Tom Curtis Shapiro (born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

) is an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

and occasional

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 ...

, known primarily for his work in country music. To date, he holds four Country Songwriter of the Year awards from

Broadcast Music Incorporated Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 20.6 mill ...

, as well as the Songwriter of the Decade award from the Nashville Songwriters Association International. He has also written more than fifty Top Ten hits, including twenty-six Number Ones.

Musical career

Since the 1970s, Shapiro has been a prominent songwriter, doing most of his work in country music. His first big hit was the international smash, "Never Give Up On a Good Thing" by George Benson which was a top five record in 13 countries. He signed to a publishing contract with Tree International in the 1980s, with

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, Univer ...

, Crystal Gayle,

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 ...

and

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 ...

being among the first country acts to cut his material. In 1978

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

released their cover of his song "Love Deluxe." His career continued throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, with several of his cuts having topped the '' Billboard''

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. Among these Number One hits are "

Wink A wink is a facial expression made by briefly closing one eye. A wink is an informal mode of non-verbal communication usually signaling shared hidden knowledge or intent. However, it is ambiguous by itself and highly dependent upon additional c ...

" by

Neal McCoy Hubert Neal McGaughey Jr. (born July 30, 1958), known professionally as Neal McCoy, is an American country music singer. He has released 10 studio albums on various labels, and has released 34 singles to country radio. Although he first charted on ...

, which received BMI's Robert J. Burton award for being the most performed country song of 1994; "

No Place That Far ''No Place That Far'' is the second studio album by American country music artist Sara Evans. It was released in October 1998 via RCA Records Nashville. The album's first single, "Cryin' Game", peaked at number 56 on the US '' Billboard'' Hot Co ...

" by

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 cha ...

; "

I Miss My Friend ''I Miss My Friend'' is the second studio album by American country music singer Darryl Worley released on July 16, 2002. The album produced Worley's first number one single on the Hot Country Songs charts in its title track; "Family Tree" was ...

" by

Darryl Worley Darryl Wade Worley (born October 31, 1964) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to DreamWorks Records Nashville in 1999, Worley released four albums for the label: ''Hard Rain Don't Last'' (2000), '' I Miss My Friend'' (20 ...

(both of which were their respective artists' first Number Ones); and "

Ain't Nothing 'Bout You "Ain't Nothing 'bout You" is a song written by Tom Shapiro and Rivers Rutherford and recorded by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It was released on February 12, 2001 as the first single from Brooks & Dunn’s album '' Steers & Stripes''. ...

" by

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were so ...

, which was named by '' Billboard'' as the Number one country song of 2001. In 2008, Shapiro was inducted into the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame. As of 2013, Shapiro has had 57 Top 10 hits, including 26 number ones. In addition, Shapiro has produced albums for

Billy Dean William Harold Dean Jr. (born April 2, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He first gained national attention after appearing on the television talent competition ''Star Search''. Active as a recording artist since 1990, h ...

and

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

, as well as writing several singles for the former.

References

American country songwriters American male songwriters Living people Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri Year of birth missing (living people) Songwriters from Missouri {{US-songwriter-stub