Eddie Kilroy is a

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, ...

producer. Currently he has a show on XM Satellite Radio's

Willie's Place Willie's Place was a truck stop and biodiesel processing plant located in Carl's Corner, Texas that was opened in 2005 and named after Willie Nelson. The facility was originally built circa 1980 by Carl Cornelius and named Carl's Corner. Willie ...

Early life

Alva Dave Moore who later took the stage name Eddie Kilroy when he was a disc jockey in Houston, was born in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, and, as he describes his early life, he was "surrounded by cowboys". Thus by the time he was ten he had decided to make a living as a cowboy, and, with the support of his father, Kilroy successfully took part in youth and high school rodeos, eventually entering the professional circuit. Along with horse riding, Kilroy had picked up some skills with the guitar, and this had led him into song writing and local performances. While in Arkansas, Kilroy decided to make the trip to Nashville in order to give the music business a try. With horses in tow, he unsuccessfully tried pitching his music to

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

, only to discover that "you needed an appointment and they didn't care I had two horses in their parking lot". Kilroy noticed that

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Di ...

's offices were nearby, and thus he made a second attempt. Young was not impressed by the music, but recommended that Kilroy move to Nashville and continue writing, reportedly stating that "Every time you write a song, I want you to bring it over here and sing it to me." Although he did not immediately take Young's advice, choosing instead to return to the rodeo circuit, in the early 1960s Kilroy decided to follow Young's suggestion and moved to Nashville in order to pursue a career in the music industry.

Career

After moving to Nashville, Kilroy gained a position as a producer at

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...

. Kilroy's first studio record, produced in 1968, proved to be a hit for

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis ma ...

— and made Kilroy the "one man responsible" for changing the fortunes of Jerry Lee Lewis' flagging career. Kilroy suggested that Lewis record " Another Place, Another Time" with a more modern country sound, and the record kick-started Lewis's late 1960s career revival. Kilroy also continued with Faron Young's offer, and eventually Young recorded " Pen and Paper", with music and lyrics by Eddie Kilroy and Diane Blalock Kilroy through Mercury Records. Kilroy was a producer at Westpark Records in the early 1970s, and became president of

Playboy Records Playboy Records was an American record label, based in Los Angeles, California, and a unit of Playboy Enterprises. Artists recording for the label included Al Wilson, Barbi Benton, Blue Ash, Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, The Weapons of Peace, ...

when he founded the label for Hugh Hefner, for whom he signed

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 19 ...

. He recorded "Roomful of Roses" in 1974 with

, and the album became a number one country western hit – Gilley went on to create six number one albums with Playboy. From there Kilroy moved to become the co-president of the

MCA Nashville Records Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records ...

office. While at MCA Kilroy signed Faron Young to the label and produced two albums with Young: ''Chapter Two'' (1979) and ''Free and Easy'' (1980). Eddie Kilroy went independent after leaving MCA, and as an independent he produced the last album by

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and succ ...

Awards

*2007 Academy of Western Artists Awards, disc jockey, major market.

Credits

*Two awards for "Producer of The Year" from The Academy of Country Music *Lifetime member of The Academy of Country Music *Producer of the year for ASCAP *Producer of the year Record World Magazine

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilroy, Eddie Record producers from Texas Living people People from Liberty, Texas Year of birth missing (living people)