Brenn Hill
Encyclopedia
Brenn Hill is an award-winning American
Western music singer-songwriter
. Since winning the Western Music Association
Crescendo Award in 2001, Hill has developed a significant career as a performer and songwriter
, and was named the 2004 Academy of Western Artists Male Vocalist of the Year. Hill has developed a loyal fan base and has gained a significant reputation for his authentic contribution to country
and cowboy music.
and Western music
legend
Ian Tyson
. 2001 saw the release of Hill's Call You Cowboy, an "authentic country" album that showcased Hill's creative integrity and was praised by Allmusic as "clearly can't be mistaken for another cookie-cutter, neo-traditional Nashville pretty boy." The album also earned him the Western Music Association
's Crescendo Award, awarded to the year's biggest rising star in the genre.
music chart hits "Buckaroo Tattoo" and "Pickup Truck Cafe", and was praised in American Cowboy magazine as "showcasing what has to be considered his ever-increasing proficiency with a tune, his growth as a performer and writer... A collection of 14 songs with a fuller sound, more intricate arrangements, higher production values, and just a more individualistic stamp on it than Hill's previous work." Produced by Eddie Schwartz
and recorded at Ocean Way studios in Nashville
, Endangered earned him the Academy of Western Artists Male Vocalist of the Year Award, as well as nominations for Album of the Year and Song of the Year for "Buckaroo Tattoo".
to record his sixth album, What A Man's Got To Do, at Beaird Music Group studios. His first album to be produced by himself, Hill received unanimous praise for the album, with American Cowboy magazine commenting that "this latest effort looks to be his best ever... What you have to like about Brenn Hill is his honesty and his devotion to the West. He is skilled as a lyricist as well as a composer, and it is surprising that more of his songs are not being covered by other artists, but that likely will change." Hill's contribution to Western music and the craft
of songwriting was also noted by Western Horseman
magazine, commenting that "Hill isn’t content pigeon-holing his music as cowboy or country. It’s simply his music – a blend of classic and contemporary."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Western music singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. Since winning the Western Music Association
Western Music Association
The Western Music Association was incorporated in 1989 to promote and preserve western music in its traditional, historical, and contemporary forms....
Crescendo Award in 2001, Hill has developed a significant career as a performer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, and was named the 2004 Academy of Western Artists Male Vocalist of the Year. Hill has developed a loyal fan base and has gained a significant reputation for his authentic contribution to country
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...
and cowboy music.
Early career
Brenn Hill began his songwriting and recording career with two self-released albums, 1997's Rangefire and 1999's Deeper Than Mud. In 2000, Brenn was picked up by the Real West Productions record label, which released his third album, Trail Through Yesterday. The album was produced by cowboyCowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
and Western music
Western music (North America)
Western music originated as a form of American folk music. Originally composed by and about the people who settled and worked throughout the Western United States and Western Canada. Directly related musically to old English, Scottish, and Irish folk ballads, Western music celebrates the life of...
legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
Ian Tyson
Ian Tyson
Ian Tyson CM, AOE is a Canadian singer-songwriter, best known for his song "Four Strong Winds". He was also one half of the duo Ian & Sylvia.-Career:Tyson was born to British immigrants in Victoria in 1933, and grew up in Duncan B.C...
. 2001 saw the release of Hill's Call You Cowboy, an "authentic country" album that showcased Hill's creative integrity and was praised by Allmusic as "clearly can't be mistaken for another cookie-cutter, neo-traditional Nashville pretty boy." The album also earned him the Western Music Association
Western Music Association
The Western Music Association was incorporated in 1989 to promote and preserve western music in its traditional, historical, and contemporary forms....
's Crescendo Award, awarded to the year's biggest rising star in the genre.
Endangered (2004)
In 2004, Hill released Endangered on his own record label, Red Cliffs Press. The album featured the top 20 TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
music chart hits "Buckaroo Tattoo" and "Pickup Truck Cafe", and was praised in American Cowboy magazine as "showcasing what has to be considered his ever-increasing proficiency with a tune, his growth as a performer and writer... A collection of 14 songs with a fuller sound, more intricate arrangements, higher production values, and just a more individualistic stamp on it than Hill's previous work." Produced by Eddie Schwartz
Eddie Schwartz
Eddie Schwartz is a Canadian musician and Juno Award winner who had moderate success as a recording artist in the early 1980s, before becoming a successful songwriter, and record producer in the late 1980s and the 1990s....
and recorded at Ocean Way studios in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Endangered earned him the Academy of Western Artists Male Vocalist of the Year Award, as well as nominations for Album of the Year and Song of the Year for "Buckaroo Tattoo".
What A Man's Got To Do (2007)
In 2007, Hill returned to NashvilleNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
to record his sixth album, What A Man's Got To Do, at Beaird Music Group studios. His first album to be produced by himself, Hill received unanimous praise for the album, with American Cowboy magazine commenting that "this latest effort looks to be his best ever... What you have to like about Brenn Hill is his honesty and his devotion to the West. He is skilled as a lyricist as well as a composer, and it is surprising that more of his songs are not being covered by other artists, but that likely will change." Hill's contribution to Western music and the craft
Craft
A craft is a branch of a profession that requires some particular kind of skilled work. In historical sense, particularly as pertinent to the Medieval history and earlier, the term is usually applied towards people occupied in small-scale production of goods.-Development from the past until...
of songwriting was also noted by Western Horseman
Western Horseman
Western Horseman, a monthly magazine published by the Magazine Division of Morris Communications, was first published in January 1936. It features articles on Western riding, the breeding and care of horses, horse training and tack, and ranching...
magazine, commenting that "Hill isn’t content pigeon-holing his music as cowboy or country. It’s simply his music – a blend of classic and contemporary."
Albums
- 2007 What A Man's Got To Do
- 2004 Endangered
- 2001 Call You Cowboy
- 2000 Trail Through Yesterday
- 1999 Deeper Than Mud
- 1997 Rangefire