T.G. Sheppard

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Biography

T. G. Sheppard (born Billy Neal Browder, 20 July 1944, in Humboldt, Tennessee|Humboldt , Tennessee ) is an United States|American country music singer , who had 14 number one hits during the 1970s and 1980s.

Early life

He never graduated from high school , but was one credit away from doing so. He ran away from his home at the age of 15 to become involved in the music industry in Memphis, Tennessee . Initially he worked in the record business and tried sound recording and reproduction|recording pop music under the name Brian Stacy, before adopting the Sheppard pseudonym.

Recording career

In 1974, Sheppard signed with Melodyland (later Hitsville) Records, which was a short-lived country label that was owned by Motown Records , and recorded the song " Devil in the Bottle ," which became a No. 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. 1 and cracked the Top 100 during the summer of 1975. Several subsequent releases during 1975-1977 also made the Top 40|Top 10 like "Motels and Memories" and "Show Me A Man".

Early in his career, TG became close friends with Elvis Presley . Elvis gave TG his first tour bus and TG even lived at Graceland for a while during their friendship. A relative of TG's at a performance of his in his hometown of Humboldt, TN gave a first-hand account of TG mentioning the recent passing of his friend, Elvis, beginning to honor him by singing one of Elvis' songs, & having to leave the stage to compose himself before returning to finish the song. TG & Elvis were very close.
In 1977, Sheppard signed with Warner Bros. Records , where he enjoyed his greatest success. 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 (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 ." "I Loved 'Em Everyone" also reached the top-forty on the U.S. pop singles charts. 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 , where he continued to enjoy success. 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 14 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 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 . 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 has a new CD out called "Timeless" which has him singing songs from the big band era. In the mid to late 1980s T.G. Sheppard was an associate sponsor on the #25 Folgers Chevrolet driven on the Nascar Winston Cup circuit by Tim Richmond and Ken Schrader . In 1990 the Folgers sponsorship moved to Roush racing and driver Mark Martin .

Personal life

TG is married to a fellow song-writer / singer, Kelly Lang, and they currently reside in Hendersonville, Tennessee .

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Chart Positions		Label
Year	Title	US Country	US	Label
1975	T.G. Sheppard	12	—	Melodyland
1976	Motels and Memories	28	—	Melodyland
1976	Solitary Man	16	—	Hitsville
1978	T.G.	42	—	Warner/ Curb
1979	Daylight	—	—
1979	3/ 4 Lonely ^A	4	—
1980	Smooth Sailin	19	—
1981	''I Love 'Em All	7	119
1982	Finally!	4	152
1982	Perfect Stranger	25	—
1983	Greatest Hits	5	189
1983	Slow Burn	17	204
1984	One Owner Heart	26	—
1985	''Livin' on the Edge	26	—	Columbia
	T.G.	54	—	Warner/ Curb
	Greatest Hits 2	—	—	Warner/ Curb
1986	It Still Rains in Memphis	26	—	Columbia
1987	One for the Money	47	—
1988	Biggest Hits	—	—
1988	Crossroads	—	—
1997	''Nothin' on But the Radio	—	—	Outwest
2002	''Live at Billy Bob's Texas	—	—	Smith Music
2004	Timeless	—	—	Aspirion Records
2007	Partners In Rhyme (2 CDs + DVD)	—	—	align="left"

^A 3/4 Lonely also peaked at #8 on the RPM (magazine)|RPM Country Albums chart in Canada.

Singles

Year	Title	Chart Positions					Album
Year	Title	US Country	US	US AC	CAN Country	CAN AC	Album
1974	" Devil in the Bottle "	1	54	—	1	—	T.G. Sheppard
1975	" Tryin' to Beat the Morning Home "	1	95	—	2	—
	"Another Woman"	14	—	—	17	—
	" Motels and Memories "	7	102	—	1	—	Motels and Memories
1976	" Solitary Man (song)	14	100	—	11	24	Solitary Man
1976	"Show Me a Man"	8	—	—	13	—	Solitary Man
1977	"May I Spend Every New Years with You"	37	—	—	—	—	single only
	"Lovin' On"	20	—	—	18	—	T.G.
	"Mister D.J."	13	—	—	27	—
1978	"Don't Ever Say Goodbye"	13	—	—	18	—
	"When Can We Do This Again"	5	—	—	29	—	Daylight
	"Daylight"	7	—	—	9	—
	" Happy Together (song)	8	—	—	6	—
1979	" You Feel Good All Over "	4	—	—	20	—	3/ 4 Lonely
	" Last Cheater's Waltz "	1	—	—	7	—
	" I'll Be Coming Back for More "	1	—	—	23	—
1980	" Smooth Sailin' (song)	6	—	—	7	—	Smooth Sailin
	" Do You Wanna Go to Heaven "	1	—	—	15	—
	" I Feel Like Loving You Again "	1	—	—	3	—
1981	" I Loved 'Em Every One "	1	37	3	3	8	''I Love 'Em All
	" Party Time (T.G. Sheppard song)	1	—	—	2	—	''I Love 'Em All
	" Only One You "	1	68	20	1	—	Finally!
1982	" Finally (T.G. Sheppard song)	1	58	17	10	—	Finally!
	" War is Hell (On the Homefront Too) "	1	—	—	5	—	Perfect Stranger
	" Faking Love " (with Karen Brooks )	1	—	—	1	—	Perfect Stranger
1983	" Without You (Badfinger song)	12	—	—	10	—	Greatest Hits
1983	" Slow Burn (T.G. Sheppard song)	1	—	—	1	—	Slow Burn
1984	"Make My Day" (with Clint Eastwood )	12	62	—	11	—
	" Somewhere Down the Line "	3	—	—	5	—
	"Home Again" (with Judy Collins )	57	—	42	—	—	One Owner Heart
	" One Owner Heart "	4	—	—	3	—
1985	" You're Going Out of My Mind "	10	—	—	8	—
	" Fooled Around and Fell in Love "	21	—	—	34	—	''Livin' on the Edge
	" Doncha? "	8	—	—	5	—
	" In Over My Heart "	9	—	—	28	—
1986	" Strong Heart (T.G. Sheppard song)	1	—	—	1	—	It Still Rains in Memphis
1986	" Half Past Forever (Till I'm Blue in the Heart) "	2	—	—	3	—
1987	" You're My First Lady "	2	—	—	5	—
1987	" One for the Money (song)	2	—	—	2	—	One for the Money
1988	"Don't Say It with Diamonds"	48	—	—	63	—	Crossroads
1988	"You Still Do"	14	—	—	*	—	Crossroads
1991	"Born in a High Wind"	63	—	—	—	—	single only

External links

Category:1944 births
Category:Living people
Category:American country singers

Copyright Citations

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