WHERE PRE-HISTORY AND POP CULTURE MEET

     Bob McDill’s music education began with viola lessons in the 4th grade. He learned to play guitar and went on to play in local bands throughout high school. He attended Lamar University from 1962-1966 and then enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve.

     While in the Navy, he received songwriting advice from songwriter and record producer Allen Reynolds, who helped McDill land his first chart record as a songwriter — "The Happy Man", recorded in 1967 by Perry Como.  Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs provided McDill with his second success when they recorded "Black Sheep".

     After his time in the Navy, McDill moved to Memphis to pursue a career as a songwriter. Although he initially tried to write rock and pop songs, McDill shifted his focus to country after hearing George Jones' "Good Year for the Roses".

For the next thirty years, McDill wrote one song a week, with artists such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Anne Murray, Don Williams, Waylon Jennings, and Mickey Gilley recording his songs. Bobby Bare recorded an entire album of Bob McDill songs in 1977; the album was titled “Me and McDill”. In the early 1980s, Grammy-winning pop singer Juice Newton released four McDill songs: "I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can", "Shot Full of Love", "Runaway Hearts" and "Falling in Love"; the songs appeared on Gold and Platinum certified albums.  Two of Mel McDaniel's biggest hits, “Louisiana Saturday Night” and “Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On,” were McDill compositions.  McDill continued to write songs into the 1990s, including "Gone Country" by Alan Jackson; "All the Good Ones Are Gone" by Pam Tillis (which received a Grammy Award nomination in 1998), and "Why Didn't I Think of That" by Doug Stone. McDill retired from songwriting in 2000.