Black Diamond Row signs Dean Dillon

Photo ID (L to R): Sheryl Steinmeyer, Dean’s manager; Angela Gutierrez, Founder of Black Diamond Row; Dean Dillon; Adolfo Gutierrez, Managing Director)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Black Diamond Row Music Publishing is happy to announce an exclusive global publishing deal with BMI hit songwriter Dean Dillon.

Dillon, a songwriter and recording artist, who was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 (alongside Bob Dylan and Shel Silverstein), has penned many iconic hits for chart-topping artistsincluding George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Lee Ann Womack, Toby Keith, among others. His association with George Strait over the years has brought him to an icon status in country music with over 76 George Strait hits.

“Dean Dillon is one of the most respected songwriters in the Nashville community,” says Angela Gutierrez, Founder of Black Diamond Row. “He has had a very successful career and will be valuable to the continued growth of BDR and all our songwriters.”

About Black Diamond Row (BDR):At BDR, they nurture the rising singer/songwriters and inspire the well-established with equal ambition. Based out of Nashville with over 25 years of staff experience, they are here to help their artists and writers achieve their goal. With established songwriter Kevin Brandt and rising artist/songwriter Jordan Rainer already signed to BDR, they are committed to helping their clients take their dreams to the next level.

www.BlackDiamondRow.com

About Dean Dillon: Between 1979 and 1981,Dillon released 12 singles for RCA Records. Three of the songs reached the Top 30 on the country charts, including “Nobody in His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her,” which climbed all the way to number 25 (and later became a number 1 hit for George Strait). Between 1979 and 1983, as an artist Dillon charted eight times and broke the Top 30 with “I’m into the Bottle (To Get You out of My Mind).” He also wrote hits for other country stars like the 1983 George Jones number 1 hit “Tennessee Whiskey.” These successes established Dillon as a performer and as a songwriter. It wasn’t long until Dillon was paired by RCA Record head, Jerry Bradley, with Gary Stewart, the “King of the Honky Tonkers.” The vices of the two men fed off of each other and while their two bleary, good-timing albums were successful and looked like hard-living prototypes to Brooks & Dunn, (especially 1982’s Brotherly Love), the partnership had little use for the straight and narrow. After “Those were the Days,” Dillon took a five-year hiatus from recording, cleaned up his personal life and concentrated on songwriting. He wrote or co-wrote a number of hits during this period and had considerable success with George Strait, who took five of his songs to the charts between 1981 & 1988. The exposure landed Dillon a new contract with CAPITOL RECORDS, who released two Ricky Scruggs produced albums, Slick Nickel and I’ve Learned to Live. The later featured a Tanya Tucker duet “Don’t You Even Think About Leaving.” Dillon next signed with ATLANTIC, where he issued his most successful album. It was 1991’s Out of Your Mind which referenced the hard country of Dillon’s heroes, but it also flirted with pop. The LP was lauded as a throwback, an answer to Nashville’s penchant for vapidity.

Dillon’s songwriting has thrived. He has recently written songs for famous faces like Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith and Lee Ann Womack. Ina genre built on great songwriters writing for great singers, there has never been another team like it between him and George Strait. Dillon has composed or co-written 76 songs for Strait, including 19 singles, 11 which went to number 1. Even in a career like Strait’s, the Dillon titles stand out: “Marina del Rey,” “The Chair,” “I’ve Come to Expect it From You,” “Easy Come, Easy Go,” “She Let Herself Go,” and “The Best Day.” His songs all pair instantly catchy melodies with gutbucket country lyrics, signature qualities of a Dillon composition that would also become hallmarks of Strait’s own style and sound.

At his ranch home in Gunnison, Colorado, Dillon’s walls display an array of timely photographs and awards consisting of: 1985 Billboard Country Music Artist Of The Year Award; 1986 Nashville Song Writers Award; 1995, 1996, 1998 CMA TRIPLE PLAY AWARD; Three Time Grammy Nominee; Lee Iacocca Award (American Automotive Division); Twenty Six (26) Number 1 Records Award; and the coveted 2013 BMI Icon Award.

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For more information, contact Nicole Zeller of Brickshore Media at nicole@brickshoremedia.com, 615-840-9187.