Bill Anderson

Bill Anderson ranks among the most accomplished songwriters throughout country music’s long chronicle while also enjoying major success as a vocalist, which earned him the enduring tag “Whispering Bill” because of his soft, airy delivery and occasional spoken passages. Born in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1937, he spent most of his formative years in Atlanta. He majored in journalism at the University of Georgia with ambitions of becoming a sports reporter and supported himself by working as a radio DJ, an experience that sparked his first attempts at writing and singing songs. At nineteen he penned “City Lights,” which Ray Price recorded in 1958 and carried to the top of the country charts. Seizing the momentum, Anderson moved to Nashville and obtained his own recording contract with Decca. His first chart appearance arrived with 1959’s “That’s What It’s Like to Be Lonesome,” and his initial Top Ten showing came the following year with “Tip of My Fingers.” Songs such as “Po’ Folks” (1961), “Mama Sang a Song” (his maiden number one, issued in 1962), and “8 X 10” (number two in 1963) still count among his signature recordings. In 1963 he cut his largest success and trademark piece, the partly spoken ballad “Still,” which not only led the country listings but also reached the pop Top Ten.

He continued to appear regularly in the country Top Ten through the late 1970s, logging nineteen Top Five entries by 1978. Standout achievements included the chart-toppers “I Get the Fever” (1966), the 1967 duet “For Loving You” with frequent collaborator Jan Howard, “My Life (Throw It Away if I Want To)” (1969), “World of Make Believe” (1974), and “Sometimes” (1976). By then Anderson had begun recording frequently with a new partner, Mary Lou Turner. He had meanwhile supplied hits to numerous other performers, among them Connie Smith, Hank Locklin, Porter Wagoner, Jim Reeves, and Faron Young. His last country Top Ten single arrived in 1978 with the disco-flavored “I Can’t Wait Any Longer,” and after failing to repeat that success by 1982 he stepped back from both writing and recording. Television instead became his primary arena; he hosted game shows such as ABC’s The Better Sex and TNN’s Fandango, spent several seasons in the cast of the soap opera One Life to Live, and also served as host of the TNN series Opry Backstage.

Steve Wariner’s 1992 Top Five cover of “Tip of My Fingers” prompted Anderson to resume songwriting. Teaming with various Nashville collaborators, he placed both new and older compositions with Kenny Chesney, Lorrie Morgan, Collin Raye, John Michael Montgomery, Mark Wills, Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, and many additional artists. In 1998 he returned to the studio himself, signing with Reprise for the album Fine Wine. Four years later he moved to the Varese label and issued A Lot of Things Different, which included his own reading of the title track previously popularized by Kenny Chesney. The Way I Feel appeared in 2005.