Norro Wilson
Norris "Norro" Wilson (born April 4, 1938 in Scottsville , Kentucky ; † June 8, 2017 in Nashville , Tennessee ) was an American country singer , songwriter and record producer.
Musical career
Wilson began his musical career at the age of seven with piano lessons. Later he sang in the school choir, sometimes as a soloist. After graduating from high school, Wilson received a scholarship to attend Western Kentucky University. In 1957 he became tenor of the gospel quartet The Southlanders in Nashville ( Tennessee ). Wilson recorded his first solo record in September 1961 in Nashville for Monument Records, with the titles Ma Baker's Island and Mexico . By 1963, Monument released a total of three singles with Wilson, then he took three more singles on MGM and Hickory by 1966 . 1968 Wilson got a recording deal with Smash Records . There he was given on the record labels as "Norro" Wilson, this remained his stage name in the future. With his third smash single and the title Only You he succeeded for the first time in 1969 to gain a place in the Hot Country Singles of the US music magazine Billboard (68th place). By 1974 he was listed with a total of nine tracks in the Hot Country Singles, the 1973 track Ain't It Good was the most successful at number 35. Wilson sang about records until 1974, including a 1969 long-playing record entitled Dedicated To: Only You . Many of his singles were created in collaboration with producer Jerry Kennedy .
After Wilson had occasionally appeared as a composer in record productions in the 1960s, he turned increasingly to songwriting from 1970 onwards. While his self-sung records achieved only moderate success, Wilson created over 50 titles as a composer, which could place in the country charts. Among them were twelve songs that became number one hits. His collaboration with country stars Charlie Rich and Tammy Wynette , for whom he wrote three number one titles each, was particularly successful . Most of his compositions wrote Wilson on behalf of Al Gallico Music Corporation in Beverly Hills ( California ). 38 of his compositions received a BMI Award . In 1996, Wilson was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame .
Parallel to his work as a songwriter, Wilson became A&R manager at the media group Warner Bros. in 1975 , where he was responsible for contract signing and production in the record sector. He later carried out similar activities at RCA Records and Merit Music. As a producer, he worked with country singers such as John Anderson , Buck Owens , Charley Pride and Margo Smith . His productions spawned 29 number one hits.
US country charts as a singer
| year | title | Billboard |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Only you | 68. |
| 1969 | Love Comes But Once in a Lifetime | 44. |
| 1969 | Shame on Me | 56. |
| 1970 | Do It to Someone You Love | 20th |
| 1970 | Old Enough to Want | 53. |
| 1972 | Everybody Needs Lovin ' | 28. |
| 1973 | Ain't It Good | 35. |
| 1973 | Darlin 'Raise the Shade | 64. |
| 1974 | Loneliness | 96. |
Number one hits as a songwriter
(Country charts)
| year | title | Interpreter |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Baby baby | David Houston |
| 1970 | He Loves Me All the Way | Tammy Wynette |
| 1972 | My Man | Tammy Wynette |
| 1973 | Soul song | Joe Stampley |
| 1973 | The Most Beautiful Girl | Charlie Rich |
| 1974 | Another lonely song | Tammy Wynette |
| 1974 | The Door | George Jones |
| 1974 | The Grand Tour | George Jones |
| 1974 | A very special love song | Charlie Rich |
| 1974 | I love my friend | Charlie Rich |
| 1981 | Never Been So Loved | Charley Pride |
| 1983 | Night Games | Charley Pride |
US discography
Vinlyl singles
| From page | Catalog no. | published |
|---|---|---|
| monument | ||
| Ma Baker's Island / Mexico | 453 | 11/1961 |
| Pink Dally Rue / Baby Don't Pout | 459 | 3/1962 |
| Blink Away / Top Dog | 813 | 4/1963 |
| MGM | ||
| Chantilly Lace / Where the Action Is | 13323 | 4/1965 |
| Chantilly Lace / Love Hurts | 14038 | 3/1969 |
| hickory | ||
| Let's Think About Living / Oh, Lonesome Me | 1379 | 4/1966 |
| smash | ||
| Stranger to Me / Mama Mc Cluskie | 2151 | 2/1968 |
| Rather Do It Than Eat / Sunset and Wine | 2184 | 9/1968 |
| Only You / Hey Mister | 2192 | 12/1968 |
| Love Comes But Once in Lifetime / All the Time | 2210 | 3/1969 |
| Shame on Me / Let Me Go Back | 2236 | 7/1969 |
| In the Loneliness Of The City / Roses in the Snow | 2262 | 2/1970 |
| Mercury | ||
| Do It to Someone You Love / No One Will Ever Know | 73077 | 6/1970 |
| Old Enough to Want To / State Line Daddy | 73125 | 10/1970 |
| If You Get Where Heart Is / Away of Her Arms | 73213 | 5/1971 |
| RCA Victor | ||
| The Gift of Love / The Sweet Lips That Kiss Me Good Morning | 0677 | 4/1972 |
| Little Old Lady / Times Like These | 0762 | 7/1972 |
| Strange Little Girl / Everybody Needs Lovin ' | 0824 | 10/1972 |
| Darlin 'Raise The Shade / Keep Me From Blowing Away | 0909 | 3/1973 |
| Ain't It Good / It's All in the Game | 0062 | 8/1973 |
| Capitol | ||
| I Want To Hold You in My Arms / Loneliness | 3886 | 5/1974 |
| Come on Come on Pour Your Lovin 'on Me / Thanks But No Thanks | 4004 | 1/1975 |
LP
| Dedicated To: Only You, Smash 67116, 2/1969 |
| Tracks: A: 1 Love Comes But Once In A Lifetime, 2 Words, 3 My Prayer, 4 Little Green Apples, 5 All The Time, 6 That's The Least I Could Do / B: 1 Only You, 2 You're My World , 3 To The Aisle, 4 The Great Pretender, 5 Mama McCluskie |
Individual proof
Web links
- Norro Wilson in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Biography at www.rama-info.com ( Memento from May 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- Discography at countrydiscography.blogspot.de
- Chart positions at www.musicvf.com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wilson, Norro |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wilson, Norris |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American country singer, songwriter and record producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 4, 1938 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Scottsville , Kentucky |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 8, 2017 |
| Place of death | Nashville , Tennessee |