Buie was born in Marianna, Florida, and raised in Dothan, Alabama. He later moved to New York City, and eventually Atlanta, Georgia, where he spent most of his career. However, nearly all the songs written by Buie and his co-writers were conceived in Abbeville,Alabama on Thomas Mill Creek where Buie had a small fishing trailer. He was best known as a prolific songwriter, with 340 songs registered in the BMI catalog. His first success came in 1964, when Tommy Roe took "Party Girl", which Buie co-wrote with Billy Gilmore, into the Billboard Hot 100. In 1967 he started working with the group Classics IV, writing with the group's guitarist James Cobb to add lyrics to Mike Sharpe's instrumental "Spooky". Subsequent songs co-written with Cobb included Sandy Posey's "I Take It Back", and the Classics IV hits "Stormy", "Traces", "Everyday with You Girl", and "What am I Crying For?" While his initial success with the Classics IV established his career, the AtlantaRhythm Section in the 1970s perhaps best defines his success and artistry as a songwriter and producer. Buie helped gather a talented ensemble of rock musicians that were a seminal part of the Southern Rock genre with bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd. The Atlanta Rhythm Section assumed the mantle of fellow Georgians, the Allman Brothers Band, as one of the best live acts in the genre, with intense and lengthy solos and artistry that transformed their concerts into stellar jam sessions. They played a command performance at the White House for President Jimmy Carter on his son's birthday. Under Buie's leadership, the Rhythm Section had huge regional appeal in the late 1970s and made regular appearances in the Nationwide Top 40. Some of the key elements that distinguished ARS from their counterparts include Buie's production, influence, and songwriting: a rare instance where the lyrics and production matched the talents of accomplished, talented musicians in their prime. In 1978, Buie and marketing executive Arnie Geller founded the Buie/Gellar Organization, a recording management company, and BGO Records in Doraville, Georgia. Buie's later work includes "Rock Bottom" for Wynonna Judd and "Mr. Midnight" for Garth Brooks. Notable artists who have covered his songs include Gloria Estefan, Travis Tritt, David Sanborn, and Santana. In 2006, John Legend used "Stormy" as the backing track on the single "Save Room", earning Buie a writer's credit. Buie's music has also been used in films, most notably Lost in Translation and Just like Heaven. "So Into You" was also featured in a commercial for Texas Petehot sauce. In 2003, Buie left Atlanta and retired to Eufaula, Alabama, just miles from the birthplace of the songs that built his career. In 2010, the Oscar-winning film The Fighter featured "So Into You" by the Atlanta Rhythm Section on its soundtrack. Buie was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1984, and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1997. On July 18, 2015, Buie died at a hospital in Dothan, Alabama, after suffering a heart attack.
