Songwriter of the YearHonoring Craig Wiseman
Born and raised in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Craig Wiseman began playing music as a child, eventually leading him to play drums professionally. In 1985, Craig moved to Nashville to pursue his dream of becoming a professional songwriter.
Craig's first success as a writer came at age 24 with a song on Roy Orbison's
Mystery Girl album, entitled "The Only One". He signed his first publishing deal with Almo/Irving Music in 1990. In 1997 he was honored as
Music Row Magazine's Writer Of The Year as well as the Nashville Songwriters Association International's (NSAI) Writer of The Year.
In 2000, Craig signed a new publishing contract with BMG Music Publishing. Two years later he was named
Billboard Magazine's 2002 Top 2 Country Songwriter and his song, "The Good Stuff," was credited with being
Billboard Magazine's 2002 Country Song of the Year. At the 2003 ASCAP Country Awards, this song was also awarded Song of the Year and Craig was named the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year. Craig also enjoyed an international number one hit with British pop star Beverley Knight on their co-written song, "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda." During his three years with BMG, Craig accrued more than 60 cuts and had 22 singles.
Craig has had songs recorded by country's biggest acts including Diamond Rio, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Lonestar, Phil Vassar, Joe Diffie, Tracy Lawrence, Brooks & Dunn, LeAnn Rimes, Buddy Jewell, Deana Carter, Randy Travis, Aaron Tippin, Lee Roy Parnell, Tracy Byrd, and Trisha Yearwood. He has penned fifteen number one country singles, including "The Good Stuff" and "Summertime" (Kenny Chesney), "The Cowboy In Me" and "Live Like You Were Dying" (Tim McGraw), and "Just Another Day In Paradise" (Phil Vassar).
In October 2003, Craig started his own independent publishing company, Big Loud Shirt Industries. The first single from the new catalog was Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying." It topped the R&R Country Singles chart for an unprecedented 10 weeks and was named NSAI Song Of The Year, CMA Song of the Year, ACM Song of the Year, and won the Grammy award for Best Country Song Of The Year. Craig and his co-writer, Tim Nichols, also wrote a book by the same title. A companion book released later became a 12-week New York Times Bestseller.
During the summer of 2005, Craig co-produced with Dann Huff his first project for Lyric Street recording artist Sarah Buxton. In November of that year, Craig was again named ASCAP Songwriter of the Year, and "Live Like You Were Dying" was named ASCAP Song of the Year. Craig also won the CMA, ACM & ICM Song of the Year with Brooks & Dunn's single, "Believe," co-written with Ronnie Dunn.
Since the opening of Big Loud Shirt, Craig has signed three writers including veteran Chris Tompkins and new comers Betsy Ulmer, Clay Cumbie and Jared Johnson. So far during his career, Craig has written 16 number 1 songs, over 300 cuts and 100 singles. Two of Craig's most recent business ventures are Big Loud Bucks, a fair and accurate administration and information company, and Big Loud Shirt London, an overseas branch of Big Loud Shirt.
Craig serves on the Academy of Country Music Board Of Directors, the Executive Board of the Nashville Songwriter's Association International and ASCAP's Advisory Board. He is active in local charities such as Second Harvest and Habitat for Humanity. He has been married to his wife KK for 13 years.
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