Paul Worley (born February 16, 1950 in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

) is an American

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and session

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

, known primarily for his work in

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, ...

. Formerly a vice president at

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

, he later joined the staff of

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

' Nashville division as

chief creative officer A chief creative officer (CCO) is the highest ranking position of the creative team within a company. Depending on the type of company, this position may be responsible for the overall look and feel of marketing, media, and branding associated with ...

. Since leaving Warner in the early 2000s, Worley has worked mainly as a record producer for other acts, such as

Big & Rich Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a solo ...

, as well as an occasional session guitarist. He is most widely known as the co- producer (with Victoria Shaw) of the self-titled debut album of

Lady Antebellum Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar) ...

(2008) and as one of the producers of their second album, '' Need You Now'' (2010). He also discovered the

Dixie Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and E ...

and, with

Blake Chancey Blake Chancey (born September 11, 1962) is an American record producer and music business executive, known primarily for his work in country music. Formerly an executive vice president and chief creative officer for Sony Music, he later formed a ...

, co-produced their first two albums.

Early life

Worley was born in Nashville in 1950. He graduated from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

with a degree in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

Musical career

Producer and Session Musician

Paul Worley began his career in the late 1970s as a session guitarist in

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 ...

. On the recommendation of record producer

Jim Ed Norman Jim Ed Norman is an American musician, multi-platinum record producer, arranger and label-head. As an arranger and producer, he was one of the principal architects of the distinctive sound of West Coast 1970s pop and country rock. He was Preside ...

, he first played guitar on albums by

Janie Fricke Jane Marie Fricke ( ; born December 19, 1947), known professionally as Janie Fricke, is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and clothing designer. She has placed seventeen Single (music), singles in the top ten of the ...

Eddy Raven Edward Garvin Futch (born August 19, 1944), known professionally as Eddy Raven, is an American country music singer and songwriter. Active since 1962, Raven has recorded for several record labels, including ABC, Dimension, Elektra, RCA, Univers ...

, and

Mickey Gilley Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1 ...

. Worley's first production credits included Riders in the Sky's ''Three on the Trail'' (1976) and Gary Morris' ''Why Lady Why'' (1983). Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Worley has produced or co-produced several country music albums, primarily by

artists. Through his association with the Dixie Chicks, Worley earned two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

s for

Best Country Album The Grammy Award for Best Country Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the country music genre. Honors ...

, both times for albums recorded by the

: 1998's '' Wide Open Spaces'' and 1999's ''

Fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

''. Worley also played guitar on the Chicks' debut single "

I Can Love You Better "I Can Love You Better" is a song written by Pamela Brown Hayes and Kostas, and recorded by American country music group Dixie Chicks. It was released in October 1997 as their debut single and the first from their album '' Wide Open Spaces'', and ...

". After becoming chief creative officer at

in 2002, Worley helped to sign

, a country music duo composed of

Big Kenny William Kenneth Alphin (born November 1, 1963), best known by his stage name Big Kenny, is an American country music singer. He and John Rich comprise the duo Big & Rich, who recorded four studio albums and charted fifteen singles on the '' Bill ...

and John Rich. Worley left Warner Bros. after the label did not sign Lady Antebellum, despite Worley's encouragement. When the band signed with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, Worley left Warner Bros. in order to produce the band. In early 2011, Worley shared with Lady Antebellum in four of the 2010 Grammy Awards: Best Country Album, Record of the Year, Song of The Year and Best Country Song. In addition to Morris, the Dixie Chicks and Lady Antebellum, Worley has produced or co-produced albums and singles by

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television host, and a member of the show business family the Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a country and pop ...

, the

Desert Rose Band The Desert Rose Band was an American country rock band from Los Angeles, California, founded in 1985 by Chris Hillman (formerly of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers), with Herb Pedersen and John Jorgenson. The original lineup included Bi ...

, Highway 101,

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 ...

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band. Constant ...

Collin Raye Floyd Elliot Wray (born August 22, 1960) is an American country music singer, known professionally as Collin Raye, and previously as Bubba Wray. Under the latter name, he recorded as a member of the band The Wrays between 1983 and 1987. He made ...

Sara Evans Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the '' Billboard'' country songs ch ...

The Band Perry The Band Perry are an American band composed of siblings Kimberly Perry (lead vocals, guitar), Reid Perry (bass guitar, background vocals), and Neil Perry ( mandolin, bouzouki, background vocals). They signed to Republic Nashville in August ...

, and

Jennette McCurdy Jennette Michelle Faye McCurdy (born June 26, 1992) is an American writer, director, podcaster, singer and former actress. McCurdy's breakthrough role as Sam Puckett in the Nickelodeon sitcom '' iCarly'' (2007–2012) earned her various awards ...

Skyline Music Publishing

Along with Wally Wilson and two other partners, Worley founded a publishing company known as Skyline Music Publishing. Among the songwriters that have been signed to Skyline are

Hugh Prestwood Hugh Loring Prestwood (born April 2, 1942) is an American Hall of Fame songwriter, whose work is primarily in country music. He was discovered by Judy Collins, who gave him his first hit "Hard Time for Lovers", which was recorded in 1978. Prestw ...

(who wrote

Randy Travis Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. Active from 1978 until being incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, he has recor ...

' Number One single "

Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart "Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart" is a song written by Hugh Prestwood, and recorded by American country music singer Randy Travis. It was released in January 1990 as the second single from the album ''No Holdin' Back''. "Hard Rock Bottom of Your H ...

"), Tammy Hyler (who has written for

), and

Russ Titelman Russ Titelman (born August 16, 1944, Los Angeles, California) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has to date won three Grammy Awards. He earned his first producing the Steve Winwood song " Higher Love", and his second and third f ...

. In 2012, Skyline writer Jon Stone co-wrote the

SESAC SESAC is a for-profit performance-rights organization in the United States. Founded in 1930 as the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, it is the second-oldest performance-rights organization in the United States.

Song Of The Year, " A Woman Like You," recorded by

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of ...

artist

Lee Brice Kenneth Mobley Brice Jr. (born June 10, 1979), known professionally as Lee Brice, is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Curb Records. Brice has released five albums with the label: '' Love Like Crazy'', '' Hard to Love'', ...

. Also in 2012, Skyline writers

The Henningsens The Henningsens is an American country music trio consisting of Brian Henningsen, his son Aaron, and daughter Clara. The trio released their debut single, " American Beautiful", for Arista Nashville in late 2012. History The Henningsens, consistin ...

were awarded BMI awards for two singles recorded by

Valory Music Group Ross Lamont Valory (born February 2, 1949) is an American musician who is best known as the original bass player for the rock band Journey (band), Journey from 1973 to 1985 and again from 1995 to 2020. Valory was inducted into the Rock and Roll H ...

's The Band Perry, " You Lie" and "All Your Life." Worley also produced The Henningsen's debut album, which is set to be released by Sony Music Nashville in 2013.

Skyville Records and Artist Development

In 2010, Worley, Wilson, and Skyline partner Glen Morgan formed the independent record label

Skyville Records 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. ...

. The label's first release was Stealing Angels later that year. In 2011, Skyville signed a distribution deal with

Sony Music Nashville Sony Music Nashville is the country music branch of the Sony Music Group. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Sony Music Nashville includes its three country recording labels Arista Nashville, Columbia Nashville, and RCA Nashville, as well as Ch ...

. Skyville currently specializes in artist development, working with up-and-coming talent in various capacities, including production, music publishing, and artist management.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Worley, Paul 1950 births American country guitarists American male guitarists Grammy Award winners Living people Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee American session musicians American country record producers Songwriters from Tennessee Guitarists from Tennessee 20th-century American guitarists Country musicians from Tennessee 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters