Bill Anderson life and biography

Bill Anderson was born with the name James William Anderson III on Nov. 1, 1937, in Columbia, S.C. He learned the guitar at age 12 and formed his own school band. He graduated in journalism from the University of Georgia, becoming a sports writer and also working for a radio station in Commerce, Ga.

In 1958, Ray Price earned a gold record with Anderson's song, "City Lights," after Price heard his demo. Two years later, Anderson cracked the Top 10 on his own with "The Tip of My Fingers," which later became a hit for Roy Clark, Eddy Arnold and Steve Wariner. He joined the Opry in 1961.

In 1962, he stayed at No. 1 for seven weeks with "Mama Sang a Song." He repeated the feat in 1963 with "Still." After discovering Connie Smith, he gave her his song "Once a Day," which topped the charts for eight weeks in 1964. That same year, Lefty Frizzell hit the top for four weeks with Anderson's "Saginaw, Michigan." Anderson also composed hits for Hank Locklin, Jim Reeves, Porter Wagoner, Brenda Lee, Mickey Gilley and Conway Twitty. He wrote "Face to the Wall" with Faron Young and "When Two Worlds Collide" with Roger Miller, which they composed by coming up with alternate lines on a car trip.

Anderson earned the nickname "Whispering Bill" in 1966, from a comedian, teasing him about his narration on "Golden Guitar." Toward the end of the '60s, Anderson recorded several duets with fellow Opry member Jan Howard. In the 1970s, he notched 18 more Top 10 hits, including two more No. 1's. He spent the 1980s as a personality on The Nashville Network, as well as the Grand Ole Opry.

He published his autobiography in 1989 and a book of anecdotes in 1993. In 1995, Vince Gill released a song written with Anderson, "Which Bridge to Cross, Which Bridge to Burn." He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. That same year, he won his first CMA award, for the vocal event "Too Country," with Brad Paisley, Buck Owens and George Jones. In addition to singing on the record, Anderson also co-wrote the song.
Anderson’s autobiography, Whisperin’ Bill, was published by Longstreet Press in 1989. The book, which he personally wrote over three years, made bestseller lists all across the south. His second book, a humorous look at the music business titled, I Hope You’re Living As High On The Hog As The Pig You Turned Out To Be, was published in 1993 and is currently in its fourth printing.

He has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1961 and performs there regularly. In 2000, his latest album, A Lot Of Things Different, received rave reviews. Each song was written or co-written by Anderson. His 1998 release, Fine Wine, was produced by Steve Wariner and released on Warner Brothers' Reprise/Nashville label. Anderson's Greatest Hits Volume I & II have been released on Varèse Sarabande Records along with The Best Of Bill Anderson on Curb.

In 2004 Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss scored a hit with Anderson and Jon Randall's "Whiskey Lullaby." On November 5, 2002, BMI named him its first country songwriting Icon, placing him alongside R&B legends Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and James Brown as the only recipients of that award. His compositions can be heard on recent or forthcoming releases by Vince Gill, Lorrie Morgan, John Michael Montgomery, Sara Evans, Tracy Byrd, and others.

July 15, 2006, marked Anderson's 45th year as a member of the Opry. He also hosts a show on Sirius XM radio entitled Bill Anderson Visits with the Legends where he interviews various country music legends. Based on the 1958 release of the Anderson written song "City Lights," in 2008, XM broadcast a special Visits and interviewed Anderson to celebrate 50 years in county music. According to BMI, various artists have recorded and released over 400 different Bill Anderson written/co-written songs in that 50-year period.

The video for the song "Whiskey Lullaby" won Anderson Video of the Year and Vocal Collaboration of the Year in 2004. "Give It Away," co-written by Anderson and performed by George Strait, won the Academy of Country Music Song of the Year for 2006. In November 2007, "Give It Away" was named the Country Music Association Song of the Year, an award that goes to the songwriters, Anderson being a co-writer. On August 29, 2008, Anderson performed "Whiskey Lullaby" at the Opry.

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