Born on This Day in 1941, the Award-Winning Songwriter Who Wrote Thousands of Songs, Including Your Favorite George Strait and Merle Haggard Classics

On this day (April 2) in 1941, Sonny Throckmorton was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico. He had a brief and unfruitful career as a recording artist. However, Throckmorton shone as a songwriter. He has had more than 1,000 songs recorded by a long list of artists. Many of those songs became hits for the likes of Merle Haggard, the Judds, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the Oak Ridge Boys. Interestingly, his career didn’t take off until he thought it was over.

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Throckmorton was born in New Mexico, grew up in Texas, and moved to Nashville in 1964. That year, he landed a deal with Tree Publishing. Two years later, Bobby Lewis gave him his first hit when he took “How Long Has It Been” went to No. 6. That would be his only hit for more than a decade. In the late 1970s, Throckmorton became disillusioned. None of his songs were hitting, and he felt like a failure. As a result, he gave up his spot on Tree’s roster, packed his things, and returned to Texas.

[RELATED: 3 Key Tracks From The Judds’ 1984 Classic ‘Why Not Me’]

According to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, his songs started selling almost immediately after he left Tennessee. Throckmorton had been back in Texas for six months when Tree president Buddy Killed called. “Sonny, you need to get back up here. We can’t keep your songs on the shelf. Everybody wants a Throckmorton song,” he said.

Sonny Throckmorton’s Luck Changes

Dave & Sugar seemingly opened the floodgates for Sonny Throckmorton when they took his “I’m Knee Deep in Loving You” to No. 2 in 1977. This happened after several artists cut the song and failed to make it a hit. The same year, Merle Haggard took “If We’re Not Back in Love by Monday” to No. 2 and Jerry Lee Lewis took “Middle Age Crazy” to the top 5.

The next decade saw several of his songs hitting the country charts thanks to the Judds, the Oak Ridge Boys, Johnny Duncan, George Strait, and many more. He was named Songwriter of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association International in 1976. 1979, and 1980. He was also BMI’s Songwriter of the Year in 1980. “Why Not Me,” which was a No. 1 hit for the Judds, won the ACM Award for Song of the Year in 1984. Three years later, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Throckmorton Flooded the Charts

Sonny Throckmorton went from going a decade without a hit to the country charts being flooded with his compositions. Below are just a few highlights from his career.

• “Friday Night Blues”–John Conlee (No. 2)
• “I Feel Like Loving You Again”–T.G. Sheppard (No. 1)
• “Trying to Love Two Women”–Oak Ridge Boys (No. 1)
• “Why Not Me”–the Judds (No. 1)
• “The Cowboy Rides Away”–George Strait (No. 1)
• “The Way I Am”–Merle Haggard (No. 2)
• “Last Cheater’s Waltz”–T.G. Sheppard (No. 1)

After having more than 1,000 songs recorded by half of Nashville, scoring multiple hits and awards, Sonny Throckmorton retired. He returned to Texas in 1988. However, his songs continued to be recorded by a long line of artists.

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