Luke Laird

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Luke Laird
Background information
Born (1978-05-04) May 4, 1978 (age 45)
Hartstown, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)Songwriter
Years active2004–present
Websitecreativenationmusic.com

Luke Robert Laird (born May 4, 1978 in Hartstown, Pennsylvania)[1] is an American country music songwriter and producer. He has written over 20 number one Billboard singles, including Carrie Underwood's "So Small", "Temporary Home", and "Undo It"; Blake Shelton's "Gonna"; Sara Evans' "A Little Bit Stronger"; Rodney Atkins's "Take a Back Road"; Eric Church's "Drink in My Hand", "Give Me Back My Hometown", and "Talladega"; Little Big Town's "Pontoon";[2] Luke Bryan's "I See You" and "Fast"; Thomas Rhett's "T-Shirt"; Kenny Chesney's "American Kids"; Lady Antebellum's "Downtown"; and Jon Pardi's "Head Over Boots."[3] He has also written and produced songs for Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Kacey Musgraves, Toby Keith, Ne-Yo, John Legend, Darius Rucker, and many others.[4]

Early life[edit]

Laird was born in Hartstown, PA on May 4, 1978.[1] He wrote songs and learned guitar in elementary school.[5] After seeing a Randy Travis concert in high school, Laird claims he became fascinated with songwriting and production.[6] He taught himself basic elements of music theory by listening to the radio and dissecting songs.[5] Laird's parents took him in high school to see Middle Tennessee State University and its recording program,[5] and he enrolled there in 1997, graduating in 2001 with a degree in Recording Industry Management.[7][8]

After college Laird moved to Nashville. Laird's first job in the industry was assistant tour manager for Brooks & Dunn, though he spent his weekends writing.[8] He participated in songwriter nights in Nashville at venues such as Bluebird Cafe. In 2002, Chris Oglesby, at BMG Music at the time, offered Laird a publishing deal.[8] BMG was later bought by Universal Music Publishing Group, which took over Laird's contract and made him a staff writer in 2008.[9]

While working at BMG he met a receptionist, Beth Mason.[7] The two were married in 2010, and went on to co-found Creative Nation in 2011.[7]

Music career[edit]

Early in his time at UMPG, Bill Luther took an interest in him and encouraged him as a writer.[6] Luther brought Laird along with him to write a song with Hillary Lindsey.[10] The three worked together and named a song around their rapport, called "Painless." The song went on to be Laird's first released song by Lee Ann Womack in 2005.[9]

Laird and Lindsey went on to work on a number of songs with Carrie Underwood, including his first number one single "So Small" in 2007.[5][8] The song held the number one spot on the Billboard Country charts for three weeks and went platinum.[11] Since then Laird has co-written 23 singles that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts.[12] He is a proponent of the “New Country” style of country music, and has worked with pop artists such as Ne-Yo and John Legend.[13] He has written No. 1 hits with Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, and Eric Church, among others, and has had hits with artists such as Ingrid Michaelson, Jason Aldean, Sara Evans, and Kacey Musgraves, among others.[11]

He was named BMI's Country Songwriter of the Year in 2012, and his song with Rodney Atkins, "Take a Back Road" was named Song of the Year.[14] He was named ACM's Songwriter of the Year in 2015.[15]

He has been nominated for four Grammys for Best Country Song: twice in 2015, for Kenny Chesney's "American Kids" and for Eric Church's "Give Me Back My Hometown,"[16] in 2016 for Tim McGraw's "Diamond Rings and Old Barstools,"[17] and in 2019 for Kacey Musgraves' "Space Cowboy", which he won.[18] Although he is primarily interested in songwriting, Laird also produced two Grammy nominated albums by Kacey Musgraves, the 2014 Same Trailer Different Park–which won[19]–and the 2016 Pageant Material.[17]

Creative Nation[edit]

In 2011, Laird and his wife Beth founded Creative Nation, a music publishing and management company for country music songwriters and producers. While Beth Laird handles logistics, Luke Laird focuses on songwriting.[20][21]

The company includes Kassi Ashton, Derek Bahr, Oscar Charles, Barry Dean, Jonathan Hutcherson, Lori McKenna, Sandra McCracken, Mia Mantia, Steve Moakler, Ben West, Travis Wood, and Laird himself.[22][23] Previous clients include Alec Bailey, Casey Brown, Natalie Hemby, Muscadine Bloodline, Tyler Johnson, and Native Run.[24] The company has had partnerships with Concord Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony ATV Music Publishing, and Pulse Music Group.[25][26][27]

Discography[edit]

Main article: Luke Laird discography

Awards and nominations[edit]

Grammy Awards[28]

Country Music Association Awards

Academy of Country Music Awards

American Country Awards

BMI Country Music Awards

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Chiodo, Pet (June 1, 2010). "Hit-song writer and former local Laird enjoys Nashville music scene". The Meadville Tribune.
  2. ^ Parker, Eric (September 4, 2012). "Little Big Town Earns First No. 1 Single". MusicRow.
  3. ^ Thompson, Gayle (January 4, 2017). "Story Behind the Song: Jon Pardi, 'Head Over Boots'". The Boot.
  4. ^ "Luke Laird - Credits". AllMusic.
  5. ^ a b c d Schlansky, Evan (January 31, 2014). "Masters of Songwriting". American Songwriter.
  6. ^ a b Reuter, Anne (June 2, 2017). "The Writer's Round with Luke Laird". Sounds like Nashville.
  7. ^ a b c Allen, Eric (July 6, 2011). "Luke Laird: One of Music City's Top Songwriters is also an MTSU Alum". The Murfreesboro Pulse. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  8. ^ a b c d Dunkerley, Beville (June 13, 2014). "Songwriter Spotlight: Luke Laird". Rolling Stone.
  9. ^ a b Laundauer, Janelle (March 23, 2008). "Songwriter Spotlight: Luke Laird". Country Music Online.
  10. ^ Landauer, Janelle (March 23, 2008). "Luke Laird Chases His Dream of Becoming A Songwriter –– And Scores BIG With 'So Small'". Country Music Online. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  11. ^ a b Hook, Brittany (December 14, 2015). "20th Number One Song and Grammy Nods Mark Memorable Week for Songwriter Luke Laird". Forbes.
  12. ^ Ross, Danny (June 20, 2017). "This Guy Wrote Your Favorite Songs". Forbes.
  13. ^ Moore, Rick (June 27, 2011). "Nashville Songwriter Series: Luke Laird". American Songwriter.
  14. ^ Paulson, Dave (October 30, 2012). "2012 BMI Country Awards honor Tom T. Hall, Dallas Davidson, Luke Laird". The Tennessean.
  15. ^ Staff (April 7, 2015). "Loretta Lynn, Luke Bryan are Early 2015 ACM Awards Winners". Rolling Stone.
  16. ^ a b c Staff (February 8, 2015). "Grammys 2015". LA Times.
  17. ^ a b c d e Watts, Cindy (February 14, 2016). "MTSU Honors Luke Laird with L.A. Reception". The Tennessean.
  18. ^ "61st Annual GRAMMY Awards". GRAMMY.com. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  19. ^ Lewis, Randy (January 26, 2013). "Grammys 2014: Kacey Musgraves wins award for best country album". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  20. ^ "POWER PLAYERS: 30 UNDER 30: Beth Mason Laird, Director of writer/publisher relations, BMI Nashville". Billboard. August 18, 2010.
  21. ^ Rau, Nate (April 10, 2014). "Creative Nation's Power Couple are Hitmakers". The Tennessean.
  22. ^ Nicholson, Jessica (August 3, 2016). "Creative Nation Adds Belmont Student Kassi Ashton to Roster". Music Row.
  23. ^ "Current Clients — Creative Nation". Creative Nation. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  24. ^ "CATALOG — Creative nation". Creative Nation. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  25. ^ Cantrell, LB (27 July 2021). "Lori McKenna Enters Partnership With Concord, PULSE & Creative Nation". Music Row. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  26. ^ "Universal Music Publishing Group Re-Signs Nashville Hit-Maker Luke Laird To New, World-Wide Publishing Agreement" (Press release). Universal Music Publishing Group. March 6, 2012.
  27. ^ "Pulse Recording and Creative Nation Announce Exclusive Partnership". Globenewswire.com. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  28. ^ "Luke Laird". GRAMMY.com. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  29. ^ "CMA Honors Triple Play Award-Winning Songwriters During Eighth Annual CMA Songwriters Luncheon - CMA World - Country Music Association". CMA World - Country Music Association. 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  30. ^ a b "CMA Honors Triple Play Writers". MusicRow - Nashville's Music Industry Publication - News, Songs From Music City. 2010-10-14. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  31. ^ a b "CMA Honors Songwriters With Triple Play Awards". MusicRow - Nashville's Music Industry Publication - News, Songs From Music City. 2014-02-04. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  32. ^ "CMA Presents Triple Play Awards". MusicRow - Nashville's Music Industry Publication - News, Songs From Music City. 2013-01-30. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  33. ^ a b "2015 CMA Awards Winners -- Complete List". The Boot. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  34. ^ "Country Music Association Awards, list of nominees". Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  35. ^ a b c Friedlander, Kari (2013-09-10). "CMA Awards 2013: Full Nominees List Revealed". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  36. ^ Melas, Chloe. "ACM Awards 2017: Jason Aldean takes home entertainer of the year". CNN. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  37. ^ a b c Staff (2015-04-07). "Loretta Lynn, Luke Bryan Are Early 2015 ACM Awards Winners". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  38. ^ a b Staff (2014-04-07). "2014 Academy of Country Music Awards - Complete Winners List". ABC News. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  39. ^ Rogers, Chris (2013-02-13). "2013 Academy Of Country Music Award Nominees: Taylor Swift & More — Full List". Hollywood Life. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  40. ^ "2012 ACM Awards Nominees". 2012-02-28. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  41. ^ "2013 American Country Awards Winners – Full List". Taste of Country. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  42. ^ a b "BMI Country Award Winners". MusicRow - Nashville's Music Industry Publication - News, Songs From Music City. 2012-10-31. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
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