Paul Overstreet

Paul Lester Overstreet (born March 17, 1955 in Newton , Mississippi ) is one of the most successful songwriters in country music .

He wrote a total of 27 top ten hits and was named BMI Songwriter of the Year for five consecutive years, from 1987 to 1992 .

Career

After graduating from high school, Overstreet moved to Nashville , where he got by doing odd jobs and performing in small clubs in the evenings. In 1982 he recorded a first, not very successful single for RCA . In the same year his song Same on Me was recorded by George Jones and made a top ten hit. A turbulent phase followed with copious amounts of alcohol and drug use. He was briefly married to a sister of Dolly Parton . In 1985 he remarried and finally managed to get off drugs. The Forester Sisters achieved a number one hit with one of his songs. Randy Travis , Tanya Tucker and Marie Osmond also reached top positions in the country charts.

In 1986 he founded the trio SKO together with Thom Schuyler and Fred Knobloch, which produced a number of hits and renamed itself to SKB (Schuyler, Knobloch, Bickhardt) after leaving Overstreets in 1987. In 1988 he had his first solo success with Sowin 'Love . An album of the same name followed, from which several singles were released. He had his first number one hit as an artist in 1990 with Daddy's Come Around . In 1992 his second album, Heroes , was released, which was in the charts for almost a year.

The lyrics of his songs became increasingly religious. Critics also spoke of "feisty" or even "whiny" content. In 1999 Overstreet released an album called A Songwriter's Project - Volume I , in which he himself presented his own songs, which had previously been successfully interpreted by others.

Private

Paul has six children, including actor Chord Overstreet and Nash Overstreet, guitarist for Hot Chelle Rae .

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Country
1989	Sowin 'love	-	Country13 (62 weeks) Country	RCA
1991	Heroes	US163 (6 weeks) US	Country17 (59 weeks) Country	RCA
1992	Love is strong	-	Country60 (6 weeks) Country	RCA

More albums

• 1982: Paul Overstreet
• 1994: The Best of Paul Overstreet
• 1996: Time
• 1999: A Songwriter's Project Vol. 1
• 2001: Living by the Book
• 2001: Christmas: My Favorite Time of the Year
• 2005: Forever and Ever Amen
• 2008: Something For the Road
• 2010: My Favorite Demos I
• 2010: My Favorite Demos II

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		Country
1982	Beautiful baby Paul Overstreet	Country76 (5 weeks) Country
1988	Love Helps Those Sowin 'Love	Country3 (21 weeks) Country
1989	Sowin 'Love Sowin' Love	Country9 (21 weeks) Country
	All the fun sowin 'love	Country5 (26 weeks) Country
1990	Seein 'My Father in Me Sowin' Love	Country2 (27 weeks) Country
	Richest Man on Earth Sowin 'Love	Country3 (21 weeks) Country
	Daddy's Come Around Heroes	Country1 (20 weeks) Country
1991	Heroes Heroes	Country4 (20 weeks) Country
	Ball and Chain Heroes	Country5 (20 weeks) Country
	If I Could Bottle This Up Heroes	Country30 (18 weeks) Country
1992	Billy Can't Read Heroes	Country57 (9 weeks) Country
	Me and My Baby Love Is Strong	Country22 (19 weeks) Country
	Still Out There Swinging Love Is Strong	Country57 (11 weeks) Country
1993	Take Another Run Love Is Strong	Country60 (7 weeks) Country
1996	We've Got to Keep On Meeting Like This Time	Country73 (2 weeks) Country

More singles

• 1996: Even When It Don't Feel Like It
• 2000: When Mamma Ain't Happy
• 2008: I Think She Only Loves Me for My Willie

Guest Posts

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		Country
1987	I Won't Take Less Than Your Love Love Me Like You Used To	Country1 (24 weeks) Country	with Tanya Tucker & Paul Davis

Awards (selection)

• 1986 ACM Song of the Year ( On The Other Hand )
• 1987 to 1982 BMI Songwriter of the Year
• 1988 Grammy for Forever And Ever, Amen
• 1992 Grammy for Love Can Build A Bridge
• 1993 CMA Country Songwriter of the Year

Web links

• Personal Website (English)

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Chart sources: US