Compiling a complete list of Mel Tillis hits can be a perplexing and endless undertaking. Annotating a list of songs he has written could be a greater task. Becoming a proficient singer is one thing. Becoming a successful songwriter is another, To have excelled in both professions is no small feat. However, Mrel Tillis is no ordinary person. He’s a stellar entertainer with natural born talent. During his career, Mel attained over 40 top-10 hits, including 6 No. 1 songs. One of the premier songwriters during the ‘50s and ‘60s, he has written more than five hundred songs. Webb Pierce recorded over 35 of his songs. Burl Ives recorded 11. Many of his memorable compositions were big hits such as, the million-sellers Detroit City, Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town I'm Tired, and I Ain't Never.

Lonnie Melvin Tillis was bom in Pahokee, Florida on August 8, 1932. He contacted malaria when he was three and began to experience problems with stuttering. Some people thought it was an emotional problem and would pass with time. As he got older, he went to a number of university speech clinics trying to solve the problem. The clinics were unable to eliminate the stuttering and Mel eventually grew accustomed to it.

Tillis learned to play the guitar while growing up in Florida. By 1948 Mel was winning local talent contests. He began writing country songs while in the Air Force. Also during that time, he formed his first band called The Westerners. He was discharged from the military in 1955 and in 1956, Tillis made the imperative trek to Nashville. While working odd jobs, from truck driving to working as a fireman on the railroad, he co-wrote I'm Tired with Ray Price. Webb Pierce recorded it and took it to No. 1. This gained Tillis a songwriting contract with Cedarwood Publishing Company. During the ‘60s, Mel established himself as one of the most successful new Nashville songwriters. His compositions Detroit City and Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town, became big hits for Bobby Bare in 1963 and Kenny Rogers in 1969, respectively and solidified Mel as a contending Nashville songwriter.

Mel’s first recording came in 1956 when he signed with Columbia. The Violet and the Rose, George Town Blues and Sawmill, were his first songs to click. In the early '60s, he made a switch to Decca and charted with How Come Your Dog Don't Bite Nobody But Me. Still in search of his first top-10 hit, he switched to Kapp and in 1966. However, his debut material only produced top-20 singles like, Stateside and Life Turned Her That Way. Mel wrote Stateside while with the Air Force in Japan. His band The Statesiders was formed from the song title. Life Turned Her That Way was written by Harlan Howard and has been covered by several artists including, Ricky Van Shelton.

Finally, he broke the barrier and made the top-10 with Who's Julie, These Lonely Hands of Mine and Heart Over Mind. That same year (1970), Mel made a label change again, this time to MGM. Over the next decade, he racked up an assortment of top-10 hits, making MGM his most productive label. Heaven Everyday, a Tillis original called Commercial Affection, The Arms of A Fool, Brand New Mister Me and Neon Rose, were his first top-10 singles for MGM. 1972 brought the release of Mel's first No. 1 song, I Ain't Never. The song is a Tillis version of the 1959 Webb Pierce hit which they wrote together.

In 1976, Mel was named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association (CMA). One of the three songs Mel brought with him to Nashville was Sawmill. During this time, Mel teamed up with Sherry Bryce for a string of duets. Those included Take my Hand and Living and Learning. These songs, among others, lead up to them being nominated as Best Vocal Duo by CMA in 1975.

Meanwhile, his solo top-10 singles for MGM continued with Midnight Me and the Blues, Stomp Them Grapes, Memory Maker, Best Way I Know How and Woman in the Back of My Mind. By the time he left MGM, he had recorded numerous albums including, The Arms of a Fool (1971), Stomp Them Grapes (1974) and Mel Tillis' Greatest Hits (1974).

During 1976, Mel switched labels again, this time to MCA and he continued turning out hits. His first two No. 1 songs for MCA came with Good Woman Blues and Heart Healer. Burning Memories, I Got the Hoss and What Did I Promise Her Last Night, kept Mel in the top-10 fold. In 1978, Tillis scored his 4th No. 1 song with I Believe in You. That fall, he charted with Ain't No California and opened 1979 with Send Me Down to Tucon, Charlie's Angel, and his final No. 1 for MCA called Coca Cola Cowboy.

A move to Elektra/Asylum Records was made in 1979. Soon thereafter, Mel released his first single Blind in Love. Lying Time Again, Your Body is An Outlaw, Steppin' Out, A Million Old Goodbyes and One-Night Fever, made up his Elektra top-10 catalogue. Tillis had only one No. 1 hit single for Elektra entitled Southern Rains.

During 1981, he teamed with Nancy Sinatra and recorded a few lower chart singles. In 1983, he made a move back to MCA and returned to the top-10 with In the Middle of the Night and New Patches. By 1985 Tillis had departed MCA once again, this time moving over to RCA records. Under the new label, he released the album California Road, but little chart activity resulted as Tillis' recording career began to decline. In 1988, Mel was signed to Mercury Records, but his recording career become progressively muted.

Throughout the years, The Statesiders were made up of several members. By the early ‘80s those members making up the band included, Jim Garstong (piano), Kenny Sears (fiddle & guitar), Phil Coontz (steel), Paul Justice (fiddle), George Beasley (drums), Dennis Pratt (keyboards), Jerry Reid (lead guitar) Brian Sterling (lead guitar) and Kip Paxton (bass). In 1987, Mel sold his Musiplex song publishing companies (Sawgrass and Cedarwood) for an undisclosed price, rumored to be around $4 million. Containing more then 11, 000 titles, the companies were bought by the London-based Polygram International Publishing.

A TV regular, he appeared on several TV programs including The Tonight Show, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour and Hee Haw. He has made several popular films with Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood. Tillis' majestic log home of over nine years was completely destroyed in December 1988 when a grease fire in the kitchen spread quickly out of control. The contents, clothes, furniture and Tillis' personal keepsakes were all lost in the blaze.

Today his original material is difficult to locate. However, in 1990 Columbia Records released a compact disc (CD) called American Originals. The material contains some of Mel's biggest hits and is one of a series of artists Columbia Records began reissuing that year on CD. In 1991, Curb issued original Tillis recordings on CD. Titled Greatest Hits, it contains 12 of his. In 1995, Mercury released a CD entitled The Memory Maker. Among the 13 cuts are Brand New Mister Me, Stomp Them Grapes, Commercial Affection, Sawmill, Neon Rose and Heaven Everyday. Any of these units are good samples of Tillis recordings, but they only begin to tap his vast recorded library.

Mel Tillis - The Memory Maker is currently available at

Career Highlights

Birth Place - Tampa, Florida

Career Record Label - MGM

First Top 10 - Who's Julie (1968)

Biggest Hit - I Ain't Never (1972)

Chart Run -1958 - 1989

Major Awards/Achievements

CMA Entertainer of the Year (1976)

back

Mel Tillis Home Page

Revised: 12/4/1999 | Thanks for visiting!