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Sawyer Brown 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, ...
band. It was founded in 1981 in
Apopka, Florida Apopka is a city in Orange County, Florida. The city's population was 55,000 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. ''Apopka'' comes from Seminole word ''Ahapopka'' for "Potato eating ...
, by Mark Miller (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard (keyboards, vocals), Bobby Randall (lead guitar, vocals), Joe "Curly" Smyth (drums), and Jim Scholten (bass guitar). The five musicians were originally members of country singer
Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...
's road band, but chose to stay together after King retired in 1981. After competing on the television competition series ''
Star Search ''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./ Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versio ...
'' and winning that show's grand prize, they signed to
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 ...
in 1984. The band recorded for Capitol between then and 1991, and for
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 ...
between 1991 and 2005, except for a short time in 2003 when they were signed to
Lyric Street Records Lyric Street Records was an American country music record label. It was owned by the Disney Music Group and founded in 1997 by Randy Goodman. The label had its first successes in 1998 with singles by Lari White and Aaron Tippin, both formerly ...
. Duncan Cameron, formerly of the
Amazing Rhythm Aces Amazing may refer to: Music Performers * The Amazing, a Swedish indie rock band Albums * ''Amazing'' (Banaroo album), 2006 * ''Amazing'' (Elkie Brooks album), 1996 * ''Amazing'' (Marcia Hines album) or the title song, 2014 * ''Amazin'' (Tri ...
, replaced Randall in 1991, and Shayne Hill replaced him in 2004. Sawyer Brown has released 18 studio albums and has charted over 50 times on the
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 ...
charts, including three No. 1 singles: "
Step That Step "Step That Step" is a song written by Mark Miller, and recorded by American country music group Sawyer Brown. It was released in January 1985 as the second single from their self-titled debut album. It was their first number-one hit on both the ...
" (1985), "
Some Girls Do ''Some Girls Do'' is a 1969 British comedy spy film directed by Ralph Thomas. It was the second of the revamped Bulldog Drummond films (following 1967's ''Deadlier Than the Male'') starring Richard Johnson as Drummond, made following the success ...
" (1992), and "
Thank God for You "Thank God For You" is a song written by Mac McAnally and Mark Miller, and recorded by American country music group Sawyer Brown. It was released in June 1993 as the lead single from their album, '' Outskirts of Town''. The song reached number-one ...
" (1993). The band's sound is largely defined by
country pop Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...
and
rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
influences, with cover versions of songs by
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", ...
, Michael Johnson, and
Dave Dudley Dave Dudley (born David Darwin Pedruska; May 3, 1928 – December 22, 2003) was an American country music singer best known for his truck-driving country anthems of the 1960s and 1970s and his semi-slurred bass. His signature song was "Six Day ...
also among their hit singles. Artists with whom they have collaborated include
Randy Scruggs Randy Lynn Scruggs (August 3, 1953 – April 17, 2018) was an American music producer, songwriter and guitarist. He had his first recording at the age of 13. He won four Grammy Awards and was named Musician of the Year at the Country Music ...
,
Joe Bonsall Joseph Sloan Bonsall Jr. (born May 18, 1948) is an American singer who has been the tenor of the country/gospel vocal quartet The Oak Ridge Boys since October 1973. He is also an author. Besides charting numerous hits as a member of the Oak Rid ...
, and
Mac McAnally Lyman Corbitt McAnally Jr. (; born July 15, 1957), known professionally as Mac McAnally, is an American country music singer-songwriter, session musician, and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. ...
.


History

The group's members were originally part of
country pop Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...
singer
Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...
's road band. When King stopped touring in 1981, the group decided to stay together. The band played up to five sets a night, six days a week (for a time at Knight's Corral, on Nolensville Rd., in Nashville, as "Bobby, Mark, and Sandgap"), until they auditioned for the TV show ''
Star Search ''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./ Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versio ...
'' in 1983. They won the grand prize of $100,000 and a recording contract. The band originally chose the name Savanna. When another band with a similar name emerged, the group decided to change its own moniker. They met at their manager's office 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 ...
and began looking through area
telephone book A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization that ...
s for inspiration. They blindly landed on the name of a nearby thoroughfare, Sawyer Brown Road, and derived the new band name "Sawyer Brown". 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 ...
and scored a Top 20 hit with their first single, "Leona", in 1984. That success was quickly followed by their first No. 1 hit, "Step That Step". The band had their ups and downs on the charts throughout the 1980s, landing only sporadic Top 10 hits. However, by 1990 they had accumulated enough hits for a Greatest Hits package, and were successful on the touring circuit. Originally, Sawyer Brown was known for a primarily
country pop Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...
sound dominated largely by novelty tunes; by 1991, however, the band began to express a more serious side to its music by adding ballads to its repertoire. That year, the band also dropped its affiliation with Capitol, and Curb Records assumed promotion and distribution of all subsequent albums and singles (except for 2003, when Sawyer Brown temporarily switched to
Lyric Street Records Lyric Street Records was an American country music record label. It was owned by the Disney Music Group and founded in 1997 by Randy Goodman. The label had its first successes in 1998 with singles by Lari White and Aaron Tippin, both formerly ...
). Bobby Randall also left the band in 1991, and was replaced by Duncan Cameron. Cameron subsequently departed in 2004, with Shayne Hill assuming the role of lead guitarist. In 1991, after the release of their album ''Buick'', guitarist Bobby Randall left the group to remain close to his family and host a short-lived TV
talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...
, ''Be a Star''. Bobby Randall joined to band called "Dallas County Line" formed in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
,
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
in late 1991 & early 2003 are disbanded. Duncan Cameron, formerly of The
Amazing Rhythm Aces Amazing may refer to: Music Performers * The Amazing, a Swedish indie rock band Albums * ''Amazing'' (Banaroo album), 2006 * ''Amazing'' (Elkie Brooks album), 1996 * ''Amazing'' (Marcia Hines album) or the title song, 2014 * ''Amazin'' (Tri ...
, was chosen as his replacement just as Sawyer Brown was about to become country music's "it" band. The band then switched labels, moving to
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 ...
and releasing the albums ''The Dirt Road'', ''Café on the Corner'', and ''Outskirts of Town'', which saw hit after hit for the band in the early to mid-1990s. Part of the band's new-found success was due to singer-songwriter
Mac McAnally Lyman Corbitt McAnally Jr. (; born July 15, 1957), known professionally as Mac McAnally, is an American country music singer-songwriter, session musician, and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. ...
, who wrote several songs for the group. The McAnally-penned songs, mostly ballads, helped to re-define Sawyer Brown, who up until this point had been reviled by many critics for being a flamboyant "bubble gum" pop act that emphasized style over substance. "The Walk", the final single off the ''Buick'' album, is said to be the turning point for the group. Following "The Walk", the band scored a number of Top 5 and Top 10 hits, including 2 more Billboard No. 1s with 1992's "
Some Girls Do ''Some Girls Do'' is a 1969 British comedy spy film directed by Ralph Thomas. It was the second of the revamped Bulldog Drummond films (following 1967's ''Deadlier Than the Male'') starring Richard Johnson as Drummond, made following the success ...
", and 1993's "
Thank God for You "Thank God For You" is a song written by Mac McAnally and Mark Miller, and recorded by American country music group Sawyer Brown. It was released in June 1993 as the lead single from their album, '' Outskirts of Town''. The song reached number-one ...
", which Mark Miller co-wrote with Mac McAnally. By 1995, Sawyer Brown had enough hits for a second Greatest Hits package. The album, titled ''Greatest Hits 1990 to 1995'', included two new singles, "This Time" and "I Don't Believe in Goodbye", which themselves became Top 5 hits. In the latter half of the 1990s, the group seemed to gradually fall out of favor with country radio, despite a crossover hit in 1999 with "Drive Me Wild". They parted ways with Curb in 2003 and signed with
Lyric Street Records Lyric Street Records was an American country music record label. It was owned by the Disney Music Group and founded in 1997 by Randy Goodman. The label had its first successes in 1998 with singles by Lari White and Aaron Tippin, both formerly ...
. One single was released on Lyric Street before Sawyer Brown left that label as well. 2004 saw the group returning to Curb Records, just as Duncan Cameron decided to leave the group to pursue a lifelong dream of flying for
Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...
. Guitarist Shayne Hill replaced Duncan's post as guitarist, although both Cameron and Hill are in the credits on ''Mission Temple Fireworks Stand''. The album's title track, featuring Robert Randolph, peaked at No. 55. The second single off that album, "They Don't Understand", was a minor Top 40 hit on the country charts, and Top 20 on the Christian single charts. Sawyer Brown has released twenty studio albums, of which three have been certified gold in the United States for sales of 500,000 copies. More than 50 of their singles have entered the U.S. ''
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 ...
''
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 ...
charts, including three Number One singles. Sawyer Brown also received a Horizon Award from the
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 ...
in 1985, as well as a Vocal Group of the Year award in 1997 from the
Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...
and five Vocal Band of The Year Awards from the TNN Music City News Country Awards. Sawyer Brown wrote "The Nebraska Song" in honor of
Brook Berringer Brook Warren Berringer (July 9, 1973 – April 18, 1996) was an American quarterback for the University of Nebraska football team in the mid-1990s. Berringer came to Nebraska from Goodland, Kansas, and played a backup role to Tommie Frazier. He wa ...
, a
Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...
quarterback who died in a plane crash on April 18, 1996. (The song was actually written before his death.) The song appears on the group's album ''
Six Days on the Road "Six Days on the Road" is an American song written by Earl Green and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio songwriter Carl Montgomery, made famous by country music singer Dave Dudley. The song was initially recorded by Paul Davis (not the same as the better ...
''. Mark Miller also served as a pallbearer at Berringer's funeral. In 1998, the band appeared at the Unforgiven: In Your House Pay Per View and performed a lip synced version of "Some Girls Do" with
Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also serves as Director of Business Development. Beginning his career in his father J ...
. In the early 2000s, Mark Miller formed Christian music label
Beach Street Records Beach Street Records is a part of Reunion Records, under the Provident Label Group. The label was founded in 2003, by Mark Miller, lead singer of the country band Sawyer Brown.Banks, Adelle M. (February 23, 2008). "Casting Crowns, in Tampa on Sunda ...
. One of the first acts he began producing for the label was
Casting Crowns Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian and Christian rock band started in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall, who serves as the band's lead vocalist, as part of a youth group at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida. They lat ...
. In August 2021, Jim Scholten bass guitarist was leaving the group from Sawyer Brown in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
.


Discography


Awards

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 ...
Awards *1985 CMA Horizon Award
Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...
Awards *1996 ACM Vocal Group of the Year TNN/Music City News Country Music Awards *1993 Vocal Band of the Year *1994 Vocal Band of the Year *1995 Vocal Band of the Year *1996 Vocal Band of the Year *1997 Vocal Band of the Year *1998 Vocal Band of the Year CMT Country Music Awards *1993 Video Group of the Year *1994 Video Group of the Year *1995 Video Group of the Year


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control Country music groups from Florida Musical groups established in 1981 Capitol Records artists Curb Records artists Beach Street Records artists Lyric Street Records artists