Mel Tillis

His parents were Burma (née Rogers; 1907–1990) and Lonnie Lee Tillis (1907–1981).

While he was still young, the family moved to Pahokee, Florida (near West Palm Beach).

After a bout of malaria during his childhood, he developed a stutter.

As a child, Tillis learned the drums as well as guitar.

At age 16, he won a local talent show.

He attended the University of Florida, but he dropped out and joined the United States Air Force.

While stationed as a baker on Okinawa, he formed a band called The Westerners, which played at local nightclubs.

Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter.

Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, with a long list of Top 10 hits.

Tillis' biggest hits include "I Ain't Never", "Good Woman Blues", and "Coca-Cola Cowboy".

In the late 1950s, after becoming a hit-making songwriter, he signed his own contract with Columbia Records.

After leaving the Air Force in 1955, Tillis returned to Florida where he worked a number of odd jobs, eventually finding employment with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Tampa.

He used his railroad pass to visit Nashville and eventually met and auditioned for Wesley Rose of the publishing house Acuff-Rose Music.

Rose encouraged Tillis to return to Florida and continue honing his songwriting skills.

Tillis eventually moved to Tennessee, and began writing songs full-time.

He wrote "I'm Tired", a No. 3 country hit for Webb Pierce in 1957.

Other Tillis hits include "Honky Tong Song" and "Tupelo County Jail".

Ray Price, Kitty Wells and Brenda Lee also charted hits with Tillis' material around this time.

In 1958, he had his first Top 40 hit, "The Violet and a Rose", followed by the Top 25 hit "Sawmill".

Although Tillis charted his own hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs list, he had more success as a songwriter, particularly for Webb Pierce.

He wrote the hits "I Ain't Never" (Tillis' own future hit) and "Crazy, Wild Desire".

Bobby Bare, Tom Jones ("Detroit City"), Wanda Jackson, and Stonewall Jackson also covered his songs.

In the mid-1960s, Tillis switched to Kapp Records, and in 1965, he had his first Top 15 hit with "Wine".

(Some well-known songs from his Columbia years include "The Brooklyn Bridge", "Loco Weed", and "Walk on, Boy".) In 1967 Jack Greene had a No. 1 hit with a song Tillis co-wrote, "All the Time".

Tillis continued to record on his own, but did not achieve major success on the country charts at first.

In 1968, Tillis achieved his first Top 10 hit with "Who's Julie".

He also was a regular featured singer on The Porter Wagoner Show.

Things turned around in 1969 for Tillis.

He finally achieved the success he always wanted with two Top 10 country hits, "These Lonely Hands of Mine" and "She'll Be Hanging Around Somewhere".

In 1970, he reached the Top 5 with "Heart Over Mind", which peaked at No. 3 on the Hot Country Songs list.

After this, Tillis' career as a country singer went into full swing.

Other hits continued to follow, such as "Stateside" and "Life Turned Her That Way", which was later covered by Ricky Van Shelton in 1988, going to No. 1. He wrote for Charley Pride ("The Snakes Crawl At Night") and wrote "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town", which was a hit for Kenny Rogers and The First Edition.

He also wrote the hit "Mental Revenge" for outlaw country star Waylon Jennings.

It has also been covered by the Hacienda Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Gram Parsons, Barbara Mandrell, and Jamey Johnson.

His daughter is 1990s country hitmaker Pam Tillis.

Mel Tillis was born in Tampa, Florida, US.

On February 13, 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Tillis the National Medal of Arts for his contributions to country music.

He also won the Country Music Association Awards' most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year.

Tillis was a member of the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Country Music Hall of Fame.

Additionally, he was known for his stutter, which did not affect his singing voice.