NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Entertainment titan and Country Music Hall of Famer, Bill Anderson, releases the sentimental lyric video for “The Country I Grew Up With,” available everywhere today. Anderson enlisted four fellow Hall of Famers – Bobby Bare, Jimmy Fortune, Vince Gill and Willie Nelson – for the new collaboration, which was released in 2023 via MCA Nashville/UMe.
To watch the lyric video for “The Country I Grew Up With,” click HERE.
The track, which “tells the story of the sights, smells and sounds of country music from yesteryear (American Songwriter)” and conveys “a simple plea for love and understanding that is truly lovely (Holler)” was co-written by Anderson, Bobby Tomberlin and Lance Miller. “The Country I Grew Up With” was produced by Anderson and Thomas Jutz and features a stellar lineup of musicians, including John Gardner (drums), Thomm Jutz (guitars), James Gordon Freeze (bass), Dirk Johnson (piano) Tammy Rogers (fiddle) and Scotty Sanders (pedal steel guitar).
In 2023, Anderson presented the award for Song of the Year with ACM award-winning hitmaker, Sara Evans, during the 57th Annual CMA Awards. Anderson was also celebrated last year for his indelible 62 years as the longest-serving member in Grand Ole Opry history.
Additionally, Anderson will be honored with the 2024 Dr. David Godbold Lifetime Achievement Award by the South Carolina Entertainment and Music Hall of Fame. Anderson was inducted by the organization in 1994, and will be the first Lifetime Achievement Award honoree when the event is held on April 25, 2024.
ABOUT BILL ANDERSON:
Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry titan Bill Anderson is the rare songwriter whose first major label cut went to No. 1 on the charts, was named Song of The Year and sparked a writing career that is currently in its seventh decade. The song, “City Lights,” was written when Andersonwas a 19-year old Georgia disc jockey and became a career-defining hit for Ray Price in 1958. The song opened doors for him in Nashville, leading him to signing with BMI and Tree Publishing. Anderson was far from a one-hit wonder. He followed “City Lights” with country standards like “Tips Of My Fingers,” the GRAMMY-nominated “Once A Day,” “Saginaw, Michigan,” “That’s What It’s Like To Be Lonesome,” “I Missed Me,” “Cold Hard Facts Of Life,” which earned him another GRAMMY nomination, “Mama Sang A Song,” the crossover smash, “Still,” and countless others. He was voted country Songwriter of the Year six times during his first decade in Music City. His success continued into the 1970’s with award-winning hits like “Slippin’ Away,” “The Lord Knows I’m Drinking,” “I May Never Get To Heaven,” and the disco-flavored, “I Can’t Wait Any Longer.” The 1980’s saw Anderson’s chart-topping career take a hiatus as he became a TV network game show host, spokesman for a national restaurant chain and a nonstop touring Grand Ole Opry performer. In the 1990’s he came roaring back with a vengeance, however, as he seriously turned to co-writing for the first time. Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001, his collaborations with the newer generation of Nashville tunesmiths resulted in hits like “Wish You Were Here,” the GRAMMY-nominated “Two Teardrops,” “A Lot Of Things Different,” for Kenny Chesney, “Which Bridge To Cross (Which Bridge To Burn),” for Vince Gill and two CMA Song Of The Year trophies for “Whiskey Lullaby,” with Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss and George Strait’s “Give It Away,” in 2005 and 2007 respectfully. He continues to write today with songs like Brad Paisley’s “Dying To See Her.” For more information, visit BillAnderson.com.
