He is a songwriter, producer, keyboard player and
singer born in Arkansas who saw his solo or co-written songs becoming hits
from the 1970s on.He has seen
No. 1 chart successes with "You Needed Me" by Anne Murray, "All Over Again"
by Ronan Keating and "A Lesson in Leavin'" by Dottie West and his other songs
include "Oh Sherrie" and "Foolish Heart" by Steve Perry, "It's Sad to
Belong" by England Dan & John Ford Coley, "I'll Be Over You" by Toto, "Whose
Holding Donna Now" by DeBarge, "Bluer Than Blue" by Michael Johnson, "20/20"
by George Benson and "If She Would Have Been Faithful..." by Chicago.Artists
who have recorded his music and/or been produced by him include Alabama,
Patty
Austin, Debby
Boone, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Judy Collins, The Commodores,
Rita
Coolidge, Floyd Cramer, Christopher Cross, Deodato, Tommy
Emmanuel, Agnetha
Faltskog, James Galway, Isaac Hayes, The Imperials, Al Jarreau,
Jefferson Starship, Kansas, Ronan Keating, Brian Kennedy, Chaka
Khan, Gladys Knight, Stacy Lattisaw, Michael McDonald, Ronnie
Milsap, Olivia Newton John, Jeffrey Osborne, David
Pack
, Teddy
Pendergrass, Lou Rawls, Helen Reddy, Dusty Springfield and Roger Whitaker
and countless others.Not
content with sticking to writing and producing he has played
keyboards and sang backing vocals for many musicians and bands
including Chet
Atkins, George Benson, Jimmy
Buffett, Amy Grant, Earl
Klugh, Roy
Orbison
, Steve Perry, Dionne
Warwick and many more.The
albums he has appeared on are too many to mention them all but include his
own Solitary Nights, Fool's Paradise and Words and Music as
well as Gettin' Away With Murder by Patti
Austin , Hearts Horizon
by Al Jarreau, 20/20 and Greatest Hits of All by George
Benson, Pickin' by Jerry
Reed , Rumour by Olivia Newton John, Street
Talk and Greatest Hits + 5 Unreleased by Steve Perry, My
Father's Eyes by Amy Grant, Heroes and Friends by Randy Travis, Buzz
and Caught Up in a Dream by Buzz
Cason , Read My Licks, Stay Tuned
and Chester and Lester/Guitar Monsters by Chet
Atkins , Midnight
Drive by Tommy
Emmanuel , Before the Beach and High Cumberland
Jubilee by Jimmy
Buffett , They Don't Make Them Like They Used To
and We've Got Tonight by Kenny
Rogers , Departure by Michael
Johnson and USA For Africa; We Are the World. In recognition of his contribution
to music he won six ASCAP awards in 1981 alone, received a Grammy Award
nomination and won "Song of the Year" from the Academy of Country Music for
"You Needed Me", was named Arkansan of the Year and inducted into the
Arkansas Entertainment Hall of Fame in 1996 and 2000 saw him being inducted
into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
