Tom Shapiro (born in
Kansas City,
Missouri
) is an American songwriter and occasional record producer, known primarily for his
work in country music. To date, he holds four Country
Songwriter of the Year awards from
Broadcast Music Incorporated,
as well as the Songwriter of the Decade award from the Nashville
Songwriters Association International. He has also written more
than fifty Top Ten hits, including twenty-three Number Ones.
Musical career
Since the 1970s, Shapiro has been a prominent songwriter, doing
most of his work in country music. Signed to a publishing contract
with Tree International in the 1980s, with
Eddy Raven,
Crystal
Gayle,
Marie Osmond and
Lee Greenwood being among the first country
acts to cut his material. In 1978
The
Shadows released their cover of his song "Love Deluxe." His
career continued throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, with
several of his cuts having topped the
Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Among these
Number One hits are "
Wink" by
Neal McCoy, which received BMI's Robert J. Burton
award for being the most performed country song of 1993; "
No Place That Far" by
Sara Evans; "
I
Miss My Friend" by
Darryl Worley
(both of which were their respective artists' first Number Ones);
and "
Ain't Nothing 'Bout
You" by
Brooks & Dunn,
which was named by
Billboard as the Number one
country song of 2001.
In addition, Shapiro has produced albums for
Billy Dean and
Dusty
Springfield, as well as writing several singles for the
former.
References