Jimmy Ritchey 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 and record producer from

Centralia, Washington Centralia () is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. It is located along Interstate 5 near the midpoint between Seattle and Portland, Oregon. The city had a population of 18,183 at the 2020 census. Centralia is twinned with Cheh ...

. Ritchey got his start as a record producer after producing

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

s for

Tommy Shane Steiner Tommy Shane Steiner (born October 9, 1973) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 2001 with the single " What If She's an Angel", which reached a peak of No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. It w ...

. Initially, Ritchey was not intended to produce Steiner's album, but he got to do so after producers

Paul Worley Paul Worley (born February 16, 1950 in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American record producer and session guitarist, known primarily for his work in country music. Formerly a vice president at Sony BMG, he later joined the staff of Warner Bros. Rec ...

and

Frank Liddell Frank Liddell (born November 13, 1963) is an American record producer. A former artists and repertoire director at Decca Records, he founded Carnival Music in 1999. Liddell is also married to singer Lee Ann Womack, for whom he has produced. Oth ...

encouraged the label to allow him. Ritchey co-wrote several songs that have charted on

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 ...

: " I'm a Saint" by

Mark Chesnutt Mark Nelson Chesnutt (born September 6, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1990 and 1999, he had his greatest chart success recording for Universal Music Group Nashville's MCA and Decca branches, with a total of ei ...

; "

Startin' with Me ''Startin' with Me'' is the debut studio album by American country music artist Jake Owen, released in July 2006 (see 2006 in country music) on RCA Records Nashville. Singles released from the album include "Yee Haw", the title track, and "Somethi ...

", " Something About a Woman", " Don't Think I Can't Love You", "

Tell Me Tell Me may refer to: * '' Tell Me...'', a 1979 album by Jimmy Knepper * Tell me (advertisement), a 2005 Chinese-language newspaper ad calling for universal suffrage in Hong Kong * ''Tell Me'' (TV series), a 2019 South Korean quiz show * Tellme ...

", and " The One That Got Away" by

Jake Owen Joshua Ryan Owen (born August 28, 1981), known professionally as Jake Owen, is an American country music singer, songwriter, and actor. Signed to RCA Nashville in 2006, he released his debut studio album, '' Startin' with Me'', that year. This ...

; and "

Twang Twang is an onomatopoeia originally used to describe the sound of a vibrating bow string after the arrow is released.Hensleigh Wedgwood, ''A Dictionary of English Etymology: Q - Z'' (1865), p. 433. By extension it applies to the similar vibrati ...

" and "

I Gotta Get to You "I Gotta Get to You" is a song written Blaine Larsen, Jim Lauderdale and Jimmy Ritchey, and recorded by American country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southw ...

" by

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 ...

. He signed an exclusive agreement with

BMG Chrysalis Chrysalis Group was a UK media company that was founded by Chris Wright, chairman, and Terry Ellis. Wright was named in '' Sunday Times Rich List 2009'' of the 1,000 richest persons in the UK. Previously having interests in television, books a ...

on December 3, 2012. Ritchey has had over 40 songs recorded by major-label artists. As a record producer, he has worked with Owen, Chesnutt,

Greg Bates Greg Bates (born September 25, 1987) is an American country music singer formerly signed to Republic Nashville. Early life In 2006, Bates graduated from Ravenwood High School. Bates then graduated in 2010 with a degree in Music Business from Be ...

, and

Clay Walker Ernest Clayton Walker Jr. (born August 19, 1969) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1993 with the single " What's It to You", which reached Number One on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Son ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchey, Jimmy American country songwriters American country record producers Living people People from Centralia, Illinois Record producers from Illinois Year of birth missing (living people)