Johnny MacRae

Johnny MacRae (February 15, 1929—July 3, 2013), born Fred A. MacRae, nicknamed "Dog"[1] was an American country music composer credited with 235 songs[2] released by recording artists including Ray Charles, George Jones, and Reba McEntire.[3] His best known songs include "You Can't Make a Heart Love Somebody" (George Strait), "Tonight the Heartache's on Me" (Dixie Chicks), "I'd Love to Lay You Down" (Conway Twitty), "I Still Believe in Waltzes" (Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty), "When You Leave That Way You Can Never Go Back" (Confederate Railroad), "Goodbye Says It All" (Blackhawk), and "Living Proof" (Ricky Van Shelton).

MacRae was a native of Independence, Missouri. He began composing at age 30.[4] He served in the U.S. Navy for 15 years and on his free time he wrote songs and fronted a rockabilly band.[5] He moved to Nashville in 1963 and eventually became head of Screen Gems Music Publishing (Nashville office) from 1976 to 1984, then became vice president of Combine Music[6] and later wrote for Chappell Music.[7] In 2003, his song, "I'd Be Better Off (in a Pine Box)" was included in CMT's list of "100 Greatest Country Songs".[8][9]

References

  1. ^ Oermann, Robert K. (November 11, 2013). "Life Notes: Bob Beckham Passes (photo caption)". musicrow.com. MusicRow. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  2. ^ "Johnny MacRae/Credits". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  3. ^ "Loretta Lynn—Conway Twitty Waltz into Top Ten as Usual". Vol. 76, no. 103. Tennessean (Nashville). July 19, 1981. p. 59. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  4. ^ "'One Night Fever' a Scorcher For Tillis, MacRae, and Morrison". Vol. 76, no. 229. Tennessean. Newspapers.com. November 22, 1981. p. 71. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  5. ^ "Doug Stone rolls up charts with release of first single". Vol. 5, no. 43. Tennessean. Newspapers.com. June 10, 1990. p. 43. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  6. ^ "Combine Versatile". Billboard. Vol. 86 51. December 14, 1974. p. 51. ISSN 0006-2510.
  7. ^ "Highway 101 rides another winner". The Tennessean (Nashville). August 23, 1987. p. 55. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  8. ^ Tompkins, Dave. "CMT—100 Greatest Country Songs". cs.ubc.ca. Dave Tompkins:Music Database. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  9. ^ CMT's 100 Greatest Country Songs Songbook. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard. November 1, 2006. ISBN 9781458458209. Retrieved April 10, 2018.