Billy Montana (born William Schlappi on September 28, 1959, in

Voorheesville, New York Voorheesville is a village within the town of New Scotland in Albany County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Albany and part of the city's historic metropolitan area. The population was 2,789 at the 2010 census. The village is named ...

) is 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-songwriter. Between 1987 and 1995, Montana released one studio album and charted six singles on ''

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 ...

''s

Hot Country Singles & Tracks 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. As a songwriter, Montana's songs have been recorded by

Lee Brice Kenneth Mobley Brice Jr. (born June 10, 1979), known professionally as Lee Brice, is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Curb Records. Brice has released five albums with the label: '' Love Like Crazy'', '' Hard to Love'', ...

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

Sara Evans Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the '' Billboard'' country songs ch ...

Jo Dee Messina Jo Dee Marie Messina (born August 25, 1970) is an American country music artist. She has charted six number-one singles on the ''Billboard'' country music charts. She has been honored by the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country ...

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 ...

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 relocat ...

Jon Pardi Jonathan Ryan Pardi (born May 20, 1985) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Capitol Nashville, he has released four studio albums: ''Write You a Song'' (2014), ''California Sunrise'' (2016), ''Heartache Medication'' (2 ...

, Sister Hazel and

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

, among others.

Career

Singer

In the late 1980s, Montana and his brother, Kyle, formed a country music group with Bobby Kendall, Dave Flint and Doug Bernhard.Curb Music at BMI
/ref> Billy Montana & the Long Shots signed with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

and charted three singles on ''Billboard'''s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart before disbanding without releasing an album. Their highest charting single, "Baby I Was Leaving Anyhow," peaked at No. 40 in 1987. After the group disbanded, Montana moved to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

in 1989 to pursue his dream of songwriting. In 1994, Magnatone Records signed Montana to a solo record deal. allmusic ((( Billy Montana > Biography )))/ref> His debut album, ''No Yesterday'', was released in April 1995. Three singles were released from the project and charted on ''Billboard'''s Hot Country Singles & Tracks, the highest of which peaked at No. 55. One of the album's tracks, "A Clean Mind and Dirty Hands," was named Song of the Year by

Farm Journal ''Farm Journal'' is a United States agricultural trade magazine that was established in 1877, and is the leading United States farm magazine. History Wilmer Atkinson founded the publication in Philadelphia in March 1877 as a small eight-page mont ...

in 1996 as the song best depicting genuine farm life.

Songwriter

Montana was signed to a songwriting deal with Moraine Music in 1994. He was picked up by Curb Publishing in a joint venture in 2000. The following year, Jo Dee Messina released Montana's "

Bring On the Rain "Bring On the Rain" is a song written by Billy Montana and Helen Darling and recorded by American country music artist Jo Dee Messina. It was released in September 2001 as the fourth single from her album ''Burn''. In March 2002, it became Mes ...

" as a single. The song topped ''Billboard'''s Hot Country Singles & Tracks in March 2002 and was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. Montana has since written No. 1 songs for Sara Evans ("

Suds in the Bucket "Suds in the Bucket" is a song written by Billy Montana and Tammy Wagoner and recorded by American country music singer Sara Evans. It was released in May 2004 as the third single from Evans' 2003 album '' Restless''. It became her third number- ...

"), Lee Brice (" Hard to Love"), and Garth Brooks ("

More Than a Memory "More Than a Memory" is a song written by Lee Brice, Billy Montana, and Kyle Jacobs (songwriter), Kyle Jacobs and recorded by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on August 27, 2007 as his 51st single and first single from hi ...

"). "More Than a Memory" debuted at No. 1 on ''Billboard'''s

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 in September 2007, becoming the first song in the chart's entire history to accomplish that feat.Soulja Boy 'Cranks' Hot 100 No. 1 With Debut Single
/ref>

Family

Billy Montana's son,

Randy Montana Randy Schlappi (born September 23, 1985), known professionally as Randy Montana, is an American country singer signed to Mercury Records Nashville. His first album, ''Randy Montana'', was released in 2011. Early and personal life Randy Schlappi ...

, signed to

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 ...

in 2010. The younger Montana has reached Top 40 on the country music charts with "Ain't Much Left of Lovin' You" and "1,000 Faces".

Discography

Albums

Singles

*^ACredited to Billy Montana & the Long Shots.

Music videos

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montana, Billy 1959 births Living people American country bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters People from Voorheesville, New York 20th-century American bass guitarists Country musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians Singer-songwriters from New York (state)