Craig William Bickhardt (born September 7, 1954) 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 and songwriter. His musical career includes co-writing credits for
The Judds
The Judds were an American country music duo composed of lead vocalist Wynonna Judd and her mother, Naomi Judd. The duo signed to RCA Nashville in 1983 and released six studio albums between then and 1991. The Judds were one of the most success ...
,
Steve Wariner
Steven Noel Wariner (born December 25, 1954) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Initially a backing musician for Dottie West, he also worked with Bob Luman and Chet Atkins before beginning a solo career in the late 1 ...
,
Kathy Mattea
Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that re ...
and others. He was also a member of
S-K-B
S-K-O, originally known as Schuyler, Knobloch and Overstreet, was an American country music vocal group consisting of Thom Schuyler, J. Fred Knobloch, and Paul Overstreet. The original line-up recorded one album for MTM Records and charted three ...
, formerly S-K-O, after
Paul Overstreet
Paul Lester Overstreet (born March 17, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He recorded 10 studio albums between 1982 and 2005, and charted 16 singles on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' country charts, including two ...
exited the band. He has released three studio albums of his own.
Biography
Bickhardt was born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, Pennsylvania. His father Harry worked at WIP radio in Philadelphia and moonlighted as a big band musician. Craig performed as a local musician during his teenage years, including in a local band called Wire and Wood, which opened for
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
and others.
He moved to Los Angeles, California in 1974, where he and Michael Sembello began writing songs, including some which were recorded by
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel.
Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 ...
.
A re-established Wire and Wood later recorded for October Records, but never completed an album due to financial problems.
Bickhardt signed to a publishing contract with EMI in 1982. Among his first musical recordings were two songs for the soundtrack to the 1983 film ''
Tender Mercies
''Tender Mercies'' is a 1983 American drama (film and television), drama film directed by Bruce Beresford. The screenplay by Horton Foote focuses on Mac Sledge, a recovering alcoholism, alcoholic country music singer who seeks to turn his life aro ...
'', one of which ("You Are What Love Means to Me") charted at No. 86 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 ...
'' country singles chart. He also sang
background vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...
on
Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...
's 1984 album, ''
My Kind of Country''.
From there, he found work as a songwriter, with one of his first cuts being "
That's How You Know When Love's Right", which became a Top Ten country hit when
Nicolette Larson
Nicolette Larson (July 17, 1952 – December 16, 1997) was an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her work in the late 1970s with Neil Young and her 1978 hit single of Young's "Lotta Love", which hit No. 1 on the Hot Adult Contem ...
and
Steve Wariner
Steven Noel Wariner (born December 25, 1954) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Initially a backing musician for Dottie West, he also worked with Bob Luman and Chet Atkins before beginning a solo career in the late 1 ...
recorded it as a duet.
He also co-wrote "You're the Power" along with F.C. Collins for
Kathy Mattea
Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that re ...
, as well as
The Judds
The Judds were an American country music duo composed of lead vocalist Wynonna Judd and her mother, Naomi Judd. The duo signed to RCA Nashville in 1983 and released six studio albums between then and 1991. The Judds were one of the most success ...
' Number One hit "
I Know Where I'm Going", the latter a collaboration with
Don Schlitz
Donald Alan Schlitz Jr. (born August 29, 1952) is an American country music songwriter. For his songwriting efforts, Schlitz has earned two Grammy Awards, as well as four ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year awards.
In 1993, he was inducted int ...
and
Brent Maher
Brent Maher is a producer, engineer, and songwriter currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee. He has produced and engineered six Grammy-winning records and received awards from the CMA, ACM, CCMA, ASCAP, SOCAN and NSAI. Maher engineered cl ...
.
Bickhardt eventually 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 ...
.
Craig's song ''
Never Been in Love'' appears on the 1982
Randy Meisner
Randall Herman Meisner (born March 8, 1946) is a retired American musician, singer, songwriter and founding member of the Eagles. Throughout his professional musical career, Meisner's main role was that of bassist and backing high-harmony vocal ...
self-titled album.
After
Paul Overstreet
Paul Lester Overstreet (born March 17, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He recorded 10 studio albums between 1982 and 2005, and charted 16 singles on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' country charts, including two ...
departed the country music trio
S-K-O
S-K-O, originally known as Schuyler, Knobloch and Overstreet, was an American country music vocal group consisting of Thom Schuyler, J. Fred Knobloch, and Paul Overstreet. The original line-up recorded one album for MTM Records and charted three c ...
(formerly Schuyler, Knobloch and Overstreet), Bickhardt was recruited to take Overstreet's place in the trio. As a result, the group was renamed S-K-B (Schuyler, Knobloch and Bickhardt). Bickhardt made his debut on the group's second and final album, 1987's ''No Easy Horses'' on MTM Records. This album contained several songs that he co-wrote, including two of its singles: "This Old House" and "Givers and Takers".
S-K-B disbanded in 1989 after MTM closed. He continued to write songs for other artists throughout the 1980s, including "
Turn It Loose
"Turn it Loose" is a song written by Craig Bickhardt, Don Schlitz and Brent Maher, and recorded by American country music duo The Judds. It was released in January 1988 as the fourth single from the album ''Heartland
Heartland or Heartlands ma ...
", another Number One for The Judds.
Other hits that he wrote in the 1980s included "If I Never See Midnight Again" by
Sweethearts of the Rodeo and "I Can't Turn the Tide" by
Baillie & the Boys
Baillie & the Boys were an American country music group. They were founded in 1987 by Kathie Baillie (lead vocals, guitar) and her husband, Michael Bonagura (background vocals, guitar), along with Alan LeBoeuf (bass guitar, background vocals). Not ...
, the latter of which he co-wrote with lead singer Kathie Baillie and her husband Michael Bonagura.
In 1993, Bickhardt and
Thom Schuyler
Thomas James Schuyler (born June 10, 1952, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) is an American songwriter. Schuyler wrote songs recorded by more than 200 various artists including "16th Avenue" for Lacy J. Dalton, "Love Will Turn You Around" for Kenny Ro ...
(also formerly of S-K-O) recorded the
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...
album ''Precious Child''. He continued his songwriting, including hits for
Stacy Dean Campbell,
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 ...
,
Pam Tillis
Pamela Yvonne Tillis (born July 24, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis and ex-wife of songwriter Bob DiPiero. Tillis recorded unsuccessful p ...
, and
The Kinleys
The Kinleys were an American country music duo composed of identical twin sisters Heather and Jennifer Kinley (born November 5, 1970). Between 1997 and 2000, they recorded two albums for Epic Records (1997's '' Just Between You and Me'' and 2000's ...
.
He also co-wrote for
Great Plains
The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...
, a band which included former
Poco
Poco was an American country rock band originally formed in 1968 after the demise of Buffalo Springfield. Guitarists Richie Furay and Jim Messina, former members of Buffalo Springfield, were joined by multi-instrumentalist Rusty Young, bassi ...
member Jack Sundrud. Bickhardt and Sundrud co-wrote
Ty Herndon
Boyd Tyrone Herndon (born May 2, 1962), known professionally as Ty Herndon, is an American country music singer and songwriter. His music career began in the 1980s as a member of the Tennessee River Boys, a predecessor to the country band Diamon ...
's 1998 Number One hit "
It Must Be Love" as well.
Bickhardt returned to recording in 2001 with his first solo album, ''Easy Fires'', via Stone Barn Records. By 2006, he returned to his native Pennsylvania but continued to record. A duet album with Sundrud entitled ''Idlewheel'' was released that year, followed by ''Brother to the Wind'' in 2009. He won First Prize in the prestigious 4th Annual IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards) in 2008 with his song "Sugarcane Street" in the Open category. He also hosted a songwriting workshop in association with 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 ...
. On March 12, 2011, Bickhardt appeared with
J.D. Malone, Thom Schuyler, for a performance that included original music from all three artist. This tour was called "On The Road and In The Round."
On The Road and In The Round
retrieved October 22, 2011
Personal life
Bickhardt lives in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania
Glen Mills is an unincorporated community in Concord Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States about 27 miles west of Philadelphia. The ZIP code for Glen Mills is 19342.
History
The area around Glen Mills was part of the original ...
with his wife, Eileen, and twin children.
Discography
Albums
*''Precious Child'' (with Thom Schuyler
Thomas James Schuyler (born June 10, 1952, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) is an American songwriter. Schuyler wrote songs recorded by more than 200 various artists including "16th Avenue" for Lacy J. Dalton, "Love Will Turn You Around" for Kenny Ro ...
) (1993)
*''Easy Fires'' (2001)
*''Idlewheel'' (2006)
*''Brother to the Wind'' (2009)
*''Live at Sellersville Theater (2011)
*''The More I Wonder'' (2014)
*''Idlewheel 3'' (2015)
*''Idlewheel – Live at Morningstar'' (2015)
*''Carrying A Dream'' (2017)
*''Home for the Harvest'' (2018)
Singles
References
External links
Craig Bickhardt
official website
IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bickhardt, Craig
1954 births
American country singer-songwriters
American male singer-songwriters
Living people
Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania
Place of birth missing (living people)
Country musicians from Pennsylvania
S-K-O members