Todd Cerney was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 songwriter and musician.

He composed "Good Morning Beautiful", a 2002 five-week country number one (Billboard) hit for Steve Holy (co-written with Zack Lyle); "The Blues Is My Business" (co-written with Kevin Bowe), part of Etta James

Etta James

Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...

' 2003 Grammy Award winning album "Let's Roll"; and "I'll Still Be Loving You

I'll Still Be Loving You

"I'll Still Be Loving You" is the title of a song recorded by American country music group Restless Heart. It was released in January 1987 as the second single from the album, Wheels. The song was written by Todd Cerney, Pam Rose, Mary Ann Kennedy, and Pat Bunch and was Restless Heart's second...

", a 1987 country number one (Billboard) hit for Restless Heart

Restless Heart

Restless Heart is an American country music band established in 1984. The band's original members were John Dittrich , Paul Gregg , Dave Innis , Greg Jennings , and Verlon Thompson...

 (co-written with Pam Rose

Pam Rose

Pam Rose is an American country music songwriter. In her career, she has been a member of the groups Calamity Jane and Kennedy Rose, both times pairing with fellow songwriter Mary Ann Kennedy. Rose's co-writing credits include the Grammy Award-nominated songs "Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands"...

, Mary Ann Kennedy

Mary Ann Kennedy

Mary Ann Kennedy , born 1967 or 1968, is a Scottish musician, singer, composer, radio and television presenter, and music producer.-Biography:Mary Ann Kennedy was born and brought up in Glasgow in a Gaelic-speaking household...

, and Pat Bunch). He and his co-writers were nominated for a Grammy Award for "I'll Still Be Loving You". The song won the 1988 award for "ASCAP Country Song of the Year".

Cerney was born in Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

, and graduated from Zanesville High School

Zanesville High School

Zanesville High School is a public high school in Zanesville, Ohio. Zanesville High School is the only public high school in the Zanesville City School District. The mascot is the Blue Devil and the school colors are blue and white.-History:...

 in Zanesville, Ohio

Zanesville, Ohio

Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. The population was 25,586 at the 2000 census.Zanesville was named after Ebenezer Zane, who had constructed Zane's Trace, a pioneer road through present-day Ohio...

 in 1971. He began his song-writing career after moving to Nashville, where he initially worked at Buzz Cason

Buzz Cason

Buzz Cason is an American rock singer, songwriter, producer and author....

's Creative Workshop as an audio engineer

Audio engineering

An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...

. Some of the earliest artists to record his songs include Steve Carlisle ("I'll Fall in Love Again") and Levon Helm

Levon Helm

Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....

 ("Blue House of Broken Hearts

American Son (album)

American Son is a Country Rock album by American musician Levon Helm, who is most famous for his work as drummer for rock group The Band. It was released in October 1980 on MCA Records, and was Helm's third studio album...

").

Music career

Cerney became known as the "Rock Doctor" after co-writing songs with members of various bands including Cheap Trick

Lap of Luxury

-Singles :* "The Flame/Through the Night" - #1 US, #77 UK. #2 Aus, #3 BB Mainstream Rock* "Don't Be Cruel/I Know What I Want" - #4 US, #77 UK, #8 BB Mainstream Rock, #13 Aus* "Ghost Town/Wrong Side of Love" - #33 US...

, Eddie Money, Loverboy

Wildside (album)

Wildside was an album released in 1987 by the Canadian rock band Loverboy. This was the first album that the band had released that did not go platinum, signaling a general decline in the band's success....

 and Bad English

Bad English (album)

Bad English is the self-titled platinum-selling debut album by American rock supergroup Bad English, released in 1989.The band scored two huge hits on the Billboard charts including the #1 hit "When I See You Smile" and #5 hit "Price of Love"...

. Popular artists to record his compositions include Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...

 (with the Four Tops

Four Tops

The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet, whose repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, hard rock, and showtunes...

) "If Ever A Love There Was"

Aretha Franklin discography

-Studio albums:-Live albums:-Compilation albums:-The JVB era :*1 "Never Grow Old" was reissued by Checker Records in 1957, 1968 and 1973.*2 "Precious Lord " was reissued by Checker Records in 1960 and 1967....

 (part of the soundtrack for the film "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka is a 1988 blaxploitation parody film written by, directed by and starring Keenen Ivory Wayans. Featured in the film are several black actors who were part of the blaxploitation phenomenon; including Jim Brown, Bernie Casey, Antonio Fargas and Isaac Hayes...

" - the song hit the top 40 in both the R&B and Adult Contemporary charts (Billboard)), John Anderson

John Anderson (musician)

John David Anderson is an American country music artist with a successful career that has lasted more than 30 years...

's "Till I Get Used to the Pain"

Tokyo, Oklahoma (John Anderson album)

-Album:-Singles:...

 and Ty Herndon

Ty Herndon

Boyd Tyrone "Ty" Herndon is an American country music and Christian singer. Signed to Epic Records in 1995, Herndon made his debut that year with the Number One single "What Mattered Most", followed by the release of his first album, also entitled What Mattered Most...

's "No Mercy", which peaked at #26 on the Billboard Country Music charts.

In 1988 Cerney traveled to Russia as one of 28 songwriters who participated in the Music Speaks Louder Than Words

Music Speaks Louder Than Words

Music Speaks Louder Than Words is a CD released by Epic Records in 1990. All of the music was co-written by American and Soviet musicians and songwriters, including American artists Cindy Lauper, Michael Bolton, Barry Mann, Sue Shifrin-Cassidy and Todd Cerney.-Track listing:...

 project - a collaboration between American and Soviet songwriters which included Michael Bolton

Michael Bolton

Michael Bolton is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, both on his early solo albums and those recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack...

 and Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper

Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...

. During his two weeks in Russia he cowrote the songs "Speak To My Heart" (performed by Phoebe Snow

Phoebe Snow

Phoebe Snow was a fictional character created by Earnest Elmo Calkins to promote the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. The advertising campaign, based on a live model, using impressionistic techniques and a fictional character, was one of the first of its kind.-The advertising...

) and "Don't Stop Now" (performed by The Cover Girls

The Cover Girls

The Cover Girls is a New York City-based freestyle-urban-dance-pop girl group that achieved the majority of its chart success in the late 1980s and early 1990s...

).

In October 2009, Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers

Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...

 and Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton

Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

 reunited for the first time in 25 years to sing "Tell Me That You Love Me," a duet that Cerney co-wrote. The song was featured in Rogers' three-CD box set "Kenny Rogers: The First 50 Years" on Time-Life Records. In 2010, American Idol runner-up Bo Bice

Bo Bice

Harold Elwin "Bo" Bice, Jr. is an American singer and musician who placed second to Carrie Underwood in the fourth season of American Idol. He has recorded three studio albums, including one on RCA Records...

 included a song he co-wrote with Cerney, "Keep On Rollin'," on his "3

3 (Bo Bice album)

3 is the third studio album of the Southern rock artist Bo Bice. It was released in 2010. -Track listing:# "Keep On Rollin'" – 3:01 # "Different Shades of Blue" – 4:29...

" album.

Cerney played guitar, mandolin, harmonica, keyboards and sang lead and backing vocals with various artists including backing vocals for Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers

Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...

 and Levon Helm

Levon Helm

Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....

, mandolin for the Dixie Chicks

Dixie Chicks

The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...

 and the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble and a full range of instruments for various songwriter groups including Thom Shepherd & the Nashville Songwriters Band. He also worked with three former members of the soft-rock band Bread

Bread (band)

Bread was a rock band from Los Angeles, California. They placed 13 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart between 1970 and 1977 and were a prime example of what later was labeled soft rock....

 - Jimmy Griffin

Jimmy Griffin

James Arthur Griffin was a singer, guitarist, and songwriter with the 1970s rock band Bread.-Early life:An Academy Award winning songwriter, Griffin was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. His musical training began when his parents signed him up for accordion lessons...

, Robb Royer

Robb Royer

Robert Wilson "Robb" Royer was the bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, and songwriter with Bread from 1968 to 1971. While he was with the band, they had a #5 UK/#1 US hit single with "Make It With You"...

 and Larry Knechtel

Larry Knechtel

Lawrence William "Larry" Knechtel was an American keyboard player and bassist, best known for his work as a session musician with such artists as Simon & Garfunkel, Duane Eddy, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & the Papas, The Partridge Family, The Doors, and Elvis Presley, and as a member of the 1970s...

 - forming "Toast" (later renamed "Radio Dixie") during the mid-1990s, recording a number of songs for an album release that remained unfinished.

Death

Cerney died in Nashville, Tennessee

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...

 on March 14, 2011 from melanoma

Melanoma

Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes are cells that produce the dark pigment, melanin, which is responsible for the color of skin. They predominantly occur in skin, but are also found in other parts of the body, including the bowel and the eye...

, a disease with which he had first been diagnosed with in November 2010, following a brain seizure. He was 57 years old.

Chart Singles Written by Todd Cerney

The following is a list of Todd Cerney compositions that were chart hits.

Year	Single Title	Recording Artist	Chart Positions
			Billboard Hot 100	Billboard AC	Billboard Country	Billboard Dance	Billboard R&B	Billboard Rock
1987	I'll Still Be Loving You I'll Still Be Loving You "I'll Still Be Loving You" is the title of a song recorded by American country music group Restless Heart. It was released in January 1987 as the second single from the album, Wheels. The song was written by Todd Cerney, Pam Rose, Mary Ann Kennedy, and Pat Bunch and was Restless Heart's second... co-written with Bunch, Kennedy, and Rose Pam Rose Pam Rose is an American country music songwriter. In her career, she has been a member of the groups Calamity Jane and Kennedy Rose, both times pairing with fellow songwriter Mary Ann Kennedy. Rose's co-writing credits include the Grammy Award-nominated songs "Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands"...	Restless Heart Restless Heart Restless Heart is an American country music band established in 1984. The band's original members were John Dittrich , Paul Gregg , Dave Innis , Greg Jennings , and Verlon Thompson...	33	3	1
1987	Notorius Wildside (album) Wildside was an album released in 1987 by the Canadian rock band Loverboy. This was the first album that the band had released that did not go platinum, signaling a general decline in the band's success.... co-written with Bon Jovi Jon Bon Jovi Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him... , Dean Paul Dean (guitarist) Paul Dean is the lead guitarist for the Canadian rock band Loverboy which reached huge fame in the early 1980s.-Biography:... , Reno Mike Reno Mike Reno , born January 8, 1955 in New Westminster, British Columbia is a Canadian musician, drummer, and lead singer of the rock band Loverboy. He has also fronted other bands, including Moxy.... , and Sambora Richie Sambora Richard Stephen "Richie" Sambora is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer, and songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the rock band, Bon Jovi. He and frontman Jon Bon Jovi form the primary songwriting unit of the band...	Loverboy Loverboy Loverboy is a Canadian rock group formed in 1980 in Calgary, Alberta. Throughout the 1980s, the band accumulated numerous hit songs in Canada and the United States, earning four multi-platinum albums and selling millions of records...	38					8
1988	Let Go Lap of Luxury -Singles :* "The Flame/Through the Night" - #1 US, #77 UK. #2 Aus, #3 BB Mainstream Rock* "Don't Be Cruel/I Know What I Want" - #4 US, #77 UK, #8 BB Mainstream Rock, #13 Aus* "Ghost Town/Wrong Side of Love" - #33 US...   co-written with Rick Nielsen Rick Nielsen -External links:* * *...	Cheap Trick Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...						35
1988	If Ever A Love There Was Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet, whose repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, hard rock, and showtunes...   co-written with Pamela Phillips Oland	Four Tops Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet, whose repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, hard rock, and showtunes...		26			31
1989	Forget About Love  co-written with Money Eddie Money Eddie Money is an American rock guitarist, saxophonist and singer-songwriter who found success in the 1970s and 1980s with a string of Top 40 hits and platinum albums... , Whitlock Tom Whitlock Thomas "Tom" Ross Whitlock is a songwriter and lyricist best known for his Academy Award and Golden Globe winning song "Take My Breath Away" from the film Top Gun, which he co-wrote with Giorgio Moroder.-Early life:... , and Zito Richie Zito Richie Zito is a session guitarist and record producer from Los Angeles.He has worked with Poison, Neil Sedaka, Yvonne Elliman, Eric Carmen, Art Garfunkel, Leo Sayer, Diana Ross, Marc Tanner, Elton John, the Motels, as well as The Cult, White Lion, Eddie Money, Heart, and Bad English...	Eddie Money Eddie Money Eddie Money is an American rock guitarist, saxophonist and singer-songwriter who found success in the 1970s and 1980s with a string of Top 40 hits and platinum albums...						36
1991	Don't Stop Now The Cover Girls The Cover Girls is a New York City-based freestyle-urban-dance-pop girl group that achieved the majority of its chart success in the late 1980s and early 1990s...   co-written with Harold Payne and Victor Reznikof	The Cover Girls The Cover Girls The Cover Girls is a New York City-based freestyle-urban-dance-pop girl group that achieved the majority of its chart success in the late 1980s and early 1990s...	63			8
2000	No Mercy  co-written with Dennis Morgan Dennis Morgan (songwriter) Dennis Morgan is a songwriter and music publisher, best known for writing songs for Aretha Franklin, Faith Hill, Barbara Mandrell, and Eric Clapton. He has also published hit songs by Garth Brooks, All-4-One, Feargal Sharkey, and Trisha Yearwood.Morgan's career as a songwriter started as a session...  and Stephen Allen Davis	Ty Herndon Ty Herndon Boyd Tyrone "Ty" Herndon is an American country music and Christian singer. Signed to Epic Records in 1995, Herndon made his debut that year with the Number One single "What Mattered Most", followed by the release of his first album, also entitled What Mattered Most...	92		26
2001	Good Morning Beautiful  co-written with Zack Lyle	Steve Holy Steve Holy Steve Holy is an American country music artist. Signed to Curb Records since 1999, he has released three studio albums: 2000's Blue Moon 2006's Brand New Girlfriend and 2011's Love Don't Run...	29		1

Awards

Year	Song	Award	Category	Result
1988	I'll Still Be Loving You I'll Still Be Loving You "I'll Still Be Loving You" is the title of a song recorded by American country music group Restless Heart. It was released in January 1987 as the second single from the album, Wheels. The song was written by Todd Cerney, Pam Rose, Mary Ann Kennedy, and Pat Bunch and was Restless Heart's second...	Grammy Awards	Best Country/Western Song	Nominated
1988	I'll Still Be Loving You I'll Still Be Loving You "I'll Still Be Loving You" is the title of a song recorded by American country music group Restless Heart. It was released in January 1987 as the second single from the album, Wheels. The song was written by Todd Cerney, Pam Rose, Mary Ann Kennedy, and Pat Bunch and was Restless Heart's second...	ASCAP	Country Song of the Year	Won
2002	Good Morning Beautifull	ASCAP	Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture	Won
2003	Good Morning Beautiful	ASCAP	Country Song of the Year	Nominated