Kent Blazy (born in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

) 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. His credits include several singles for

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

(including Brooks' first number one hit, "

If Tomorrow Never Comes "If Tomorrow Never Comes" is a song by American country music artist Garth Brooks. Written by Brooks and Kent Blazy, it was released in August 1989 as the second single from his album '' Garth Brooks'' and also appears on ''The Hits'', ''The Lim ...

"), as well as singles by Gary Morris,

Diamond Rio Diamond Rio is an American country music band. The band was founded in 1982 as an attraction for the Opryland USA theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, and was originally known as the Grizzly River Boys, then the Tennessee River Boys. It was foun ...

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

and Chris Young. Blazy has a total of seven No. 1 hits to his credit.

Biography

Kent Blazy was raised in

. At an early age, he played

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

and sang in various local bands, citing

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

and Joe Ely as influences. He later played for Canadian singer

Ian Tyson Ian Dawson Tyson (September 25, 1933 – December 29, 2022) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who wrote several folk songs, including " Four Strong Winds" and " Someday Soon", and performed with partner Sylvia Tyson as the duo Ian & Sylvia. Ea ...

. Later on, Blazy met former

Exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

member Mark Gray, who suggested that Blazy move 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 ...

. Eventually, he signed to a publishing contract, but the publishing company closed; despite the loss of contract, Gary Morris sent Blazy's "Headed for a Heartache" into top 5 on the country charts. By the late 1980s, Blazy met with a then-unknown

, who gave him the idea for a song entitled "

." He and Brooks co-wrote the song, which went on to become Brooks' first number one hit. Brooks continued to record Blazy's material throughout the 1990s, including the singles "

Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up) "Ain't Going Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released in July 1993 as the lead single from his album '' In Pieces''. The song also appears on ''The Hits'', '' ...

," " It's Midnight Cinderella", "

She's Gonna Make It "She's Gonna Make It" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released in January 1998 as the second single from his album '' Sevens''. It peaked at number two on the U.S. country singles chart, whi ...

," "

Somewhere Other Than the Night "Somewhere Other Than the Night" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Garth Brooks that reached the top of the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) chart, returning him to the top ten ...

" and the

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

duet "Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)". He also co-wrote " That's What I Get for Lovin' You" by

and " Can't Get Enough" by

in the late 1990s. Blazy, along with songwriters

Pat Alger Pat Alger (born September 23, 1947, in LaGrange, GeorgiaCarlin 2003, p. 3.) is a country music songwriter, singer and guitarist and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (2010) and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame (2013). Early ...

, Tony Arata and Kim Williams, recorded an album entitled ''A Songwriters' Tribute to Garth Brooks'', which included their renditions of songs that they had written for Brooks. This album was released in 2001 via VFR Records. Other songs that Blazy has co-written include " You Can Let Go" by Crystal Shawanda and " Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)" by Chris Young from 2008 and 2009 respectively, as well as ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' season 8 finalist

Danny Gokey Daniel Jay Gokey (born April 24, 1980) is an American singer and former church music director from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the third-place finalist on the eighth season of ''American Idol''.

's debut single "

My Best Days Are Ahead of Me "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me" is a song written by Marv Green and Kent Blazy, and recorded by ''American Idol'' season 8 finalist Danny Gokey. It was released in December 2009 as the lead-off single from his debut album ''My Best Days'', which was ...

References

External links

Kent Blazy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blazy, Kent American country songwriters American male songwriters Living people Musicians from Lexington, Kentucky Country musicians from Kentucky Songwriters from Kentucky Year of birth missing (living people)