Richard Leigh (songwriter)

American singer-songwriter

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Richard Leigh

Leigh performing with Tim Kaine in 2013

Background information
Born|  (1951-05-26) May 26, 1951 (age 72)
Washington, D.C., United States
Occupation(s)| Musician, songwriter
Website| richardleigh.com

Musical artist

Richard Leigh (born May 26, 1951 in Washington, D.C.) is an American country music songwriter and singer. He is best known for penning "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" (sung by Crystal Gayle). In 1978, he received a Grammy Award for "Best Country Song" for the popular song. It was nominated in both pop and country categories and reached number one on both charts.

His first number one song was "I'll Get Over You" (1976), also sung by Crystal Gayle. Other prominent singers who have brought his songs number one status over the years include Billy Dean, Mickey Gilley, Reba McEntire, Barbara Mandrell, Steve Wariner, and Don Williams. Kathy Mattea had another number one hit with "Come From the Heart" in 1990. In 1999, the Dixie Chicks recorded Leigh's "Cold Day in July" for their album Fly, reaching Number 10 on the country music charts in 2000.

Leigh was raised in Virginia, and lives in Tennessee. He is a graduate of Virginia Highlands Community College and Virginia Commonwealth University.[1] It was while he was attending VCU that he penned and first sang "I'll Get Over You," while performing at the Crossroads Coffeehouse in Richmond, Virginia's Fan District. He has been nominated for songwriter of the year seven times and in 1994 he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Foundation Hall of Fame. On April 11, 2011, Leigh was one of only four chosen nationally from the American Community College System to be awarded 2011 AACC Outstanding Alumni Award for excellence in ones chosen field.[2] Since 2013 he has arranged with VHCC to host the Richard Leigh Songwriter's Festival,[3] an annual competition for new songwriting talent. Proceeds from the event go to VHCC's Great Expectations program benefiting foster care students.

## List of number one songs[edit]

Number Ones on Billboard's US Country Music Chart unless otherwise noted.

Year | Title | Co-writer | Performer

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1976 | "I'll Get Over You" | None  | Crystal Gayle
1978 | "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" | None  | Crystal Gayle
1985 | "Life's Highway" | R. Leigh/ R. Murrah | Steve Wariner
1982 | "Put Your Dreams Away" | R. Leigh/W. Holyfield | Mickey Gilley
1990 | "Come From the Heart" | R. Leigh/S. Clark | Kathy Mattea
1991 | "Somewhere in My Broken Heart"A | R. Leigh/B. Dean | Billy Dean
1991 | "Only Here for a Little While"A | R. Leigh/W. Holyfield | Billy Dean
1984 | "That's the Thing About Love" | R. Leigh/G. Nicholson | Don Williams
1992 | "The Greatest Man I Never Knew"A | R. Leigh/L. Martine, Jr. | Reba McEntire

* AReached No. 1 on U.S. Radio & Records country singles charts.

## References[edit]

1. ^ [1][dead link]
2. ^ [2][dead link]
3. ^ [3][dead link]

## External links[edit]

* Online Home of Richard Leigh
* Nashville Songwriters Foundation - Hall of Fame Profile
* Interview

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CMA Song of the Year

1967−1970|

* "There Goes My Everything" - Dallas Frazier (1967)
* "Honey" - Bobby Russell (1968)
* "The Carroll County Accident" - Bob Ferguson (1969)
* "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" - Kris Kristofferson (1970)

1971-1980|

* "Easy Loving" - Freddie Hart (1971-2)
* "Behind Closed Doors" - Kenny O'Dell (1973)
* "Country Bumpkin" - Don Wayne (1974)
* "Back Home Again" - John Denver (1975)
* "Rhinestone Cowboy" - Larry Weiss (1976)
* "Lucille" Roger Bowling, Hal Bynum \- (1977)
* "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" - Richard Leigh (1978)
* "The Gambler" - Don Schlitz (1979)
* "He Stopped Loving Her Today" - Bobby Braddock, Curly Putman (1980)

1981-1990|

* "He Stopped Loving Her Today" - Bobby Braddock, Curly Putman (1981)
* "Always on My Mind" - Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, Mark James (1982-3)
* "Wind Beneath My Wings" - Larry Henley, Jeff Silbar (1984)
* "God Bless the U.S.A." - Lee Greenwood (1985)
* "On the Other Hand" - Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz (1986)
* "Forever and Ever, Amen \- Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz (1987)
* "80's Ladies" - K. T. Oslin (1988)
* "Chiseled in Stone" - Max D. Barnes, Vern Gosdin (1989)
* "Where've You Been" - Don Henry, Jon Vezner (1990)

1991-2000|

* "When I Call Your Name" - Tim DuBois, Vince Gill (1991)
* "Look at Us" - Vince Gill, Max D. Barnes (1992)
* "I Still Believe in You" - Vince Gill, John Barlow Jarvis (1993)
* "Chattahoochee" - Jim McBride, Alan Jackson (1994)
* "Independence Day" - Gretchen Peters (1995)
* "Go Rest High on That Mountain" - Vince Gill (1996)
* "Strawberry Wine" - Matraca Berg, Gary Harrison (1997)
* "Holes in the Floor of Heaven" - Billy Kirsch, Steve Wariner (1998)
* "This Kiss" - Beth Nielsen Chapman, Robin Lerner, Annie Roboff (1999)
* "I Hope You Dance" - Mark D. Sanders, Tia Sillers (2000)

2001-2010|

* "Murder on Music Row" - Larry Cordle, Larry Shell (2001)
* "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" - Alan Jackson (2002)
* "Three Wooden Crosses" - Doug Johnson, Kim Williams (2003)
* "Live Like You Were Dying" - Tim Nichols, Craig Wiseman (2004)
* "Whiskey Lullaby" - Bill Anderson, Jon Randall (2005)
* "Believe" - Ronnie Dunn, Craig Wiseman (2006)
* "Give It Away" - Bill Anderson, Buddy Cannon, Jamey Johnson (2007)
* "Stay" - Jennifer Nettles (2008)
* "In Color" - Jamey Johnson, Lee Thomas Miller, James Otto (2009)
* "The House That Built Me" - Tom Douglas, Allen Shamblin (2010)

2011-2020|

* "If I Die Young" - Kimberly Perry (2011)
* "Over You" - Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton (2012)
* "I Drive Your Truck" - Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Jimmy Yeary (2013)
* "Follow Your Arrow" - Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves (2014)
* "Girl Crush" - Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose (2015)
* "Humble and Kind" - Lori McKenna (2016)
* "Better Man" - Taylor Swift (2017)
* "Broken Halos" - Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton (2018)
* "Beautiful Crazy" - Luke Combs, Wyatt Durrette, Robert Williford (2019)

2021-2030|

* "The Bones" - Maren Morris, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz (2020)
* "Starting Over" - Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton (2021)
* "Buy Dirt" — Jacob Davis, Jordan Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins (2022)

Authority control

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States
* Czech Republic

Artists|

* Grammy Awards
* MusicBrainz

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