<\/p>\n
\n\tName the top two songwriters in the history of the Billboard<\/em> country charts \u2014 go ahead.<\/p>\n \n\tIs Willie Nelson<\/a> one of them? Nope.<\/p>\n \n\tDolly Parton<\/a>? Nope.<\/p>\n \n\tHank Williams<\/a>? Still nope.<\/p>\n \n\tKris Kristofferson<\/a>? Not quite.<\/p>\n \n\tTwo modern songwriters \u2014 Ashley Gorley (\u201cI Had Some Help,\u201d \u201cI Am Not Okay\u201d) and Shane McAnally (\u201cBody Like a Back Road,\u201d \u201cMama\u2019s Broken Heart\u201d) \u2014 ranked No. 1 and No. 2 on Record Research\u2019s first-ever study of the Top Country Songwriters 1944-2025, based on the Billboard<\/em> charts. Billboard<\/em> unveils the top 10 exclusively in this edition, while a full list of the top 40 appears in Joel Whitburn\u2019s Top Country Singles 1944-2025<\/em>, due to be published by Record Research June 4. The book arrives concurrently with the launch of the annual CMA Fest in Nashville.<\/p>\n \n\tGorley and McAnally benefit from longevity and volume \u2014 both have consistently seen their names in parentheses on the country charts for more than 15 years \u2014 but also from their era. The study weights Billboard<\/em>\u2019s Country Airplay<\/a> charts more heavily than the multimetric Hot Country Songs<\/a>, but the latter chart still has allowed more titles to burst into public consciousness for short windows through its inclusion of streaming data. Songs featured on major new albums, or that benefit from some cultural event, tend to make a splash on that list, and McAnally and Gorley have had a number of those, in addition to hits that emerge through more traditional, longer-term patterns. That trend is indebted to the democratization of music that analysts predicted in the early stages of the industry\u2019s digital age.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think this chart actually reflects that,\u201d says Record Research partner Vinnie Freda, who played a key role in rejuvenating the company. \u201cBecause of the impact of streaming services, there tends to be less of a curation that takes place compared to, say, the 20th century. The consumer has a little bit more of a say.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tOnly two of the top 10 all-time writers were also artists from start to finish in their career, a fact that will likely not surprise many Nashville publishers or country music professionals. But it might come as a shock to consumers. (Full disclosure: I\u2019ll be moderating a panel June 6 during CMA Fest built around the full top 40 list with Freda, Gorley and McAnally).<\/p>\n \n\tThe list\u2019s two artist-writers, Bill Anderson (No. 4) and Merle Haggard (No. 10), developed the kinds of careers that at least two of the other top 10 writers originally targeted. Bob McDill (\u201cGone Country,\u201d \u201cGood Ole Boys Like Me\u201d), who ranked No. 3; and Rhett Akins (\u201cDirt On My Boots,\u201d \u201cHoney Bee\u201d), No. 9; had artist aspirations early on but discovered writing better suited them.<\/p>\n \n\tAlso in the top 10 are Harlan Howard (\u201cI Fall to Pieces,\u201d \u201cWhy Not Me\u201d), No. 5; Billy Sherrill (\u201cStand by Your Man,\u201d \u201cThe Most Beautiful Girl\u201d), No. 6; Craig Wiseman (\u201cLive Like You Were Dying,\u201d \u201cSummertime\u201d), No. 7; and Tom Shapiro (\u201cYou Look Good in My Shirt,\u201d \u201cWink\u201d), No. 8.<\/p>\n \n\tTop Country Singles 1944-2025<\/em> is the first title released since Record Research was rejuvenated. The company produced a string of essential chart references \u2014 generally recognized as the \u201cWhitburn books\u201d \u2014 that presented artist chart histories compiled across many of Billboard<\/em>\u2019s authoritative charts. Programmers, journalists, industry pros and intense music geeks all used them to do their jobs and\/or settle scores. But Record Researchstruggled following Whitburn\u2019s death in 2022, and when the company sent an email to customers in May 2025 saying it needed help, Freda \u2014 a Universal Music Group and Warner Music vet who\u2019d been a customer since 1982 \u2014 stepped forward with plans to revive it.<\/p>\n \n\tAs work on the Country Singles<\/em> book began, KCCS Productions president Nan Kingsley (who oversees the estate of late broadcaster Bob Kingsley, host of Bob Kingsley\u2019s Top 40<\/em>) and Results Global co-head John Zarling suggested expanding that product with songwriters\u2019 chart histories. The idea resonated with Freda.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019ve always felt that songwriters were [the] unsung heroes of the business,\u201d Freda says. \u201cAnd generally, country has always respected songwriters more than any other genre.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tFreda picked CMA Fest as the ideal time to publish the new Country Singles<\/em> book. It fit the timeline as the company plotted a release date, and it was also an event that involves many of the genre\u2019s artists and executives, in addition to attracting its most avid fans.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cPerhaps my biggest problem at the company is the demographic of my customers is generally 50 and above,\u201d Freda says. \u201cIf you talk to somebody [that] age or older, and you say \u2018Joel Whitburn,\u2019 they immediately know what you\u2019re talking about. If you talk to a 30-year-old, they\u2019re like, \u2018Who the hell was Joel Whitburn?\u2019 Generally, our audience are certainly anyone in radio, record label people and any other kind of collector or nerd out there. They\u2019re on our customer list.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBut Freda hopes to expand that base, both with books and a reinvigorated online offering. Record Research jumped into a subscription service around the mid-2000s, but it lasted only a year or two.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThey were a bit ahead of their time,\u201d Freda says. \u201cThe technology was not yet in a place where it was a very good experience for the consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tFreda plans to reintroduce the digital product in a year or so, with artificial intelligence helping to make the site more fluid. It would include games and trivia that would make it more interactive.<\/p>\n \n\tOther offerings on the horizon include a new iteration of the Hot Country Albums<\/em> book, which hasn\u2019t been updated since 2007, and a producer section that will highlight the chart histories and rankings of the figures behind the glass. The songwriter and producer information, if all goes to plan, will also be featured in other genres as Record Research celebrates the music lists that reflect the culture.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cCharts are not a replacement for what\u2019s the best song out there,\u201d Freda says. \u201cThe greatest song of all-time isn\u2019t the song that went to No. 1 on the chart necessarily, but what I think chart positions represent are memories. A song that spends 10 weeks on a chart tends to be more in the collective memory of our society than a song that spent one week at 34.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAs human beings, we are nothing more than a collection of memories, and so that\u2019s why it\u2019s just fun to read the charts.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe singer created his rebel \u2018Soul\u2019 entry in a single day in the mountains of North Carolina.<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tMost people visit a restaurant for a meal.<\/p>\n \n\tFor Eric Church, it might be the site of a creative endeavor.<\/p>\n \n\tIn January 2020, he settled in with his band at the Artisinal restaurant on the North Carolina side of the Smoky Mountains for a month of music-making. The goal was simple: write and record a new song each day until he built up enough material for three albums: Heart<\/em>, &<\/em> and Soul<\/em>. The latter would include \u201cHell of a View,\u201d which topped Billboard<\/em>\u2019s Country Airplay chart dated May 29, 2021.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHell\u201d became an exercise after Church and his co-writers got their steps in one morning. Casey Beathard (\u201cHomeboy,\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t Blink\u201d) returned from his walk with an idea about a couple living and loving on the edge, and he developed the initial lines with Monty Criswell (\u201cBottle Rockets,\u201d \u201cHandle On You\u201d). Church joined in once he got back from a run.<\/p>\n \n\tAfter they finished writing it, they recorded the song that day with drummer Craig Wright miked up in the wine cellar. Producer Jay Joyce (Miranda Lambert, Brothers Osborne) finished \u201cHell\u201d overnight when Church and the rest of the musicians went to bed.<\/p>\n \n\tReleased to country radio via PlayMPE on Oct. 20, 2020, it arrived at the top of Country Airplay in its 29th week on the list; it also peaked at No. 2 on the multimetric Hot Country Songs.<\/p>\n\n\t\tWhen Eric Church Had A \u2018Hell Of A View\u2019 From The Top Of The Chart\t<\/h2>\n