Jerry Crutchfield (August 10, 1934 – January 11, 2022) was an American country and pop record producer, songwriter, and musician. He was a publishing and record label executive. He recorded for

RCA Victor Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

with vocal group The Country Gentlemen, later known as The Escorts. He received multiple

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

's (CMA) "Song of the Year" award nominations for his work as producer, winning the award twice as well as having been a co-producer of a CMA Album of the Year. He was also nominated for the Dove Award for three Gospel/Christian albums, having won the award for Traditional Gospel Record of the Year by The Hemphills. Crutchfield has served as a member of the national board of trustees for the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous f ...

(NARAS), along with the board of directors of the Nashville chapter of NARAS, the

, and the

Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership co ...

Life and career

Crutchfield was born in

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Missour ...

, United States. He attended

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, H ...

. His brother,

Jan Crutchfield Jan Crutchfield (February 26, 1938 – October 30, 2012) was an American country music singer and songwriter. He is best known for writing " Statue of a Fool", which was first recorded in 1969 by Jack Greene and was a No. 1 hit on the Hot Coun ...

, was a songwriter. Notable albums produced by Crutchfield that obtained gold, platinum, and multi-platinum status include those by

Lee Greenwood Melvin Lee Greenwood (born October 27, 1942) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He also plays the saxophone. Active since 1962, he has released more than 20 major-label albums and has charted more than 35 singles on the ''Billboa ...

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

, Chris LeDoux,

Tracy Byrd Tracy Lynn Byrd (born December 17, 1966) is an American country music artist. Signed to Universal Music Group Nashville, MCA Nashville Records in 1992, Byrd broke through on the country music scene that year with his 1993 single "Holdin' Heaven" ...

, and

Lisa Brokop Lisa Brokop (born June 6, 1973) is a Canadian country music singer/songwriter and actress. Active since 1990 in the country music field, she has released a total of seven studio albums and has charted more than twenty singles on the country music ...

. He also produced artists such as

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 ...

Dottie West Dorothy Marie Marsh West (October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and fellow recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most in ...

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed only ...

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for the Buckaroos, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 ...

Jake Hess Jake Hess (December 24, 1927 – January 4, 2004) was an American Grammy Award-winning southern gospel singer.McNeil, W.K., Ed. (2010). ''Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music''. Routledge. . Pp. 201-202. Life The son of "a sharecropper who was ...

Larry Gatlin Larry Wayne Gatlin (born May 2, 1948) is an American country and Southern gospel singer and songwriter. As part of a trio with his younger brothers Steve and Rudy, he achieved considerable success within the country music genre, performing on 3 ...

The Gatlin Brothers Larry Wayne Gatlin (born May 2, 1948) is an American country and Southern gospel singer and songwriter. As part of a trio with his younger brothers Steve and Rudy, he achieved considerable success within the country music genre, performing on 3 ...

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all ...

and

Mylon LeFevre Mylon R. LeFevre (born October 6, 1944) is an American Christian rock singer best known for his work with his band Mylon and Broken Heart. He is a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. He travels around the United States, ministering, teachi ...

. He was also known for producing the No. 1 pop hit, "

Please Come to Boston "Please Come to Boston" is a song that was recorded and written by American singer-songwriter Dave Loggins. It was released in April 1974 as the first single from his album ''Apprentice (In a Musical Workshop)'' and was produced by Jerry Crutchf ...

" recorded by

Dave Loggins David Allen Loggins (born November 10, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Musical career Loggins is best known for his 1974 song composition "Please Come to Boston", which was a No. 5 popular music success (No. 1 Easy Listen ...

. Nominated multiple times as producer of the Country Music Association's (CMA) "Song of the Year" award, Crutchfield has won that honor twice as well as having been a co-producer of a CMA Album of the Year. He was also nominated for the Dove Award for three Gospel/Christian albums, having won the award for Traditional Gospel Record of the Year by The Hemphills. As an award-winning songwriter, Crutchfield had over 150 songs recorded by such major artists as

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, The Crickets, Brenda Lee,

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...

, Tanya Tucker, Lee Greenwood,

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...

, Tammy Wynette,

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), m ...

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and " Live Fast, Love Hard, D ...

Charley Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Reco ...

, and

Lefty Frizzell William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell (March 31, 1928 – July 19, 1975) was an American country music singer-songwriter and honky-tonk singer. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982. Frizzell released many songs that charted ...

. His hit song "

My Whole World Is Falling Down "My Whole World Is Falling Down" is a song written by Bill Anderson and Jerry Crutchfield and performed by Brenda Lee. Its chorus is based on the nursery rhyme "London Bridge Is Falling Down". The song reached #8 on the Adult Contemporary chart ...

" was a top ten pop hit by Brenda Lee, and a significant European hit for French singer

Sylvie Vartan Sylvie Vartan (; born Sylvie Georges Vartanian; hy, Սիլվի Ժորժ Վարդանյան. on 15 August 1944) is an Armenian-Bulgarian-French singer and actress. She is known as one of the most productive and tough-sounding yé-yé artists. ...

. Crutchfield is credited with establishing MCA Music Publishing as a major publishing house, and signing and working with writers such as Dave Loggins, Don Schlitz, Gary Burr, Rob Crosby and Mark Nesler. During his 25-year career at MCA, Crutchfield left to serve as Executive Vice President/General Manager of Capitol Records for four years. He then returned to MCA Music Publishing for a three-year period as president of its Nashville division. He served as national trustee for The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), and served on the board of directors of the Nashville chapter of NARAS, the Country Music Association, and the Gospel Music Association. Crutchfield died on January 11, 2022, at the age of 87.Crutchfield death announcement on January 14, 2022.
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References

External links

Books.google.com

Bmi.com

Allmusic.com
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Musicvf.com

Variety.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crutchfield, Jerry 1934 births 2022 deaths American country record producers Murray State University alumni Musicians from Paducah, Kentucky Songwriters from Kentucky