Singer/songwriter/storyteller and multiinstrumentalist, Steve Wariner,
is a troubadour in the music
industry and continues to inspire artists today. More than 20 albums and five decades into his career,
Wariner has become a modern
day multi
-
genre icon,
earning 14 No. 1 hits,
over 30 Top 10 singles,
three
RIAA
-
certified Gold a
lbums, the Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award, four GRAMMY Awards,
four CMA
Awards, three
ACM Awards, a
Christian Country Music Association Award, a
TNN/Music City News
Award, a
CMA Triple Play Award and
15 BMI Million
-
Air Awards. In October 2019, he’ll be in
ducted into
the prestigious Musicians Hall of Fame, and throughout his illustrious career, has been inducted into
the
Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, the
National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame, the
Music City Walk of Fame,
and is one of only five guitar players i
n the world to be given the
"Certified Guitar Player" (CGP) award
by Chet Atkins.
As an award
-
winning songwriter, he has composed songs for
Clint Black (“Nothin’ But the
Taillights”),
Garth Brooks (“Longneck Bottle”),
Bryan White (“One Small Miracle”), a
nd
Keith Urban
(“Where the Blacktop Ends”), as well as songs for Country Music Hall of Fame members
Alabama, Kenny
Rogers,
The Statler Brothers, Conway Twitty, Bill Anderson and Don Williams; pop music icon
Peter Tork
(of The Monkees); R&B singer
Ruben Stu
ddard; Bluegrass music’s
Del McCoury Band, Rockabilly/Country
hitmaker Bob Luman and many more.
Today, he continues to captivate audiences with his sensational voice and guitar prowess and is
recognized through his portfolio of work spanning Country, Bl
uegrass, Rock, Jazz and Pop.
Born on Christmas Day, December 25, 1954, Steve Wariner got his start in music at the tender age of 10,
when he played drums in his father’s band.
The Noblesville, Indiana native later learned bass and played
in local clubs.
One night while performing in an Indianapolis club, Country Music Hall of Fame member, Dottie West,
happened to be there and spotted the talented teenager. West convinced the 17
-
year
-
old to make the
bold move from Indiana to Music City to join her band.
Upon accepting the offer, Wariner played bass
for three years with her before moving on to play in Grand Ole Opry member Bob Luman’s band.
In the 70’s, Wariner’s life and career forever changed when he met his idol and guitar extraordinaire
Chet Atkins
through guitar virtuoso Paul Yandell. Atkins hired Wariner to play bass in his band and
eventually signed him to his first recording contract at RCA Records in 1977. His first single, “I’m Already
Taken,” peaked at #63 on the Country charts and was later
re
-
recorded by Country icon Conway Twitty.
Wariner’s first Top 40 hit was “Your Memory,” which was released in 1980 and peaked at #7 on the
Country charts, and his first #1 single was “All Roads Lead to You,” which was released in 1981.