Bill Anderson, a member of the Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame, will release an autobiography in September.
Titled Whisperin’ Bill Anderson: An Unprecedented Life in Country Music, the book traces Anderson’s life from his Georgia roots to his achievements as one of Nashville’s most enduring songwriters.
Music journalist and Grammy-nominated music producer Peter Cooper served as a contributing writer on the book, which will be published by University of Georgia Press.
It includes rare, never-before-seen photos and personal stories from Anderson’s early days of radio broadcasting in Georgia, to standing onstage at the Grand Ole Opry, to being named BMI’s first ICON Award winner in the country music genre.
“I sometimes look in the mirror and wonder how one man could have been so blessed to have crammed so much living into one lifetime. I see the gray on my temples and instead of trying to hide it, I remember how much fun I had putting it there. Writing it down for these pages was almost akin to living it again, though, and I probably need to take a deep breath, relax and go sit down in the corner. Come sit with me, bring the book, and let me tell you about it,” said Anderson.
With the 2015 success of Mo Pitney’s “Country,” the 78-year-old Anderson is the only country songwriter to tally a Top 40 hit in seven consecutive decades.
At age 23, he was the youngest writer to ever be named BMI’s Songwriter of the Year, prior to 21-year-old Taylor Swift. He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1961, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975 and the County Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
