which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard'' c ...

, as well as

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 ...

's number 1 hit "

The Cowboy in Me "The Cowboy in Me" is a song written by Jeffrey Steele, Al Anderson and Craig Wiseman, and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released in November 2001 as the third single from McGraw's ''Set This Circus Down'' album. Th ...

" and several album cuts. Anderson has also released six solo albums.

Discography

Albums

*''Al Anderson'' (

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...

, 1972) *''Party Favors'' (

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record la ...

, 1988) *''Pay Before You Pump'' ( Imprint Records, 1996) *''After Hours'' (Legacy, 2006) *''Pawn Shop Guitars'' (AAM Records, 2007) *''Strings'' (Amigo Grande, 2012)

Singles

List of country singles composed by Anderson

Anderson has written or co-written the following country singles: *

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

(with

Jann Arden Jann Arden (born Jann Arden Anne Richards; March 27, 1962) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and actress. She is famous for her signature ballads, "Could I Be Your Girl" and " Insensitive", which is her biggest hit to date. Early life and educat ...

), "Will You Marry Me" * Jimmy Buffett (with

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs and Country ...

), "License to Chill" * Jimmy Buffett (with

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and reloc ...

), "

Trip Around the Sun "Trip Around the Sun" is a song by American country music artists Jimmy Buffett and Martina McBride in August 2004 as the second single from Buffett's album ''License to Chill''. The song was written by Stephen Bruton, Al Anderson, and Sharon Vau ...

" *

, " Every Little Thing" *

Linda Davis Linda Kaye Davis (born November 26, 1962) is an American country music singer. Before beginning a career as a solo artist, she had three minor country singles in the charts as one half of the duo Skip & Linda. In her solo career, Davis has recor ...

, "

A Love Story in the Making "A Love Story in the Making" is a song recorded by American country music artist Linda Davis. It was released in April 1996 as the second single from the album '' Some Things Are Meant to Be''. The song reached #33 on the '' Billboard'' Hot Coun ...

" *

, " Unbelievable" *

Joe Diffie Joe Logan Diffie (December 28, 1958 – March 29, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. After working as a demo (music), demo singer in the mid 1980s, he signed with Epic Records' Nashville division in 1990. Between then and ...

, "Poor Me" *

Ty England Gary Tyrone England (born December 5, 1963) is an American country music singer and guitarist. Initially a member of Garth Brooks' band, England began his solo career in 1995, recording a self-titled debut album on RCA Nashville. A second albu ...

, "

Should've Asked Her Faster "Should've Asked Her Faster" is a debut song written by Bob DiPiero, Al Anderson and Joe Klimek, and recorded by American country music artist Ty England. It was released in May 1995 as the lead-off single from the eponymous ''Ty England'' album. ...

" * The Farm, " Every Time I Fall in Love" *

4 Runner 4 Runner was an American country music vocal group founded in 1993 by Craig Morris (lead vocals), Billy Crittenden (baritone vocals), Lee Hilliard (tenor vocals), and Jim Chapman (bass vocals). Signed to Polydor Records Nashville, the quartet rel ...

, "Forrest County Line" *

, "

Next Big Thing ''Next Big Thing'' is the tenth studio album from American country music artist Vince Gill. It was released in 2003 on MCA Nashville, and it features four singles: the title track, "Someday", "Young Man's Town", and "In These Last Few Days". The ...

" "

Down to My Last Bad Habit ''Down to My Last Bad Habit'' is the fourteenth studio album by American country music singer Vince Gill. The album was released on February 12, 2016, by MCA Nashville. Critical reception ''Down to My Last Bad Habit'' received generally positi ...

" *

Hot Apple Pie Hot Apple Pie was an American country music band founded in 2002 by Brady Seals ( lead vocals), Keith Horne (bass guitar), Trey Landry ( drums), and Mark "Sparky" Matejka (guitar). Matjeka was replaced in 2006 by Kevin Ray. Seals was initially co-l ...

, "We're Makin' Up" *

Hal Ketchum Hal Michael Ketchum (April 9, 1953November 23, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. He released eleven studio albums from 1986 to 2014, including nine for divisions of Curb Records. Ketchum's 1991 album ''Past the Point of ...

, " (Tonight We Just Might) Fall in Love Again", " That's What I Get for Losin' You" *

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

, "

The Last Thing on My Mind "The Last Thing on My Mind" is a song written by American musician and singer-songwriter Tom Paxton in the early 1960s and recorded first by Paxton in 1964. It is based on the traditional lament song "The Leaving of Liverpool". The song was rele ...

" *

Raul Malo Raúl Francisco Martínez-Malo Jr. (born August 7, 1965, in Miami, Florida), known professionally as Raúl Malo, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He is the lead singer of country music band The Mavericks and the ...

, "Crying For You" *

The Mavericks The Mavericks are an American country music band from Miami, Florida. The band consists of Raul Malo (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Deakin (drums), Eddie Perez (lead guitar), and Jerry Dale McFadden (keyboards). Malo and Deakin founded the band in ...

(with

Flaco Jiménez Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez (born March 11, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and accordionist from San Antonio, Texas. He is known for playing Norteño, Tex Mex and Tejano music. Jiménez has been a solo performer and session musician, as ...

), "

All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down" is a song written by Raul Malo and Al Anderson, and recorded by American country music group The Mavericks featuring accordionist Flaco Jiménez. It was released in January 1996 as the second single from the 199 ...

" *

Delbert McClinton Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, ...

& Dick50, "When She Cries at Night" *

, "

" *

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band. Constant ...

, "Bang, Bang, Bang" *

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 chang ...

, "Bad Case of Missing You" * James Otto, " Groovy Little Summer Song" * Bonnie Raitt, "Not Cause I Wanted To", "Ain't Gonna Let You Go", both on the album ''

Slipstream A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or mustard) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving fluid, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is churning. The term sli ...

'' * LeAnn Rimes, " Big Deal" *

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 ...

, "Somethin' in the Water" * George Strait, " Love's Gonna Make It Alright" *

Aaron Tippin Aaron Dupree Tippin (born July 3, 1958) is an American country music singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially a songwriter for Acuff-Rose Music, he gained a recording contract with RCA Nashville in 1990. His debut single, "You've Got to ...

, " Without Your Love" * Mike Walker, "Honey Do" *

Lari White Lari Michele White Cannon (, ; May 13, 1965 – January 23, 2018) was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her debut in 1988 after winning ''You Can Be a Star'', a televised talent competition ...

, "Wild at Heart" *

, "

Powerful Thing "Powerful Thing" is a song written by Al Anderson and Sharon Vaughn, and recorded by American country music artist Trisha Yearwood. It was released in November 1998 as the third single from her album ''Where Your Road Leads''. The song reached n ...

References

External links

bigalanderson.com Official Bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Al 1947 births Living people People from Windsor, Connecticut Country musicians from Connecticut American country rock singers American country singer-songwriters American rock guitarists American male guitarists NRBQ members Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Guitarists from Connecticut Guitarists from New York (state) Imprint Records artists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Connecticut