Norris Denton "Norro" Wilson (April 4, 1938 – June 8, 2017) was 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, ...

singer-songwriter, producer, and member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Wilson wrote or co-wrote numerous hit songs during more than 40 years in the industry, including songs for David Houston, Jean Shepard,

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. His eclectic style of music was often difficult to classify, encompassing the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, soul, and gospel g ...

, Charley Pride, George Jones, and

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta ...

, among many others. He also produced or co-produced songs for dozens of artists, including early

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

Joe Stampley Joe Stampley (born June 6, 1943) is an American country music singer. He had success as the lead singer of a rock group, in a country duo with Moe Bandy and as a solo performer. Stampley has released over 20 albums and more than 60 singles in ...

Margo Smith Margo Smith (born Betty Lou Miller; April 9, 1942 in Dayton, Ohio) is an American country and Christian music singer–songwriter. She had several years of country success during the 1970s, which included two number one hits on the ''Billboard ...

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 ...

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs and Country ...

, and

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...

. Earlier in his career, Wilson also charted ten singles on the ''

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the musi ...

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 sa ...

chart. The biggest of his three Top 40 hits was "Do It to Someone You Love" (written by

Tom T. Hall Thomas Hall (May 25, 1936 – August 20, 2021), known professionally as Tom T. Hall and informally nicknamed "the Storyteller," was an American country music singer-songwriter and short-story author. He wrote 12 No. 1 hit songs, with 26 more ...

) which reached No. 20 in 1970. He also recorded two songs, "Hey, Mister!" and "Mama McClusky", that were the basis for Charlie Rich's 1973 number one song, " The Most Beautiful Girl". He died on June 8, 2017, in Nashville from heart failure.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Awards and recognition

* 1975

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 pr ...

(with

Billy Sherrill Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger best known for his association with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner G ...

, songwriters) for Best Country Song, " A Very Special Love Song" * 1996 Inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame * 2008 Inducted into Kentucky Music Hall of Fame * 2018 Academy of Country Music Poet's Award

References

*Hight, Michael. "Norro Wilson". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. 1998. p. 596. *Hyatt, Wesley. ''The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits''. New York: Billboard Publications. 1999. *Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York), 1991 ()

External links

Nashville Songwriters Foundation Hall of Fame — Norro Wilson
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Norro 1938 births 2017 deaths American country singer-songwriters People from Scottsville, Kentucky Country musicians from Kentucky American country record producers Smash Records artists Singer-songwriters from Kentucky Record producers from Kentucky 20th-century American singers Country musicians from Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Tennessee