Bill Rice
Encyclopedia
Wilbur Steven "Bill" Rice (born April 19, 1939 in Datto, Arkansas
) is an American country music
singer and songwriter. Rice charted six singles between 1971 and 1978, including the Top 40 hit "Travelin' Minstrel Man", but is better known for his songwriting. Rice has written songs for artists such as Johnny Paycheck
, Reba McEntire
, Charley Pride
and Jerry Lee Lewis
, and he has more awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers than any other songwriter. Rice has also been nominated for two Grammy Award
s.
recorded "Girl Next Door Went A-Walking" in 1960.
Rice began collaborating with another songwriter, Jerry Foster, after meeting him while on tour. The two wrote songs together and were signed to a songwriting contract through the assistance of Cowboy Jack Clement. Two of his cuts received Grammy Award
nominations: "Back Side of Dallas" by Jeannie C. Riley
and "Here Comes the Hurt Again" by Mickey Gilley
. He has also received 73 awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), the most received by any songwriter. In 1974, Rice had eleven cuts on the country music charts at the same time.
Rice charted six singles of his own in the 1970s: two each on Capitol Records
, Epic Records
and Polydor Records
. His first Capitol release, "Travelin' Minstrel Man", peaked at number 33 on Hot Country Songs. One of his singles was a duet with then-labelmate Lois Johnson
titled "All the Love We Threw Away".
Among the songs that Rice has written include "Someone to Give My Love To" by Johnny Paycheck
, "Lonely Too Long
" by Patty Loveless
, "I'll Think of Something
" by Hank Williams, Jr.
(later covered by Mark Chesnutt
), "I'm Not That Lonely Yet
" by Reba McEntire
, "Would You Take Another Chance on Me
" by Jerry Lee Lewis
and "Wonder Could I Live There Anymore
" by Charley Pride
.
In the 1970s, Vaughn also co-wrote several songs with then-wife Sharon Rice, also known as Sharon Vaughn
. He lives in Florida
.
Datto, Arkansas
Datto is a town in Clay County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 97 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Datto is located at ....
) is an American country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer and songwriter. Rice charted six singles between 1971 and 1978, including the Top 40 hit "Travelin' Minstrel Man", but is better known for his songwriting. Rice has written songs for artists such as Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck was the legal name of Donald Eugene Lytle , a country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member most famous for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It"...
, Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...
, Charley Pride
Charley Pride
Charley Frank Pride is an American country music singer. His smooth baritone voice was featured on thirty-nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His greatest success came in the early- to mid-1970s, when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis...
and Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, and he has more awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers than any other songwriter. Rice has also been nominated for two Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s.
Biography
Wilbur Steven Rice was born April 19, 1939. He learned to play guitar at age fourteen and was signed to his first recording contract at age 18. In 1960, he had his first cut as a songwriter when Elvis PresleyElvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
recorded "Girl Next Door Went A-Walking" in 1960.
Rice began collaborating with another songwriter, Jerry Foster, after meeting him while on tour. The two wrote songs together and were signed to a songwriting contract through the assistance of Cowboy Jack Clement. Two of his cuts received Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominations: "Back Side of Dallas" by Jeannie C. Riley
Jeannie C. Riley
Jeannie C. Riley is an American country music and gospel singer. She is best known for her 1968 country and pop hit "Harper Valley PTA" , which missed becoming the Billboard Country and Pop number one hit at the same time...
and "Here Comes the Hurt Again" by Mickey Gilley
Mickey Gilley
Mickey Leroy Gilley is an American country music singer and musician. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1980s, bringing him further success on not just the country charts, but the pop charts as...
. He has also received 73 awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), the most received by any songwriter. In 1974, Rice had eleven cuts on the country music charts at the same time.
Rice charted six singles of his own in the 1970s: two each on Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
and Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
. His first Capitol release, "Travelin' Minstrel Man", peaked at number 33 on Hot Country Songs. One of his singles was a duet with then-labelmate Lois Johnson
Lois Johnson
Lois Johnson is an American country music singer from Maynardville, Tennessee. She recorded for different labels between 1969 and 1978, and charted twenty singles on the Hot Country Songs charts. Her highest chart peak was "Loving You Will Never Grow Old", which reached number six in 1975. Johnson...
titled "All the Love We Threw Away".
Among the songs that Rice has written include "Someone to Give My Love To" by Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck was the legal name of Donald Eugene Lytle , a country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member most famous for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It"...
, "Lonely Too Long
Lonely Too Long
"Lonely Too Long" is a single recorded by Patty Loveless. It was included on her third album with Epic Records, The Trouble with the Truth, her eighth album overall. The single was released in 1996...
" by Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless , is an American country music singer.Since her emergence on the country music scene in late 1986 with her first album, Loveless has been one of the most popular female singers of the Neotraditional country movement, although she has also recorded albums in the Country pop and...
, "I'll Think of Something
I'll Think of Something
"I'll Think of Something" is the title of a song written by Bill Rice and Jerry Foster, which has been recorded by American country music singers Hank Williams, Jr. and Mark Chesnutt.-Hank Williams, Jr. version:...
" by Hank Williams, Jr.
Hank Williams, Jr.
Randall Hank Williams , better known as Hank Williams, Jr. and Bocephus, is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of Southern rock, blues, and traditional country...
(later covered by Mark Chesnutt
Mark Chesnutt
Mark Nelson Chesnutt is an American country music singer. Chesnutt recorded and released his first album, Doing My Country Thing, in the late-1980s on private independent record label, Axbar Records, with the vinyl album version now a collector's item...
), "I'm Not That Lonely Yet
I'm Not That Lonely Yet
"I'm Not That Lonely Yet" is a single by American country music artist Reba McEntire. Released in 1982, it was the first single from the album Unlimited. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart for the week of September 4, 1982.-Chart performance:...
" by Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...
, "Would You Take Another Chance on Me
Would You Take Another Chance on Me
"Would Tou Take Another Chance on Me" is a 1971 single by Jerry Lee Lewis. "Would You Take Another Chance on Me" would be Jerry Lee Lewis' fifth number one on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of sixteen weeks within the top 40.The flip-side of...
" by Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
and "Wonder Could I Live There Anymore
Wonder Could I Live There Anymore
"Wonder Could I Live There Anymore" is a 1970 single written by Bill Rice and recorded by Charley Pride. "Would Could I Live There Anymore" would be Charley Pride's fourth number one in a row on the country charts. The single went to number one for two weeks and spent a total of fifteen weeks...
" by Charley Pride
Charley Pride
Charley Frank Pride is an American country music singer. His smooth baritone voice was featured on thirty-nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His greatest success came in the early- to mid-1970s, when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis...
.
In the 1970s, Vaughn also co-wrote several songs with then-wife Sharon Rice, also known as Sharon Vaughn
Sharon Vaughn
Sharon Vaughn is a musician, songwriter and producer. She has had over two hundred cuts including several number one hits. She has also been nominated for The Nashville Songwriters Federation "Hall Of Fame". Vaughn was formerly married to songwriter Bill Rice, and later to Howard Bellamy of The...
. He lives in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Discography
| Year | Single | Chart Positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
||
| 1971 | "Travelin' Minstrel Man" | 33 |
| "Honky-Tonk Stardust Cowboy" | 51 | |
| 1972 | "A Girl Like Her Is Hard to Find" | 74 |
| "Something to Call Mine" | 63 | |
| 1977 | "All the Love We Threw Away" (with Lois Johnson Lois Johnson Lois Johnson is an American country music singer from Maynardville, Tennessee. She recorded for different labels between 1969 and 1978, and charted twenty singles on the Hot Country Songs charts. Her highest chart peak was "Loving You Will Never Grow Old", which reached number six in 1975. Johnson... ) |
97 |
| 1978 | "Beggars and Choosers" | 100 |