American songwriter
Musical artist
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
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
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
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
Awards and nominations
Grammy Awards [ 28]
Country Music Association Awards
Academy of Country Music Awards
American Country Awards
BMI Country Music Awards
References
^ a b Chiodo, Pet (June 1, 2010). "Hit-song writer and former local Laird enjoys Nashville music scene" . The Meadville Tribune .
^ Parker, Eric (September 4, 2012). "Little Big Town Earns First No. 1 Single" . MusicRow .
^ Thompson, Gayle (January 4, 2017). "Story Behind the Song: Jon Pardi, 'Head Over Boots' " . The Boot .
^ "Luke Laird - Credits" . AllMusic .
^ a b c d Schlansky, Evan (January 31, 2014). "Masters of Songwriting" . American Songwriter .
^ a b Reuter, Anne (June 2, 2017). "The Writer's Round with Luke Laird" . Sounds like Nashville .
^ 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 .
^ a b c d Dunkerley, Beville (June 13, 2014). "Songwriter Spotlight: Luke Laird" . Rolling Stone .
^ a b Laundauer, Janelle (March 23, 2008). "Songwriter Spotlight: Luke Laird" . Country Music Online .
^ 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 .
^ a b Hook, Brittany (December 14, 2015). "20th Number One Song and Grammy Nods Mark Memorable Week for Songwriter Luke Laird" . Forbes .
^ Ross, Danny (June 20, 2017). "This Guy Wrote Your Favorite Songs" . Forbes .
^ Moore, Rick (June 27, 2011). "Nashville Songwriter Series: Luke Laird" . American Songwriter .
^ Paulson, Dave (October 30, 2012). "2012 BMI Country Awards honor Tom T. Hall, Dallas Davidson, Luke Laird" . The Tennessean .
^ Staff (April 7, 2015). "Loretta Lynn, Luke Bryan are Early 2015 ACM Awards Winners" . Rolling Stone .
^ a b c Staff (February 8, 2015). "Grammys 2015" . LA Times .
^ a b c d e Watts, Cindy (February 14, 2016). "MTSU Honors Luke Laird with L.A. Reception" . The Tennessean .
^ "61st Annual GRAMMY Awards" . GRAMMY.com . Retrieved 29 January 2024 .
^ Lewis, Randy (January 26, 2013). "Grammys 2014: Kacey Musgraves wins award for best country album" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 29, 2014 .
^ "POWER PLAYERS: 30 UNDER 30: Beth Mason Laird, Director of writer/publisher relations, BMI Nashville" . Billboard . August 18, 2010. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2012 .
^ Rau, Nate (April 10, 2014). "Creative Nation's Power Couple are Hitmakers" . The Tennessean .
^ Nicholson, Jessica (August 3, 2016). "Creative Nation Adds Belmont Student Kassi Ashton to Roster" . Music Row .
^ "Current Clients — Creative Nation" . Creative Nation . Retrieved 29 January 2024 .
^ "CATALOG — Creative nation" . Creative Nation . Retrieved 29 January 2024 .
^ Cantrell, LB (27 July 2021). "Lori McKenna Enters Partnership With Concord, PULSE & Creative Nation" . Music Row . Retrieved 20 February 2024 .
^ "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.
^ "Pulse Recording and Creative Nation Announce Exclusive Partnership" (Press release). Globenewswire.com. Retrieved 2014-08-10 .
^ "Luke Laird" . GRAMMY.com . 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2018-08-30 .
^ "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. Archived from the original on 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2018-08-30 .
^ 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 .
^ 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 .
^ "CMA Presents Triple Play Awards" . MusicRow - Nashville's Music Industry Publication - News, Songs From Music City . 2013-01-30. Retrieved 2018-08-30 .
^ a b "2015 CMA Awards Winners -- Complete List" . The Boot . 5 November 2015. Retrieved 2018-08-30 .
^ "Country Music Association Awards, list of nominees" . Retrieved 2018-08-30 .
^ a b c Friedlander, Kari (2013-09-10). "CMA Awards 2013: Full Nominees List Revealed" . Huffington Post . Retrieved 2018-08-30 .
^ Melas, Chloe. "ACM Awards 2017: Jason Aldean takes home entertainer of the year" . CNN . Retrieved 2018-08-30 .
^ a b c Staff (2015-04-07). "Loretta Lynn, Luke Bryan Are Early 2015 ACM Awards Winners" . Rolling Stone . Retrieved 2018-08-30 .
^ a b Staff (2014-04-07). "2014 Academy of Country Music Awards - Complete Winners List" . ABC News . Retrieved 2018-08-30 .
^ Rogers, Chris (2013-02-13). "2013 Academy Of Country Music Award Nominees: Taylor Swift & More — Full List" . Hollywood Life . Archived from the original on 2018-06-13. Retrieved 2018-08-30 .
^ "2012 ACM Awards Nominees" . 2012-02-28. Retrieved 2018-08-30 .
^ "2013 American Country Awards Winners – Full List" . Taste of Country . 11 December 2013. Retrieved 2018-08-30 .
^ a b "BMI Country Award Winners" . MusicRow - Nashville's Music Industry Publication - News, Songs From Music City . 2012-10-31. Retrieved 2018-08-30 .
International National Artists