Born on This Day in 1964, the Songwriter Behind Hits From Conway Twitty, Reba McEntire, Clint Black, and Kenny Chesney

On this day (March 6) in 1964, Skip Ewing was born in Redlands, California. He started his music career as a performer in major theme parks as a teen. After moving to Nashville, he landed a staff writing job at one of the city’s most lauded publishing houses. Later, he landed a recording contract with MCA, where he released multiple hit singles. His compositions have been recorded by a long list of stars, including George Strait, George Jones, Charley Pride, Reba McEntire, and Clint Black.

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Ewing’s career began when he took a job as part of a country music show at the Busch Gardens theme park in Virginia, according to AllMusic. When he was 19 years old, he moved to Nashville to take a similar gig at the Opryland park. Soon, he found work as a demo singer and honed his songwriting skills. Eventually, he was hired as a staff writer at the Acuff-Rose publishing house.

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Skip Ewing Has Been Writing Hits for Decades

His first song to be recorded by a major artist was “One Hell of a Song.” George Jones recorded it for his album Too Wild Too Long. Charley Pride chose Ewing’s “I’m Gonna Love Her on the Radio” as the title track and lead single from his 1988 album. It reached No 13 on the country charts, Pride’s final top 20 hit.

Ewing has penned No. 1 singles for multiple artists, including Randy Travis (“If I Didn’t Have You”), Collin Raye (“Love, Me”), Diamond Rio (“I Believe”), Clint Black (“Something That We Do”), and Kenny Chesney (“You Had Me at Hello”), among others.

However, he didn’t just write hit songs for other artists. Skip Ewing landed a record deal with MCA in 1987. The next year, he released his debut album, The Coast of Colorado. The singles “I Don’t Have Far to Fall,” “The Gospel According to Luke,” and “Burnin’ a Hole in My Heart” were top 10 hits. Later, he had another hit with “It’s You Again” from his sophomore album, The Will to Love.

Ewing is still active. His latest single, “Stronger Where You’re Broken,” a duet with Mae Estes, dropped in February.

Featured Image by Linda Gordon Ewing