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{{short description|American country music singer, songwriter}}
{{BLP sources|date=December 2013}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}

{{BLP sources|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist
{{Infobox musical artist
| image =
| image = T. G. Sheppard (cropped).jpg
| caption = Sheppard in 2015
| image_size = 150 | | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name = T.G. Sheppard
| image_size =
| name = T. G. Sheppard
| background = solo_singer
| background = solo_singer
| alias = Brian Stacy
| alias = Brian Stacy
| birth_name = William Neal Browder
| birth_name = William Neal Browder
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1944|7|20}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1944|7|20}}
| origin = Humboldt, Tennessee,
| birth_place = [[Humboldt, Tennessee]], U.S.
| genre = [[Country music|Country]], [[countrypolitan]]
USA
| genre = [[Country Music|Country]], [[countrypolitan]]
| occupation = Singer-songwriter
| occupation = Singer-songwriter
| years_active = 1975&ndash;present
| years_active = 1975–present
| label = Melodyland, Hitsville, [[Warner Bros. Records]] <br> [[Curb Records]] <br> [[Columbia Records]]
| label = Melodyland, Hitsville, [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]], [[Curb Records|Curb]], [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| associated_acts = [[Mac Davis]], [[Kenny Rogers]], [[Larry Gatlin]], [[Eddie Rabbitt]], [[B.J. Thomas]]
| associated_acts = [[Mac Davis]], [[Kenny Rogers]], [[Larry Gatlin]], [[Eddie Rabbitt]], [[B.J. Thomas]]
| website = [http://www.tgsheppard.com/ TG Sheppard Official Site]}}
| website = {{URL|tgsheppard.com}}
}}


'''William Neal Browder''' (born July 20, 1944, [[Humboldt, Tennessee]])<ref name="whitburn">{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc|year=2008|pages=379–380|isbn=0-89820-177-2}}</ref> is an [[United States|American]] [[country music]] [[singer-songwriter]], known professionally as '''T. G. Sheppard'''. He had 14 number-one hits on the US country charts between 1974 and 1986, including 8 consecutive number ones between 1980 and 1982.
'''William Neal Browder''' (born July 20, 1944)<ref name="LarkinCountry">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1993|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-726-6|page=370}}</ref> is an American [[country music]] singer-songwriter, known professionally as '''T. G. Sheppard'''. He had 14 number-one hits on the US country charts between 1974 and 1986, including eight consecutive number ones between 1980 and 1982.


==Early life==
==Early life==
Sheppard dropped out of high school at age 15 and ran away from home to become involved in the [[music industry]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee]].
Browder was born in [[Humboldt, Tennessee]], United States.<ref name="whitburn">{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc|year=2008|pages=379–380|isbn=978-0-89820-177-2}}</ref> He dropped out of high school at age 15 and ran away from home to become involved in the [[music industry]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee]].


==Career==
==Recording career==
William Browder, as he was then known, first recorded for [[Atco Records]] as Brian Stacy in 1966.<ref name="whitburn"/> Browder worked as an executive at RCA during the early 1970s, but in 1974, signed with Melodyland (later Hitsville) Records, a short-lived country label owned by [[Motown Records]]. He used the stage name T.G. Sheppard to avoid jeopardizing his job with RCA, due to his recording material with a different label. According to Browder, "The T.G. in my stage name is really and truly just initials. A lot of people through the years have had fun putting what they want the initials to stand for, but they really don't mean anything, they are just initials."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourbrowncounty.com/0302s6.htm |title=T.G. Sheppard |website=Ourbrowncounty.com |date=October 19, 1999 |access-date=April 29, 2020}}</ref>
{{BLP unsourced section|date=August 2015}}
William Browder, as he was then known, first recorded for [[Atco Records]] as Brian Stacy in 1966.<ref name="whitburn"/> Browder worked as an executive at RCA during the early 1970s, but in 1974, signed with Melodyland (later Hitsville) Records, a short-lived country label owned by [[Motown Records]]. He used the stage name T.G. Sheppard to avoid jeopardizing his job with RCA, due to his recording material with a different label. According to Browder, "The T.G. in my stage name is really and truly just initials. A lot of people through the years have had fun putting what they want the initials to stand for, but they really don't mean anything, they are just initials." <ref>http://www.ourbrowncounty.com/0302s6.htm</ref>


He recorded the [[song]] "[[Devil in the Bottle]]", which became a No.&nbsp;1 [[chart-topper|hit]] on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'s'' [[Hot Country Singles & Tracks|Hot Country Singles]] [[record chart|chart]] and also became a Top 60 Pop hit in 1975. The follow-up, "Tryin' to Beat the Morning Home", also went to No.&nbsp;1 and cracked the Top 100 during the summer of 1975. Several subsequent releases during 1975-77 made the [[Top 40|Top 10]] like "Motels and Memories" and "Show Me A Man".
He recorded the song "[[Devil in the Bottle]]", which became a No.&nbsp;1 [[hit song|hit]] on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'s'' [[Hot Country Singles & Tracks|Hot Country Singles]] [[record chart|chart]] and also became a top 60 Pop hit in 1975.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> The follow-up, "Tryin' to Beat the Morning Home", also went to No.&nbsp;1 and cracked the top 100 during the summer of 1975.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> Several subsequent releases during 1975–77 made the [[Top 40|top 10]] like "Motels and Memories" and "Show Me a Man".


In 1977, Sheppard signed with [[Warner Bros. Records]]. Starting with that summer's "When Can We Do This Again", he had a series of fifteen consecutive Top 10 releases, including 10 No.&nbsp;1 songs. The biggest included "[[Last Cheater's Waltz]]" (1979); "[[I'll Be Coming Back for More]]" and "[[Do You Wanna Go to Heaven]]" (1980); "[[I Loved 'Em Every One]]" and "[[Party Time (T.G. Sheppard song)|Party Time]]" (1981); "[[Only One You]]", "[[Finally (T.G. Sheppard song)|Finally]]", and "[[War Is Hell (On the Homefront Too)]]" (1982).
In 1977, Sheppard signed with [[Warner Bros. Records]]. Starting with that summer's "When Can We Do This Again", he had a series of fifteen consecutive top 10 releases, including 10 No.&nbsp;1 songs. The biggest included "[[Last Cheater's Waltz]]" (1979); "[[I'll Be Coming Back for More]]" and "[[Do You Wanna Go to Heaven]]" (1980); "[[I Loved 'Em Every One]]" and "[[Party Time (T.G. Sheppard song)|Party Time]]" (1981); "[[Only One You]]", "[[Finally (T.G. Sheppard song)|Finally]]", and "[[War Is Hell (On the Homefront Too)]]" (1982). Another major hit came in 1984: "[[Slow Burn (T.G. Sheppard song)|Slow Burn]]". "I Loved 'Em Every One" also reached the top forty on the U.S. [[Billboard Hot 100]]. In 1984 he recorded, as a duet with [[Judy Collins]], the title track of ''[[Home Again (Judy Collins album)|Home Again]]'', her final album for Elektra Records.
Another major hit came in 1984: "[[Slow Burn (T.G. Sheppard song)|Slow Burn]]". "I Loved 'Em Every One" also reached the top forty on the U.S. pop singles chart. In 1984 he recorded, as a duet with [[Judy Collins]], the title track of ''[[Home Again (Judy Collins album)|Home Again]]'', her final album for Elektra Records.


In 1985, he moved from Warner Bros. to [[Columbia Records]]. After just missing the top 20 with "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" (a remake of the [[Elvin Bishop]] hit), he returned to the top 10, with his biggest success during this time frame coming with 1986's "[[Strong Heart (T.G. Sheppard song)|Strong Heart]]" (the last of his No.&nbsp;1 hits, as it turned out). Three more songs peaked at No.&nbsp;2 in 1987: "Half Past Forever (Till I'm Blue in the Heart)", "You're My First Lady", and "One for the Money".
In 1985, he moved from Warner Bros. to [[Columbia Records]]. After just missing the top 20 with "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" (a remake of the [[Elvin Bishop]] hit), he returned to the top 10, with his biggest success during this time frame coming with 1986's "[[Strong Heart (T.G. Sheppard song)|Strong Heart]]" (the last of his No.&nbsp;1 hits, as it turned out). Three more songs peaked at No.&nbsp;2 in 1987: "Half Past Forever (Till I'm Blue in the Heart)", "You're My First Lady", and "One for the Money".


Sheppard's success continued until about [[1988 in country music|1988]], when rootsy neo-traditionalist [[musician|artists]] began to eclipse more polished pop-country artists like Sheppard on the country charts. He continued to tour and play throughout the [[1990s in music|1990s]], but did not sign a new record contract, and did not release any new material until his 2002 live release, ''T.G. Sheppard: Live at [[Billy Bob's]]'', which found Sheppard performing his classic hits for an enthusiastic crowd at the famed honky tonk in [[Fort Worth, Texas]].
Sheppard's success continued until about 1988, when rootsy [[Neotraditional country|neo-traditionalist]] artists began to eclipse more polished pop-country artists. In 1995, he took a two-year hiatus from the road to perform exclusively for eight months a year at T.G. Sheppard's Theater in the Smokies, a state-of-the-art theater in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains. When the theater was sold in 1997, he returned to the road. He continued to tour and play throughout the 1990s, but did not sign a new record contract, and did not release any new material until 1997. His 2002 live release, ''T.G. Sheppard: Live at [[Billy Bob's]]'', found Sheppard performing his classic hits for an enthusiastic crowd at the famed honky tonk in [[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]], Texas. Sheppard released ''Timeless'' in 2004, an album that had him singing songs from the big band era. In the mid to late 1980s, he was an associate sponsor on the No.&nbsp;25 [[Folgers]] [[Chevrolet]] driven on the [[NASCAR Cup Series]] by [[Tim Richmond]] and [[Ken Schrader]]. In 1990, the Folgers sponsorship moved to Roush racing and driver [[Mark Martin]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Roush Fenway Racing |url=https://www.topspeed.com/racing/nascar-series/nextel-cup/nascar-nextel-cup-teams/roush-fenway-racing-ar44657.html |website=topspeed.com |access-date=June 19, 2019 |date=October 2, 2007}}</ref>


T.G. Sheppard currently tours throughout the year and, after a two-decade hiatus, he released a new single "I Wanna Live Like Elvis" in January 2019 with a new album set to be released at a later date.<ref>{{cite web |title=Priscilla Presley Embraces New Single |url=https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1413784182 |website=mynewsletterbuilder.com |access-date=July 19, 2019 |date=January 8, 2019}}</ref>
In 1995, he took a two-year hiatus from the road to perform exclusively for eight months a year at T.G. Sheppard's Theater In The Smokies, a state-of-the-art theater in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains. When the theater was sold in 1997, he returned to the road. Sheppard released ''Timeless'' in 2004, an album that had him singing songs from the big band era. In the mid to late 1980s he was an associate sponsor on the No.&nbsp;25 [[Folgers]] [[Chevrolet]] driven on the [[NASCAR Cup Series]] by [[Tim Richmond]] and [[Ken Schrader]]. In 1990 the Folgers sponsorship moved to Roush racing and driver [[Mark Martin]].{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}


Sheppard was a friend of [[Elvis Presley]]'s and hosts his own show on [[Sirius XM]]'s Elvis Radio. Sheppard's show was created to replace new broadcasts of disc jockey and Presley friend [[George Klein (DJ)|George Klein]]'s show after Klein's death in 2019.
T.G. Sheppard currently tours throughout the year and continues to release new albums, with a new album set for 2018.


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Sheppard is married to singer-songwriter Kelly Lang and resides in [[Hendersonville, Tennessee]]. Sheppard owned a small chain of now-defunct restaurants under the name of "T.G.'s North of the Border Cafe and Cantina." The restaurant had locations in Gatlinburg and Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Sheppard is married to singer-songwriter Kelly Lang and resides in [[Hendersonville, Tennessee]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Watts |first=Cindy |title=Kelly Lang creates alter ego XOXO to bring laughter to fellow breast cancer patients |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2018/10/15/kelly-lang-and-husband-t-g-sheppard-survive-breast-cancer-couple/989405002/ |access-date=2020-11-29 |date=2018-10-15 |newspaper=[[The Tennessean]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Sheppard owned a small chain of now-defunct restaurants under the name of "T.G.'s North of the Border Cafe and Cantina" in Tennessee. The restaurant had locations in [[Gatlinburg, Tennessee|Gatlinburg]] and [[Chattanooga, Tennessee|Chattanooga]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}}


==Discography==
==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"

===Albums===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! Title
! Role
! colspan="2"| Chart Positions
! Notes
! rowspan="2"| Label
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="50"| [[Top Country Albums|US Country]]
! width="50"| [[Billboard 200|US]]
|-
|-
|1974|| ''[[The Second Coming of Suzanne]]'' || John ||
| 1975
| align="left"| ''T.G. Sheppard''
| 12
| —
| align="left" rowspan="2"| Melodyland
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1976
| align="left"| ''Motels and Memories''
| 28
| —
|-
| align="left"| ''Solitary Man''
| 16
| —
| align="left"| Hitsville
|-
| 1978
| align="left"| ''T.G.''
| 42
| —
| align="left" rowspan="10"| Warner/Curb
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1979
| align="left"| ''Daylight''
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| ''3/4 Lonely''<sup>A</sup>
| 4
| —
|-
| 1980
| align="left"| ''Smooth Sailin'''
| 19
| —
|-
| 1981
| align="left"| ''I Love 'Em All''
| 7
| 119
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1982
| align="left"| ''Finally!''
| 4
| 152
|-
| align="left"| ''Perfect Stranger''
| 25
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1983
| align="left"| ''Greatest Hits''
| 5
| 189
|-
| align="left"| ''Slow Burn''
| 17
| 204
|-
| 1984
| align="left"| ''One Owner Heart''
| 26
| —
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1985
| align="left"| ''Livin' on the Edge''
| 26
| —
| align="left"| Columbia
|-
| align="left"| ''T.G.''
| 54
| —
| align="left" rowspan="2"| Warner/Curb
|-
| align="left"| ''Greatest Hits 2''
| —
| —
|-
| 1986
| align="left"| ''It Still Rains in Memphis''
| 26
| —
| align="left" rowspan="4"| Columbia
|-
| 1987
| align="left"| ''One for the Money''
| 47
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1988
| align="left"| ''Biggest Hits''
| —
| —
|-
| align="left"| ''Crossroads''
| —
| —
|-
| 1997
| align="left"| ''Nothin' on But the Radio''
| —
| —
| align="left"| Outwest
|-
| 2002
| align="left"| ''Live at Billy Bob's Texas''
| —
| —
| align="left"| Smith Music
|-
| 2004
| align="left"| ''Timeless''
| —
| —
| align="left"| Aspirion Records
|-
| 2007
| align="left"| ''Partners In Rhyme (2 CDs + DVD)''
| —
| —
| align="left"|
|-
|-
|1983|| ''[[Twice Upon a Time (1983 film)|Twice Upon a Time]]'' || Rusher of Din – Office Executive ||
|}
|}
*<sup>A</sup>''3/4 Lonely'' also peaked at No.&nbsp;8 on the ''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'' Country Albums chart in Canada.


===Singles===
==Discography==
{{main|T. G. Sheppard discography}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! colspan="5"| Chart Positions
! rowspan="2"| Album
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="45"| [[Hot Country Songs|US Country]]
! width="45"| [[Billboard Hot 100|US]]
! width="45"| [[Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks|US AC]]
! width="45"| [[RPM (magazine)|CAN Country]]
! width="45"| [[RPM (magazine)|CAN AC]]
|-
| 1974
| align="left"| "[[Devil in the Bottle]]"
| 1
| 54
| —
| 1
| —
| align="left" rowspan="3"| ''T.G. Sheppard''
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1975
| align="left"| "[[Tryin' to Beat the Morning Home]]"
| 1
| 95
| —
| 2
| —
|-
| align="left"| "Another Woman"
| 14
| —
| —
| 17
| —
|-
| align="left"| "[[Motels and Memories]]"
| 7
| 102
| —
| 1
| —
| align="left"| ''Motels and Memories''
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1976
| align="left"| "[[Solitary Man (song)|Solitary Man]]"
| 14
| 100
| 29
| 11
| 24
| align="left" rowspan="2"| ''Solitary Man''
|-
| align="left"| "Show Me a Man"
| 8
| —
| —
| 13
| —
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1977
| align="left"| "May I Spend Every New Years with You"
| 37
| —
| —
| —
| —
| {{n/a}}
|-
| align="left"| "Lovin' On"
| 20
| —
| —
| 18
| —
| align="left" rowspan="3"| ''T.G.''
|-
| align="left"| "Mister D.J."
| 13
| —
| —
| 27
| —
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1978
| align="left"| "Don't Ever Say Goodbye"
| 13
| —
| —
| 18
| —
|-
| align="left"| "When Can We Do This Again"
| 5
| —
| —
| 29
| —
| align="left" rowspan="3"| ''Daylight''
|-
| align="left"| "Daylight"
| 7
| —
| —
| 9
| —
|-
| align="left"| "[[Happy Together (song)|Happy Together]]"
| 8
| —
| —
| 6
| —
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1979
| align="left"| "[[You Feel Good All Over]]"
| 4
| —
| —
| 20
| —
| align="left" rowspan="3"| ''3/4 Lonely''
|-
| align="left"| "[[Last Cheater's Waltz]]"
| 1
| —
| —
| 7
| —
|-
| align="left"| "[[I'll Be Coming Back for More]]"
| 1
| —
| —
| 23
| —
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1980
| align="left"| "[[Smooth Sailin' (Sonny Throckmorton song)|Smooth Sailin']]"
| 6
| —
| —
| 7
| —
| align="left" rowspan="3"| ''Smooth Sailin'''
|-
| align="left"| "[[Do You Wanna Go to Heaven]]"
| 1
| —
| —
| 15
| —
|-
| align="left"| "[[I Feel Like Loving You Again]]"
| 1
| —
| —
| 3
| —
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1981
| align="left"| "[[I Loved 'Em Every One]]"
| 1
| 37
| 3
| 3
| 8
| align="left" rowspan="2"| ''I Love 'Em All''
|-
| align="left"| "[[Party Time (T.G. Sheppard song)|Party Time]]"
| 1
| —
| —
| 2
| —
|-
| align="left"| "[[Only One You]]"
| 1
| 68
| 20
| 1
| —
| align="left" rowspan="2"| ''Finally!''
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1982
| align="left"| "[[Finally (T.G. Sheppard song)|Finally]]"
| 1
| 58
| 17
| 10
| —
|-
| align="left"| "[[War Is Hell (On the Homefront Too)]]"
| 1
| —
| —
| 5
| —
| align="left" rowspan="2"| ''Perfect Stranger''
|-
| align="left"| "[[Faking Love]]" <small>(with [[Karen Brooks]])</small>
| 1
| —
| —
| 1
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1983
| align="left"| "[[Without You (Badfinger song)|Without You]]"
| 12
| —
| —
| 10
| —
| align="left"| ''Greatest Hits''
|-
| align="left"| "[[Slow Burn (T.G. Sheppard song)|Slow Burn]]"
| 1
| —
| —
| 1
| —
| align="left" rowspan="3"| ''Slow Burn''
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1984
| align="left"| "[[Make My Day (T.G. Sheppard and Clint Eastwood song)|Make My Day]]" <small>(with [[Clint Eastwood]])</small>
| 12
| 62
| 36
| 11
| —
|-
| align="left"| "[[Somewhere Down the Line]]"
| 3
| —
| —
| 5
| —
|-
| align="left"| "Home Again" <small>(with [[Judy Collins]])</small>
| 57
| —
| 42
| —
| —
| align="left" rowspan="3"| ''One Owner Heart''
|-
| align="left"| "[[One Owner Heart]]"
| 4
| —
| —
| 3
| —
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1985
| align="left"| "[[You're Going Out of My Mind]]"
| 10
| —
| —
| 8
| —
|-
| align="left"| "[[Fooled Around and Fell in Love]]"
| 21
| —
| —
| 34
| —
| align="left" rowspan="3"| ''Livin' on the Edge''
|-
| align="left"| "[[Doncha?]]"
| 8
| —
| —
| 5
| —
|-
| align="left"| "[[In Over My Heart]]"
| 9
| —
| —
| 28
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1986
| align="left"| "[[Strong Heart (T.G. Sheppard song)|Strong Heart]]"
| 1
| —
| —
| 1
| —
| align="left" rowspan="3"| ''It Still Rains in Memphis''
|-
| align="left"| "[[Half Past Forever (Till I'm Blue in the Heart)]]"
| 2
| —
| —
| 3
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1987
| align="left"| "[[You're My First Lady]]"
| 2
| —
| —
| 5
| —
|-
| align="left"| "[[One for the Money (song)|One for the Money]]"
| 2
| —
| —
| 2
| —
| align="left"| ''One for the Money''
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1988
| align="left"| "Don't Say It with Diamonds"
| 48
| —
| —
| 63
| —
| align="left" rowspan="2"| ''Crossroads''
|-
| align="left"| "[[You Still Do]]"
| 14
| —
| —
| *
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1991
| align="left"| "Born in a High Wind"
| 63
| —
| —
| —
| —
| rowspan="2" {{n/a}}
|-
| align="left"| "It's One A.M. (Do You Know Where Your Memories Are)"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1991/BB-1991-09-07.pdf|title=Single Reviews|work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=September 7, 1991}}</ref>
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| 1992
| align="left"| "[[(Everything I Do) I Do It for You]]"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-02-29.pdf|title=Single Reviews|work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=February 29, 1992}}</ref>
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| align="left"| ''The Best of T. G. Sheppard''
|-
|-
| 2019
| align="left"| "I Wanna Live Like Elvis"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| align="left"| ''TBA''
|-
| colspan="8" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart
|}

===Music Videos===
* Fooled Around and Fell in Love (1985)
* It's One AM (Do You Know Where Your Memories Are) (1991)
* She's Gettin' the Rock (1997)
* (There Ain't Nothin') Like a Coup deVille (1997)


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
<references/>


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.tgsheppard.com/ Official Website]
* [http://www.tgsheppard.com/ Official website]


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Singers from Tennessee]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from Tennessee]]
[[Category:American country singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:American country singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:People from Humboldt, Tennessee]]
[[Category:People from Humboldt, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. Records artists]]
[[Category:Warner Records artists]]
[[Category:Curb Records artists]]
[[Category:Curb Records artists]]
[[Category:Columbia Records artists]]
[[Category:Columbia Records artists]]
[[Category:Songwriters from Tennessee]]
[[Category:Country musicians from Tennessee]]
[[Category:Country musicians from Tennessee]]

Latest revision as of 15:56, 10 March 2024

T. G. Sheppard
Sheppard in 2015
Sheppard in 2015
Background information
Birth nameWilliam Neal Browder
Also known asBrian Stacy
Born (1944-07-20) July 20, 1944 (age 79)
Humboldt, Tennessee, U.S.
GenresCountry, countrypolitan
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Years active1975–present
LabelsMelodyland, Hitsville, Warner Bros., Curb, Columbia
Websitetgsheppard.com

William Neal Browder (born July 20, 1944)[1] is an American country music singer-songwriter, known professionally as T. G. Sheppard. He had 14 number-one hits on the US country charts between 1974 and 1986, including eight consecutive number ones between 1980 and 1982.

Early life[edit]

Browder was born in Humboldt, Tennessee, United States.[2] He dropped out of high school at age 15 and ran away from home to become involved in the music industry in Memphis, Tennessee.

Career[edit]

William Browder, as he was then known, first recorded for Atco Records as Brian Stacy in 1966.[2] Browder worked as an executive at RCA during the early 1970s, but in 1974, signed with Melodyland (later Hitsville) Records, a short-lived country label owned by Motown Records. He used the stage name T.G. Sheppard to avoid jeopardizing his job with RCA, due to his recording material with a different label. According to Browder, "The T.G. in my stage name is really and truly just initials. A lot of people through the years have had fun putting what they want the initials to stand for, but they really don't mean anything, they are just initials."[3]

He recorded the song "Devil in the Bottle", which became a No. 1 hit on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart and also became a top 60 Pop hit in 1975.[1] The follow-up, "Tryin' to Beat the Morning Home", also went to No. 1 and cracked the top 100 during the summer of 1975.[1] Several subsequent releases during 1975–77 made the top 10 like "Motels and Memories" and "Show Me a Man".

In 1977, Sheppard signed with Warner Bros. Records. Starting with that summer's "When Can We Do This Again", he had a series of fifteen consecutive top 10 releases, including 10 No. 1 songs. The biggest included "Last Cheater's Waltz" (1979); "I'll Be Coming Back for More" and "Do You Wanna Go to Heaven" (1980); "I Loved 'Em Every One" and "Party Time" (1981); "Only One You", "Finally", and "War Is Hell (On the Homefront Too)" (1982). Another major hit came in 1984: "Slow Burn". "I Loved 'Em Every One" also reached the top forty on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. In 1984 he recorded, as a duet with Judy Collins, the title track of Home Again, her final album for Elektra Records.

In 1985, he moved from Warner Bros. to Columbia Records. After just missing the top 20 with "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" (a remake of the Elvin Bishop hit), he returned to the top 10, with his biggest success during this time frame coming with 1986's "Strong Heart" (the last of his No. 1 hits, as it turned out). Three more songs peaked at No. 2 in 1987: "Half Past Forever (Till I'm Blue in the Heart)", "You're My First Lady", and "One for the Money".

Sheppard's success continued until about 1988, when rootsy neo-traditionalist artists began to eclipse more polished pop-country artists. In 1995, he took a two-year hiatus from the road to perform exclusively for eight months a year at T.G. Sheppard's Theater in the Smokies, a state-of-the-art theater in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains. When the theater was sold in 1997, he returned to the road. He continued to tour and play throughout the 1990s, but did not sign a new record contract, and did not release any new material until 1997. His 2002 live release, T.G. Sheppard: Live at Billy Bob's, found Sheppard performing his classic hits for an enthusiastic crowd at the famed honky tonk in Fort Worth, Texas. Sheppard released Timeless in 2004, an album that had him singing songs from the big band era. In the mid to late 1980s, he was an associate sponsor on the No. 25 Folgers Chevrolet driven on the NASCAR Cup Series by Tim Richmond and Ken Schrader. In 1990, the Folgers sponsorship moved to Roush racing and driver Mark Martin.[4]

T.G. Sheppard currently tours throughout the year and, after a two-decade hiatus, he released a new single "I Wanna Live Like Elvis" in January 2019 with a new album set to be released at a later date.[5]

Sheppard was a friend of Elvis Presley's and hosts his own show on Sirius XM's Elvis Radio. Sheppard's show was created to replace new broadcasts of disc jockey and Presley friend George Klein's show after Klein's death in 2019.

Personal life[edit]

Sheppard is married to singer-songwriter Kelly Lang and resides in Hendersonville, Tennessee.[6] Sheppard owned a small chain of now-defunct restaurants under the name of "T.G.'s North of the Border Cafe and Cantina" in Tennessee. The restaurant had locations in Gatlinburg and Chattanooga.[citation needed]

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1974 The Second Coming of Suzanne John
1983 Twice Upon a Time Rusher of Din – Office Executive

Discography[edit]

Main article: T. G. Sheppard discography

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 370. ISBN 0-85112-726-6.
  2. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. pp. 379–380. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  3. ^ "T.G. Sheppard". Ourbrowncounty.com. October 19, 1999. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  4. ^ "Roush Fenway Racing". topspeed.com. October 2, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  5. ^ "Priscilla Presley Embraces New Single". mynewsletterbuilder.com. January 8, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  6. ^ Watts, Cindy (October 15, 2018). "Kelly Lang creates alter ego XOXO to bring laughter to fellow breast cancer patients". The Tennessean. Retrieved November 29, 2020.

External links[edit]

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