Charles Frank Black (November 23, 1949 – April 23, 2021) 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, ...

songwriter and record producer.

Biography

Black graduated from

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

in 1970 and 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 ...

the same year. His first cut was "Girl, You Came and Eased My Mind" by

Tommy Overstreet Thomas Cary Overstreet (September 10, 1937 – November 2, 2015) was an American country music singer. Often referred to as "T.O." by fans and radio disc jockeys, Overstreet had five top-five hit single, hit single (music), singles in the ''Bill ...

. Since then, he wrote singles for

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

, Gary Morris,

Earl Thomas Conley Earl Thomas Conley (October 17, 1941 – April 10, 2019)Wood, Gerry. (1998). "Earl Thomas Conley". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 108. was an American country music singer-songwriter. Between ...

Johnny Paycheck Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greates ...

, and

Phil Vassar Phillip George Vassar Jr. (born May 28, 1962) is an American country music artist. Vassar made his debut on the country music scene in the late 1990s, co-writing singles for several country artists, including Tim McGraw ("For a Little While", ...

. In 1991, the

Nashville Songwriters Association International The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) is a 501(c) not-for-profit trade organization that works to help songwriters in three ways: through legislative advocacy, through education and advice about the actual craft of songwrit ...

inducted Black into its hall of fame. Black was also an occasional record producer. He produced early recordings by

Cristy Lane Cristy Lane (born Eleanor Johnston; January 8, 1940) is an American Christian and country music singer. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she had a series of hits on the North American country charts with songs like " Let Me Down Easy", " I Just ...

, including her 1978 studio albums ''

Cristy Lane Is the Name ''Cristy Lane Is the Name'' is a studio album by American country and Christian singer Cristy Lane. The album was released in February 1978 via LS Records and contained a total of 12 tracks. It was the second album issued in Lane's recording care ...

'' and '' Love Lies''. Black was married to Dana Hunt, who is also a songwriter. She co-wrote

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 ...

's singles "

Check Yes or No "Check Yes or No" is a song written by Danny Wells and Dana Hunt Black, and recorded by American country music singer George Strait. It was released in September 1995 as the lead single from his box set ''Strait Out of the Box ''Strait Out o ...

" and " Write This Down". Black died on April 23, 2021.

References

External links

* 1949 births 2021 deaths American country singer-songwriters American record producers People from Cheverly, Maryland Singer-songwriters from Maryland Country musicians from Maryland American male singer-songwriters {{US-songwriter-stub