Born in the DMV 75 Years Ago Today, the Man Behind One of Country Music’s Most Timeless Love Songs and Hits for Don Williams and Reba McEntire

Some of your favorite country tunes performed by the biggest names in the genre in the 70s through the 90s might have been written by none other than Richard Leigh. Leigh is one of the most prolific songwriters in the country genre, and his own recorded works are nothing to sneeze at, either. And on this day, May 26, 1951, Richard Leigh was born in Washington, D.C.

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Let’s celebrate Leigh’s 75th birthday by taking a look back at his inspiring career as a country singer-songwriter, shall we?

The Life and Career of Richard Leigh

Richard Leigh was born on May 26, 1951, in Washington, D.C. Sadly, Leigh experienced substantial tragedy when he was just a small child. When he was just short of three years old, both of his parents were killed in a tragic accident. Fortunately, he would be taken in by the ex-wife of his half-brother and was adopted by her at age 15.

Leigh’s music career can be traced back to when he was about 10 years old, when he began writing songs. While attending Virginia Commonwealth University, Leigh penned and first performed his song “I’ll Get Over You” at a nearby coffeehouse. Realizing that music would always be his true calling, Leigh headed to Nashville in 1974.

The Pen Behind Crystal Gayle’s Signature Song

It only took two years for Leigh to start scoring No. 1 hits. His first was the 1976 song “I’ll Get Over You”, famously performed by Crystal Gayle. Two years later, he scored a Grammy Award for Best Country Song for another Gayle-sung tune, “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue”. He was also nominated for a co-written effort with Layng Martine Jr., titled “The Greatest Man I Never Knew”. Throughout his career from the 1970s through the 1990s, Leigh wrote songs that other singers helped take to No. 1, from Billy Dean to Reba McEntire to Barbara Mandrell and many others.

In 1990, Leigh hit No. 1 again with the Kathy Mattea recording, “Come From The Heart”. He co-wrote the song with Susanna Clark. Dixie Chicks also had a big hit with the song “Cold Day In July” in 2000.

Richard Leigh was finally inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994. Later in his career, he hosted the Richard Leigh Songwriter’s Festival, a yearly competition to help new talent in songwriting get exposure, which also benefits children in foster care.

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