Sawyer Brown
Encyclopedia
Sawyer Brown is an American country music
band founded in 1981 in Apopka, Florida
, by five members of country pop
singer Don King's road band: Bobby Randall (guitar
) and Jim Scholten (bass guitar
), both from Midland, Michigan
; Joe Smyth (drums
), Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard (keyboards
), and Mark Miller (lead vocals). After King retired in 1981, the five members decided to form a band, first choosing the name Savanna before switching to Sawyer Brown, also the name of a road near where they practiced.
Originally, Sawyer Brown was known for a primarily country pop
sound dominated by novelty tunes; by 1991, however, the band began to show a more serious side to its music, adding ballads to its repertoire. That year, the band also dropped its affiliation with Capitol, and Curb Records took over promotion and distribution of all subsequent albums and singles (except for 2003, when Sawyer Brown temporarily switched to Lyric Street Records
). Bobby Randall also left the band in 1991, and was replaced by Duncan Cameron. Cameron subsequently departed in 2004, with Shayne Hill assuming the role of lead guitarist.
To date, Sawyer Brown has released twenty studio albums, of which three have been certified gold in the United States for sales of 500,000 copies. More than fifty of their singles have entered the U.S. Billboard
Hot Country Songs
charts, including three Number One singles. Sawyer Brown also received a Horizon Award from the Country Music Association
in 1985, as well as a Vocal Group of the Year award in 1997 from the Academy of Country Music
and 5 Vocal Band Of The Year Awards from the TNN Music City News Country Awards.
The group's members were originally part of country pop
singer Don King's road band. When King stopped touring in 1981, the group decided to stay together, taking the name "Sawyer Brown" after Sawyer Brown Road, the street where they rehearsed. The band played up to five sets a night, six days a week, until they auditioned for the TV show Star Search
in 1983. They auditioned just to get the videotape to promote the band, yet ended up winning the $100,000 grand prize and record contract.
The band signed with Capitol Records
(in a joint partnership with Curb Records) and scored a Top 20 hit with their first single, "Leona," in 1984. That success was quickly followed by their first #1 hit, "Step That Step". The band had their ups and downs on the charts throughout the 1980s, landing only sporadic Top 10 hits, however, they had accumulated enough hits for a Greatest Hits package by 1990, and were very successful on the touring circuit.
In 1991, after the release of their album Buick, guitarist Bobby Randall left the group to remain close to his family and host a short-lived TV talent show
, You Can Be A Star. Duncan Cameron, formerly of The Amazing Rhythm Aces
, was chosen as his replacement just as Sawyer Brown was about to become country music's "it" band. The band then switched labels, moving to Curb Records
and releasing the albums The Dirt Road, Café On The Corner, and Outskirts Of Town, which saw hit after hit for the band in the early to mid-'90s.
Part of the band's new-found success was due to singer-songwriter Mac McAnally
, who had written several songs for the group. The McAnally-penned songs, mostly ballads, helped to re-define Sawyer Brown, who up until this point had been reviled by many critics for being a flamboyant "bubble gum" pop act that emphasized style over substance. "The Walk", the final single off "The Dirt Road" album, is said to be the turning point for the group.
Following "The Walk", the band scored a number of Top 5 and Top 10 hits --- including 2 more Billboard #1s with 1992's "Some Girls Do
", and 1993's "Thank God for You
", which Mark Miller co-wrote with Mac McAnally. By 1995 Sawyer Brown had enough hits for a second Greatest Hits package. The album, titled "Greatest Hits 1990 to 1995", included two new singles, "This Time" and "I Don't Believe in Goodbye", which themselves became Top 5 hits.
In the latter half of the 1990s, the group seemed to gradually fall out of favor with country radio, despite a crossover hit in 1999 with "Drive Me Wild". They parted ways with Curb in 2003 and signed with Lyric Street Records
. One single was released on Lyric Street before Sawyer Brown left that label as well. 2004 saw the group returning to Curb Records, just as Duncan Cameron decided to leave the group to pursue a life-long dream of flying for Southwest Airlines
. Guitarist Shayne Hill replaced Duncan's post as guitarist, although both Cameron and Hill are in the credits on Mission Temple Fireworks Stand. The album's title track, featuring Robert Randolph, peaked at #55. The second single off that album, "They Don't Understand", was a minor Top 40 hit on the country charts, and Top 20 on the Christian single charts.
Sawyer Brown wrote "The Nebraska Song" in honor of Brook Berringer
, a Nebraska Cornhuskers
quarterback who died in a plane crash on April 18, 1996. (The song was actually written before his death.) The song appears on the group's album Six Days on the Road
. Mark Miller also served as a pallbearer at Berringer's funeral.
In the early 2000s, Mark Miller formed Christian music label Beach Street Records
. One of the first acts he began producing for the label was Casting Crowns
.
Awards
Academy of Country Music
Awards
TNN/Music City News Country Music Awards
CMT Country Music Awards
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...
band founded in 1981 in Apopka, Florida
Apopka, Florida
Apopka is a city located in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 26,969 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2006, the city grew to 53,563. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area. Apopka is an Indian word for “Potato...
, by five members of country pop
Country pop
Country pop, with roots in both the countrypolitan sound and in soft rock, is a subgenre of country music that first emerged in the 1970s. Although the term first referred to country music songs and artists that crossed over to Top 40 radio, country pop acts are now more likely to cross over to...
singer Don King's road band: Bobby Randall (guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) and Jim Scholten (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
), both from Midland, Michigan
Midland, Michigan
Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan in the Tri-Cities region of the state. It is the county seat of Midland County. The city's population was 41,863 as of the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area....
; Joe Smyth (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
), Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard (keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
), and Mark Miller (lead vocals). After King retired in 1981, the five members decided to form a band, first choosing the name Savanna before switching to Sawyer Brown, also the name of a road near where they practiced.
History
Country pop
Country pop, with roots in both the countrypolitan sound and in soft rock, is a subgenre of country music that first emerged in the 1970s. Although the term first referred to country music songs and artists that crossed over to Top 40 radio, country pop acts are now more likely to cross over to...
sound dominated by novelty tunes; by 1991, however, the band began to show a more serious side to its music, adding ballads to its repertoire. That year, the band also dropped its affiliation with Capitol, and Curb Records took over promotion and distribution of all subsequent albums and singles (except for 2003, when Sawyer Brown temporarily switched to Lyric Street Records
Lyric Street Records
Lyric Street Records was an American record label specializing in country music. The label was part of the Disney Music Group, owned by the The Walt Disney Company. President Randy Goodman, formerly a general manager for RCA Records, founded the label in 1997...
). Bobby Randall also left the band in 1991, and was replaced by Duncan Cameron. Cameron subsequently departed in 2004, with Shayne Hill assuming the role of lead guitarist.
To date, Sawyer Brown has released twenty studio albums, of which three have been certified gold in the United States for sales of 500,000 copies. More than fifty of their singles have entered the U.S. Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Songs
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...
charts, including three Number One singles. Sawyer Brown also received a Horizon Award from the Country Music Association
Country Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
in 1985, as well as a Vocal Group of the Year award in 1997 from the Academy of Country Music
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
and 5 Vocal Band Of The Year Awards from the TNN Music City News Country Awards.
The group's members were originally part of country pop
Country pop
Country pop, with roots in both the countrypolitan sound and in soft rock, is a subgenre of country music that first emerged in the 1970s. Although the term first referred to country music songs and artists that crossed over to Top 40 radio, country pop acts are now more likely to cross over to...
singer Don King's road band. When King stopped touring in 1981, the group decided to stay together, taking the name "Sawyer Brown" after Sawyer Brown Road, the street where they rehearsed. The band played up to five sets a night, six days a week, until they auditioned for the TV show Star Search
Star Search
Star Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd...
in 1983. They auditioned just to get the videotape to promote the band, yet ended up winning the $100,000 grand prize and record contract.
The band signed with 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...
(in a joint partnership with Curb Records) and scored a Top 20 hit with their first single, "Leona," in 1984. That success was quickly followed by their first #1 hit, "Step That Step". The band had their ups and downs on the charts throughout the 1980s, landing only sporadic Top 10 hits, however, they had accumulated enough hits for a Greatest Hits package by 1990, and were very successful on the touring circuit.
In 1991, after the release of their album Buick, guitarist Bobby Randall left the group to remain close to his family and host a short-lived TV talent show
Talent show
A talent show is an event where participants perform their talent or talents of acting, singing, dancing, acrobatics, drumming, martial arts, playing an instrument, and other activities to showcase a unique form of talent, sometimes for a reward, trophy or prize...
, You Can Be A Star. Duncan Cameron, formerly of The Amazing Rhythm Aces
Amazing Rhythm Aces
The Amazing Rhythm Aces are an American country rock group. The band has characterized their music as "American Music" or "Roots Music" — rock, country, blues, R&B, folk, reggae and Latino...
, was chosen as his replacement just as Sawyer Brown was about to become country music's "it" band. The band then switched labels, moving to Curb Records
Curb Records
Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963...
and releasing the albums The Dirt Road, Café On The Corner, and Outskirts Of Town, which saw hit after hit for the band in the early to mid-'90s.
Part of the band's new-found success was due to singer-songwriter Mac McAnally
Mac McAnally
Lyman Corbitt "Mac" McAnally, Jr. is an American country music singer-songwriter, session musician and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. Two of his singles were hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and six more on the Hot Country Songs charts...
, who had written several songs for the group. The McAnally-penned songs, mostly ballads, helped to re-define Sawyer Brown, who up until this point had been reviled by many critics for being a flamboyant "bubble gum" pop act that emphasized style over substance. "The Walk", the final single off "The Dirt Road" album, is said to be the turning point for the group.
Following "The Walk", the band scored a number of Top 5 and Top 10 hits --- including 2 more Billboard #1s with 1992's "Some Girls Do
Some Girls Do (song)
"Some Girls Do" is the title of a song recorded by American country music band Sawyer Brown. It was released in March 1992 as the second single from their 1992 album The Dirt Road. It was a number-one hit in the United States, while it peaked at #2 in Canada.-Chart positions:...
", and 1993's "Thank God for You
Thank God for You
"Thank God For You" is the title of a song written by Mac McAnally and Mark Miller, and recorded by American country music group Sawyer Brown. It was released in June 1993 as the lead single from their album, Outskirts of Town. The song reached number-one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs...
", which Mark Miller co-wrote with Mac McAnally. By 1995 Sawyer Brown had enough hits for a second Greatest Hits package. The album, titled "Greatest Hits 1990 to 1995", included two new singles, "This Time" and "I Don't Believe in Goodbye", which themselves became Top 5 hits.
In the latter half of the 1990s, the group seemed to gradually fall out of favor with country radio, despite a crossover hit in 1999 with "Drive Me Wild". They parted ways with Curb in 2003 and signed with Lyric Street Records
Lyric Street Records
Lyric Street Records was an American record label specializing in country music. The label was part of the Disney Music Group, owned by the The Walt Disney Company. President Randy Goodman, formerly a general manager for RCA Records, founded the label in 1997...
. One single was released on Lyric Street before Sawyer Brown left that label as well. 2004 saw the group returning to Curb Records, just as Duncan Cameron decided to leave the group to pursue a life-long dream of flying for Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
. Guitarist Shayne Hill replaced Duncan's post as guitarist, although both Cameron and Hill are in the credits on Mission Temple Fireworks Stand. The album's title track, featuring Robert Randolph, peaked at #55. The second single off that album, "They Don't Understand", was a minor Top 40 hit on the country charts, and Top 20 on the Christian single charts.
Sawyer Brown wrote "The Nebraska Song" in honor of Brook Berringer
Brook Berringer
Brook Warren Berringer was an American quarterback for the University of Nebraska football team in the mid-1990s. Berringer came to Nebraska from Goodland, Kansas, and played a back-up role to Tommie Frazier...
, a Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Nebraska Cornhuskers is the name given to several sports teams of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference...
quarterback who died in a plane crash on April 18, 1996. (The song was actually written before his death.) The song appears on the group's album Six Days on the Road
Six Days on the Road (album)
Six Days on the Road is the title of the twelfth studio album released by the American country music band Sawyer Brown. It was released in 1997 on Curb Records. Its title track and lead-off single is a cover of the Dave Dudley hit from 1963. This cover reached #13 on the Billboard country charts...
. Mark Miller also served as a pallbearer at Berringer's funeral.
In the early 2000s, Mark Miller formed Christian music label Beach Street Records
Beach Street Records
Beach Street Records is a part of Reunion Records under the Provident Label Group. The label was founded in 2003 by Mark Miller, lead singer of the country band Sawyer Brown....
. One of the first acts he began producing for the label was Casting Crowns
Casting Crowns
Casting Crowns is a Grammy Award and Dove Award winning Contemporary Christian/Christian Rock band. Casting Crowns was started in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida as part of a youth group. He now serves as a lead vocalist...
.
Awards
Country Music AssociationCountry Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
Awards
- 1985 CMA Horizon Award
Academy of Country Music
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
Awards
- 1997 ACM Vocal Group Of The Year
TNN/Music City News Country Music Awards
- 1993 Vocal Band Of The Year
- 1994 Vocal Band Of The Year
- 1995 Vocal Band Of The Year
- 1996 Vocal Band Of The Year
- 1997 Vocal Band Of The Year
- 1998 Vocal Band Of The Year
CMT Country Music Awards
- 1993 Video Group Of The Year
- 1994 Video Group Of The Year
- 1995 Video Group Of The Year