Bob McDill was born Robert Lee McDill in Walden, Texas. McDill was initially inspired by his mother's piano playing and hymn singing. His music education began with viola lessons in the 4th grade, and eventually, he learned to play the guitar. He went on to play in several local bands throughout high school. From 1962 until 1966 he studied English literature at Lamar University, where he played in a band called The Newcomers, and where he first met songwriters Dickey Lee and Allen Reynolds. McDill enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve, serving two years active duty. While in the Navy, he received songwriting advice from songwriter and record producer Allen Reynolds, who helped McDill land his first chart record as a songwriter — "The Happy Man", recorded in 1967 by Perry Como. One year later, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs provided McDill with his second success when they recorded "Black Sheep". After his stint in the Navy, McDill moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he planned to pursue a full-time career as a songwriter. By 1970, he and Reynolds had moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where the two found positions at Jack Music, a publishing company owned by Jack Clement. Although he had initially tried to write rock and pop songs, McDill soon shifted his focus to country music after hearing George Jones' song "Good Year for the Roses". Of the shift, McDill said:
“I just had an epiphany,” McDill said. “Then I began studying country music like a seminary student studies gospel.” Prior to his country epiphany, McDill’s major songwriting role models had been Joni Mitchell, Roger Miller and Paul Simon.
Commercial success
Jack Clement's JMI Records released a solo album of McDill's in 1972, called "Short Stories," which featured many of McDill's compositions, including "Come Early Morning", "Song For Nan" and "Catfish John." The album brought attention to his songwriting, including "Catfish John" which was also recorded the same year by Johnny Russell, becoming a top 20 Billboard Chart hit. "Come Early Morning" would be released in 1973 as a single from Don Williams' debut album, and it would also be a top 20 country hit. For the next 30 years afterward, McDill wrote one song a week, with artists such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Anne Murray, Don Williams, Waylon Jennings, Keith Whitley and Mickey Gilley. In 1976 he contributed multiple songs to Crystal Gayles' Crystal album, including her country hit "You Never Miss a Real Good Thing." Bobby Bare recorded an entire album of Bob McDill songs in 1977 titled Me and McDill. In the early 1980s, Grammy-winning pop singer Juice Newton released four McDill songs: "I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can", "Shot Full of Love", "Runaway Hearts" and "Falling in Love"; the songs appeared on Gold and Platinum certified albums. The Kendalls covered McDill's "Just Like Real People", taking the song to the top ten on the country singles charts in 1980. "Don't Close Your Eyes" was recorded by Keith Whitley reaching #1 in August 1988 and was covered by Kellie Pickler and Alan Jackson. Two of Mel McDaniel's biggest hits, “Louisiana Saturday Night” and “Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On,” were McDill compositions. McDill also co-wrote a song called "Someone Like You" with Dickey Lee, which can be heard on Emmylou Harris' album . McDill continued to write songs into the 1990s, including "Gone Country" by Alan Jackson; "All the Good Ones Are Gone" by Pam Tillis, and "Why Didn't I Think of That" by Doug Stone.
Legacy
McDill retired from songwriting in 2000. Nobel Laureate V. S. Naipaul's travelogue "A Turn in the South" written in 1989 features a section about Bob McDill. The often acerbic Naipaul describes McDill's song writing in a thoughtful portrait and liberally quotes from McDill's song "Good Ole Boys Like Me".
