We Said Farewell to the Songwriter Behind Timeless Hits From George Jones, Tammy Wynette, and Charley Pride 9 Years Ago Today

On this day (June 8) in 2017, Norro Wilson died from heart failure in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 79. He started his career as a singer and recording artist, but found his true calling as a songwriter. Between the late 1960s and early ’70s, Wilson wrote timeless country hits for a long line of A-list artists. Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Charley Pride, Charlie Rich, and David Houston are among those who took his compositions to the top of the chart.

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Wilson began his career as a member of the Southlanders Quartet, a gospel group in the late 1950s. Before the decade ended, he relocated to Nashville, where he found work singing harmony for Faron Young and Ferlin Husky. Wilson also embarked on a solo career, releasing several singles and a studio album between 1969 and 1974. His biggest hit, the Tom T. Hall-penned “Do It to Someone You Love,” peaked at No. 20 in 1970.

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Norro Wilson Penned a Long List of Hits

According to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Norro Wilson had already found his first hit as a songwriter by then. David Houston took his “Baby, Baby (I Know You’re a Lady)” to the top of the country chart in 1969. The next year, Tammy Wynette hit No. 1 with “He Loves Me All the Way,” co-written by Wilson, Billy Sherrill, and Carmol Taylor.

He continued penning hits throughout the 1970s. Notably, he and Sherrill co-wrote “A Very Special Love Song,” which was recorded by Charlie Rich. The song went to No. 1 on the country chart and won its writers a Grammy Award in 1974. George Jones took “The Grand Tour,” written by Wilson, Taylor, and George Richey, to the top of the chart the same year.

In the 1980s, Charley Pride took two of Wilson’s songs to the top of the chart. “Never Been So Loved (In All My Life)” went to No. 1 in 1981. Two years later, he made “Night Games” a chart-topping hit.

“I think the song is more important than anything else, because it becomes a catalyst for a person’s career,” Wilson said. Below are a few highlights from his catalog that show how this philosophy made him one of the best songsmiths in Nashville history.

• “Another Lonely Song”–Tammy Wynette (No. 1)
• “I Love my Friend”–Charlie Rich (No. 1)
• “My Man (Understands)”–Wynette (No. 1)
• “Soul Song”–Joe Stampley (No. 1)
• “The Most Beautiful Girl”–Rich (No. 1)
• “A Picture of Me (Without You)”–George Jones (No. 5), Lorrie Morgan (No. 9)

Featured Image by Frederick Breedon IV/Getty Images for ACM