Brett Beavers (born in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...

), 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, ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

and producer and the co-author of the book ''Something Worth Leaving Behind''.

Education and early career

Beavers attended

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in secondary education in 1985. He spent the next four years playing

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

with a small country band throughout Central Texas, honing his skill as a songwriter. After a year away from the music business, when he married and taught high school science in

Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...

, he moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

to join a band with

Deryl Dodd Deryl Dwaine Dodd (born April 12, 1964) is an American Texas country music artist. Originally a regular on the Texas club circuit, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, soon finding work as a lead guitar player, background vocalist and songwriter. A ...

. Shortly after arriving in Nashville, Beavers began touring 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 ...

as bass player and bandleader, from 1992–1996, and then with

Lee Ann Womack Lee Ann Womack Liddell (; born August 19, 1966) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Her 2000 single, " I Hope You Dance" was a major crossover music hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart and the Top 15 ...

from 1997–2005 in the same capacity. During this time period he started a

publishing company Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

and began getting his songs recorded by such artists 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 ...

and

Billy Ray Cyrus Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...

. In 2005, he stopped performing and touring to pursue songwriting and producing on a full-time basis. His brother,

Jim Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

, is also a Nashville songwriter.

With Dierks Bentley

Much of Beavers' success has been with

Dierks Bentley Frederick Dierks Bentley (; born November 20, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to Capitol Nashville and released his eponymous debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's '' Modern Day Drifter'', a ...

, for whom he produces and co-writes several of his songs, a collaboration that began in 2001. The partnership has produced several number one

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 ...

, including "

Sideways ''Sideways'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama road film directed by Alexander Payne and written by Jim Taylor and Payne. A film adaptation of Rex Pickett's 2004 novel of the same name, ''Sideways'' follows two men in their forties, Miles Raymo ...

", " Come a Little Closer", " Feel That Fire", and "

Every Mile a Memory "Every Mile a Memory" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Dierks Bentley. It was released in July 2006 as the first single from his 2006 album ''Long Trip Alone ''Long Trip Alone'' is the third studio album by Amer ...

". In addition to chart-topping success, the pairing has led to a

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collects ...

and NSAI Achievement Award for "

What Was I Thinkin' "What Was I Thinkin'" is the debut single by American country music artist Dierks Bentley, released in April 2003 from his self-titled debut album. The song became his first number one hit on the U.S. '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart in Se ...

", a BMI Award Most Performed Song for "

Trying to Stop Your Leaving "Trying to Stop Your Leaving" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Dierks Bentley. It was released in January 2008 as the fourth and final single from his 2006 album '' Long Trip Alone''. It peaked at number 5 on the U ...

", and

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 ...

nominations for Best Country Song, "

Long Trip Alone ''Long Trip Alone'' is the third studio album by American country music artist Dierks Bentley. It was released October 17, 2006 by Capitol Records Nashville. The album produced four singles on the U.S. '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts: " ...

" and Country Song of the Year, "

". The songs that he has written and produced for Bentley have also led to Beavers being honored at the BMI Country Awards every year from 2006–2009.

Author

Along with Tom Douglas, Beavers wrote the inspirational book ''Something Worth Leaving Behind'', based on the song of the same name that they co-wrote for Lee Ann Womack.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beavers, Brett Living people Country musicians from Texas American country record producers American country songwriters American male songwriters American country bass guitarists Baylor University alumni People from Waco, Texas Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Songwriters from Texas Songwriters from Tennessee Guitarists from Tennessee Guitarists from Texas American male bass guitarists Record producers from Texas Record producers from Tennessee Country musicians from Tennessee Year of birth missing (living people)