Johnny Christopher

American musician

John Lee Christopher Jr.^[1] (born 1943 in Atlanta, Georgia^[2]^[3]) is an American singer,^[4] guitarist, session musician and songwriter.

Music career

Christopher's singles^[4] included "(She's A) Girl Of Many Colors / The Teacher And The Pet" (1969) and "Love Stuff" (1972).

As a songwriter, he wrote "Mama Liked the Roses" for Elvis Presley and co-wrote "Always on My Mind" with Mark James and Wayne Carson, a song first released by Gwen McCrae in 1972. Brenda Lee and Elvis Presley also recorded and released the song in 1972. The song has been covered by several well-known artists including John Wesley Ryles and the Pet Shop Boys. For Willie Nelson's 1982 cover, Christopher, James, and Carson won Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Country Song, 10 years after its original release.^[5]^[6]

Christopher also co-wrote the 1974 song "If You Talk in Your Sleep" for Elvis Presley with Red West.

As of 2014, he is no longer in the music industry.^[3]

References

^ "Songs written by Johnny Christopher | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
^ Jones, Roben (2010-11-12). Memphis Boys: The Story of American Studios. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-60473-402-7.
^ ^a ^b "ARTIE CHRISTOPHER : Sir Shambling's Deep Soul Heaven". www.sirshambling.com. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
^ ^a ^b "Johnny Christopher". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
^ Jones, Roben (2010). Memphis Boys: The Story of American Studios. University Press of Mississippi. p. 337. ISBN 9781604734010. johnny christopher always on my mind.
^ Poe, Randy (2012). Stalking the Red Headed Straonger. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9781458471512.

Grammy Award for Song of the Year

1950s

"Nel blu, dipinto di blu (Volare)" – Domenico Modugno (songwriter) (1958)
"The Battle of New Orleans" – Jimmy Driftwood (songwriter) (1959)

1960s

"Theme of Exodus" – Ernest Gold (songwriter) (1960)
"Moon River" – Johnny Mercer & Henry Mancini (songwriters) (1961)
"What Kind of Fool Am I?" – Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley (songwriters) (1962)
"Days of Wine and Roses" – Johnny Mercer & Henry Mancini (songwriters) (1963)
"Hello, Dolly!" – Jerry Herman (songwriter) (1964)
"The Shadow of Your Smile" – Paul Francis Webster & Johnny Mandel (songwriters) (1965)
"Michelle" – John Lennon & Paul McCartney (songwriters) (1966)
"Up, Up, and Away" – Jimmy Webb (songwriter) (1967)
"Little Green Apples" – Bobby Russell (songwriter) (1968)
"Games People Play" – Joe South (songwriter) (1969)

1970s

"Bridge over Troubled Water" – Paul Simon (songwriter) (1970)
"You've Got a Friend" – Carole King (songwriter) (1971)
"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" – Ewan MacColl (songwriter) (1972)
"Killing Me Softly with His Song" – Norman Gimbel & Charles Fox (songwriters) (1973)
"The Way We Were" – Alan and Marilyn Bergman & Marvin Hamlisch (songwriters) (1974)
"Send In the Clowns" – Stephen Sondheim (songwriter) (1975)
"I Write the Songs" – Bruce Johnston (songwriter) (1976)
"Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)" – Barbra Streisand & Paul Williams (songwriters) / "You Light Up My Life" – Joe Brooks (songwriter) (1977)
"Just the Way You Are" – Billy Joel (songwriter) (1978)
"What a Fool Believes" – Kenny Loggins & Michael McDonald (songwriters) (1979)

1980s

"Sailing" – Christopher Cross (songwriter) (1980)
"Bette Davis Eyes" – Donna Weiss & Jackie DeShannon (songwriters) (1981)
"Always on My Mind" – Johnny Christopher, Mark James & Wayne Carson (songwriters) (1982)
"Every Breath You Take" – Sting (songwriter) (1983)
"What's Love Got to Do with It" – Graham Lyle & Terry Britten (songwriters) (1984)
"We Are the World" – Michael Jackson & Lionel Richie (songwriters) (1985)
"That's What Friends Are For" – Burt Bacharach & Carole Bayer Sager (songwriters) (1986)
"Somewhere Out There" – James Horner, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil (songwriters) (1987)
"Don't Worry, Be Happy" – Bobby McFerrin (songwriter) (1988)
"Wind Beneath My Wings" – Larry Henley & Jeff Silbar (songwriters) (1989)

1990s

"From a Distance" – Julie Gold (songwriter) (1990)
"Unforgettable" – Irving Gordon (songwriter) (1991)
"Tears in Heaven" – Eric Clapton & Will Jennings (songwriters) (1992)
"A Whole New World" – Alan Menken & Tim Rice (songwriters) (1993)
"Streets of Philadelphia" – Bruce Springsteen (songwriter) (1994)
"Kiss from a Rose" – Seal (songwriter) (1995)
"Change the World" – Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick & Tommy Sims (songwriters) (1996)
"Sunny Came Home" – Shawn Colvin & John Leventhal (songwriters) (1997)
"My Heart Will Go On" – James Horner & Will Jennings (songwriters) (1998)
"Smooth" – Itaal Shur & Rob Thomas (songwriters) (1999)

2000s

"Beautiful Day" – Adam Clayton, David Evans, Laurence Mullen & Paul Hewson (songwriters) (2000)
"Fallin'" – Alicia Keys (songwriter) (2001)
"Don't Know Why" – Jesse Harris (songwriter) (2002)
"Dance with My Father" – Richard Marx & Luther Vandross (songwriters) (2003)
"Daughters" – John Mayer (songwriter) (2004)
"Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" – Adam Clayton, David Evans, Laurence Mullen & Paul Hewson (songwriters) (2005)
"Not Ready to Make Nice" – Emily Burns Erwin, Martha Maguire, Natalie Maines Pasdar & Dan Wilson (songwriters) (2006)
"Rehab" – Amy Winehouse (songwriter) (2007)
"Viva la Vida" – Guy Berryman, Jonathan Buckland, William Champion & Christopher Martin (songwriters) (2008)
"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" – Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell, Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash & Christopher Stewart (songwriters) (2009)

2010s

"Need You Now" – Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott (songwriters) (2010)
"Rolling in the Deep" – Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth (songwriters) (2011)
"We Are Young" – Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess (songwriters) (2012)
"Royals" – Joel Little & Ella Yelich O'Connor (songwriters) (2013)
"Stay with Me" (Darkchild version) – James Napier, William Phillips & Sam Smith (songwriters) (2014)
"Thinking Out Loud" – Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge (songwriters) (2015)
"Hello" – Adele Adkins & Greg Kurstin (songwriters) (2016)
"That's What I Like" – Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip (songwriters) (2017)
"This Is America" – Donald Glover, Ludwig Göransson & Jeffery Lamar Williams (songwriters) (2018)
"Bad Guy" – Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell (songwriters) (2019)

2020s

"I Can't Breathe" – Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. & Tiara Thomas (songwriters) (2020)
"Leave the Door Open" – Brandon Anderson, Christopher Brody Brown, Dernst Emile II & Bruno Mars (songwriters) (2021)
"Just Like That" – Bonnie Raitt (songwriter) (2022)
"What Was I Made For?" – Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell (songwriters) (2023)

v t e CMA Song of the Year
1967−1970	"There Goes My Everything" - Dallas Frazier (1967) "Honey" - Bobby Russell (1968) "The Carroll County Accident" - Bob Ferguson (1969) "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" - Kris Kristofferson (1970)
1971-1980	"Easy Loving" - Freddie Hart (1971-2) "Behind Closed Doors" - Kenny O'Dell (1973) "Country Bumpkin" - Don Wayne (1974) "Back Home Again" - John Denver (1975) "Rhinestone Cowboy" - Larry Weiss (1976) "Lucille" Roger Bowling, Hal Bynum - (1977) "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" - Richard Leigh (1978) "The Gambler" - Don Schlitz (1979) "He Stopped Loving Her Today" - Bobby Braddock, Curly Putman (1980)
1981-1990	"He Stopped Loving Her Today" - Bobby Braddock, Curly Putman (1981) "Always on My Mind" - Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, Mark James (1982-3) "Wind Beneath My Wings" - Larry Henley, Jeff Silbar (1984) "God Bless the U.S.A." - Lee Greenwood (1985) "On the Other Hand" - Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz (1986) "Forever and Ever, Amen - Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz (1987) "80's Ladies" - K. T. Oslin (1988) "Chiseled in Stone" - Max D. Barnes, Vern Gosdin (1989) "Where've You Been" - Don Henry, Jon Vezner (1990)
1991-2000	"When I Call Your Name" - Tim DuBois, Vince Gill (1991) "Look at Us" - Vince Gill, Max D. Barnes (1992) "I Still Believe in You" - Vince Gill, John Barlow Jarvis (1993) "Chattahoochee" - Jim McBride, Alan Jackson (1994) "Independence Day" - Gretchen Peters (1995) "Go Rest High on That Mountain" - Vince Gill (1996) "Strawberry Wine" - Matraca Berg, Gary Harrison (1997) "Holes in the Floor of Heaven" - Billy Kirsch, Steve Wariner (1998) "This Kiss" - Beth Nielsen Chapman, Robin Lerner, Annie Roboff (1999) "I Hope You Dance" - Mark D. Sanders, Tia Sillers (2000)
2001-2010	"Murder on Music Row" - Larry Cordle, Larry Shell (2001) "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" - Alan Jackson (2002) "Three Wooden Crosses" - Doug Johnson, Kim Williams (2003) "Live Like You Were Dying" - Tim Nichols, Craig Wiseman (2004) "Whiskey Lullaby" - Bill Anderson, Jon Randall (2005) "Believe" - Ronnie Dunn, Craig Wiseman (2006) "Give It Away" - Bill Anderson, Buddy Cannon, Jamey Johnson (2007) "Stay" - Jennifer Nettles (2008) "In Color" - Jamey Johnson, Lee Thomas Miller, James Otto (2009) "The House That Built Me" - Tom Douglas, Allen Shamblin (2010)
2011-2020	"If I Die Young" - Kimberly Perry (2011) "Over You" - Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton (2012) "I Drive Your Truck" - Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington, Jimmy Yeary (2013) "Follow Your Arrow" - Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves (2014) "Girl Crush" - Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose (2015) "Humble and Kind" - Lori McKenna (2016) "Better Man" - Taylor Swift (2017) "Broken Halos" - Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton (2018) "Beautiful Crazy" - Luke Combs, Wyatt Durrette, Robert Williford (2019)
2021-2030	"The Bones" - Maren Morris, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz (2020) "Starting Over" - Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton (2021) "Buy Dirt" — Jacob Davis, Jordan Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins (2022) "Fast Car" — Tracy Chapman (2023)