Hillary Lee Lindsey is an American singer-songwriter. She has written songs with or for a number of artists including

Michelle Branch Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. During the early 2000s, she released two top-selling albums: ''The Spirit Room'' and '' Hotel Paper.'' She won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Co ...

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill' ...

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 ...

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

Lady A 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), ...

Gary Allan Gary Allan Herzberg (born December 5, 1967) is an American country music singer. Signed to Decca Records in 1996, Allan made his country music debut with the release of his single " Her Man", the lead-off to his gold-certified debut album '' U ...

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 ...

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...

Kellie Pickler Kellie Dawn Pickler (born June 28, 1986) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television personality. Pickler gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of ''American Idol'' and finished in sixth place. In 2006, she signed ...

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

and

Luke Bryan Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country music, country singer, songwriter, and television personality. He began his music career writing songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington before signing with Capitol Reco ...

. In 2006 and 2016, respectively, Lindsey won a

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 ...

for Best Country Song for Carrie Underwood's "

Jesus, Take the Wheel "Jesus, Take the Wheel" is a song written by Brett James, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson, and recorded by American country music artist Carrie Underwood. It was released on October 18, 2005 as the first single from Underwood's debut album ' ...

" and for

Little Big Town Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has comprised the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbro ...

's "

Girl Crush "Girl Crush" is a song written by Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey and Liz Rose, and performed by American country music group Little Big Town. It was released on December 15, 2014 as the second single from their sixth studio album, '' Pain Killer'' ...

". In 2011, Lindsey received an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination for "Coming Home", recorded by

Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (; born ) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Paltrow gained notice for her early work in films ...

for the soundtrack of ''

Country Strong ''Country Strong'' is a 2010 American drama film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, and Leighton Meester. The film, about an emotionally unstable country music star who attempts to resurrect her career, was directed and written ...

'', in the

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

category. "Coming Home" also received a Golden Globe nomination that same year for Best Original Song along with "

There's a Place for Us ''There's a Place for Us'' is an album recorded by Motown girl group The Supremes in 1965, for many years the most famous of the trio's unreleased albums. The album, composed of show-tunes and pop standards, was released by Motown and Hip-O Reco ...

", making Lindsey a double nominee in 2011. , she has had 20 number-one singles as a writer. She has been nominated three times for the

Grammy Award for Song of the Year The Grammy Award for Song of the Year is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. The Song of the Year award is one of the four most prestigious categories at ...

for her work on "Jesus Take the Wheel", "

", and "

Always Remember Us This Way "Always Remember Us This Way" is a song from the 2018 film ''A Star Is Born (2018 film), A Star Is Born'' and its A Star Is Born (2018 soundtrack), soundtrack of the same name, performed by the film's star Lady Gaga. It was released as soundtrack' ...

Early life and education

Lindsey grew up in

Washington, Georgia Washington is the county seat of Wilkes County, Georgia, United States. Under its original name Heard's Fort, it was briefly designated as the state capital during the American Revolutionary War. It is noted as the place where the Confederacy ...

. She is the daughter of Ricky and Kathy Lindsey. Her father was a drummer. She started writing songs at age two. She went on to sing in her church choir and won her first award at age eight in the local Kiwanis Talent Showcase. As a child, she won 4-H singing competitions and participated in 4-H’s traveling performing arts group, Clovers & Co. Lindsey graduated from

Washington-Wilkes Comprehensive High School Washington-Wilkes Comprehensive High School is a public high school in Wilkes County, Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast Uni ...

and moved to Nashville in 1994 to enroll in

Belmont University Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...

’s Music Business School.

Career

She landed a publishing deal during her senior year at Belmont University. She signed her first publishing deal in 1997. She was later signed as an artist to

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

but was dropped by the label after three months. She tells the story of a roommate who had an internship at a record label and took one of her tapes into work with her. The tape was passed around to publishers, and Lindsey was quickly signed to

Famous Music Publishing Famous Music Corporation was the worldwide music publishing division of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global since 1994. Its copyright holdings span several decades and includes music from such Academy Awards, Academy Award-winning ...

. In her first year as a writer she had eight cuts. She had her first number one song as a writer in 2002 with

's "

Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

". In that same year, her song ''This Mystery'' (co-written by

Troy Verges Troy Verges is an American songwriter of country and pop music from Louisiana. Career His first cut as a songwriter was a track on Faith Hill's '' Breathe''. His credits include the singles " Wanted", recorded by Hunter Hayes; "Beer Money", r ...

and

Brett James Brett James Cornelius (born June 5, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer based in Nashville. James' compositions have been credited on 494 recordings by a wide variety of artists. Signed to Career Records ( ...

) was a number one hit in the Netherlands for singer Marco Borsato in a Dutch translation titled ''Lopen op het Water'' ("Walking on water"). The Dutch translation was recorded for the marriage of then-crown prince Willem Alexander and Maxima Zorreguieta. Eleven of her number ones as a writer are

tracks including " Jesus Take The Wheel", "Wasted", "

So Small "So Small" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Carrie Underwood. It was released in August 2007 as the first single from her 2007 album ''Carnival Ride''. Underwood co-wrote this song with Hillary Lindsey and Luke L ...

", "Just A Dream", "

Last Name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...

" and "

Two Black Cadillacs "Two Black Cadillacs" is a song by American recording artist Carrie Underwood, taken from her fourth studio album, '' Blown Away.'' The song served as the album's third single on November 18, 2012, through Arista Nashville. Written by Underwood, ...

". Thirty million records have been sold featuring her compositions. She has had two songs featured on the ABC television series ''

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 ...

'': "

Telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...

" performed by

Hayden Panettiere Hayden Lesley Panettiere (; born August 21, 1989) is an American actress, model, and singer. She is best known for her lead roles as Claire Bennet on the NBC superhero series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'' and Juliette Barnes in the Am ...

and "Change Your Mind" performed by

Clare Bowen Clare Maree Bowen (born 12 May 1984) is an Australian actress and singer, best known for her role as Scarlett O'Connor in the ABC/ CMT musical-drama television series ''Nashville''. Alongside her music releases from ''Nashville'' and her solo ...

and

Sam Palladio Sam Christian Palladio Scott (born 21 November 1986) is an English actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Gunnar Scott in the ABC musical drama series '' Nashville'' (2012–18). Palladio has also had recurring roles on ...

. In 2020, Lindsey was named Songwriter of the Year by the Academy of Country Music. She is only the second woman in history to receive that honor. Lindsey's friendship with songwriters

Lori McKenna Lorraine McKenna ( Giroux; born December 22, 1968) is an American folk, Americana, and country music singer-songwriter. In 2016, she was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and won Best Country Song for co-writing the hit sing ...

and

Liz Rose Elisabeth Wagner (born September 6, 1957), known professionally as Liz Rose, is an American country music songwriter, best known for her work with Taylor Swift. She has co-written seventeen of Swift's officially released songs, including "You Bel ...

developed into a working partnership called the Love Junkies. The three have collaborated on songs for Little Big Town and Lady Gaga. The three shared a Grammy Award in 2015 for ''Girl Crush'' which won for "Best Country Song." In 2021, the three women launched a podcast titled "Love Junkies Radio." As of 2016, the three women had sold more than 50 million songs either together, separately or with others. in 2020, Lindsey signed a co-publishing agreement with Concord Music Publishing. The partnership will include a joint venture to sign and develop new artists.

Discography

Personal life

Lindsey is married to songwriter

Cary Barlowe Cary Barlowe (born 1982) is an American country music songwriter, and a former member of the rock band Luna Halo. Born in Virginia and raised in North Carolina, Barlowe originally performed with his older brother Nathan in the rock group Lu ...

. The couple have a daughter born in 2015. She has two sisters, Lauren Lindsey Fowler and Taylor Harris Lindsey. Taylor Lindsey is an executive at Sony Music Nashville.

References

External links

Hilary Lindsey biography at BMG Music Publishing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsey, Hillary Living people American women country singers American country singer-songwriters Grammy Award winners People from Washington, Georgia Country musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) 1977 births 21st-century American women Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)