Jimmy Ray McBride (April 28, 1947 – January 7, 2026) was an American country music songwriter. He has written five number one songs, ten top 10 singles, and eighteen top 40 singles. In 2017, McBride was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
McBride's songs have been recorded by more than eighty major artists, including Alabama, Trace Adkins, Johnny Cash, Tammy Cochran, Diamond Rio, Crystal Gayle, Vern Gosdin, Jack Greene, Wade Hayes, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Toby Keith, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Lee, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lonestar, Reba McEntire, Willie Nelson, the Oak Ridge Boys, Johnny Paycheck, Charley Pride, Pam Tillis, Randy Travis, Conway Twitty, and Keith Whitley.
His most successful collaboration was with Alan Jackson, resulting in the five Top 20 singles and the chart-topping songs "Chasing That Neon Rainbow", "(Who Says) You Can’t Have It All", and "Someday". Their song "Chattahoochee" was selected as song of the year by ASCAP, American Songwriter, and the Country Music Association.
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Early life
McBride was born in Huntsville, Alabama, on April 28, 1947. His parents were James Alvin and Helen Hillis McBride. His grandfather was a sharecropper in Alabama. McBride grew up listening to country music on WBHP with his mother. On Saturday nights, his entire family listened to the Grand Ole Opry.
He attended Rison Elementary, and Lee Junior High, before graduating from Lee High School in 1965.
McBride spent his younger years reading about songs, especially in the magazine Country Song Roundup. His favorite writers were Hank Williams and Don Gibson. He wrote his first song when he was twelve years old and began writing full-time at eighteen.
In the 1970s, McBride brought his songs to Curly Putman, a fellow songwriter from Alabama who had started Tree Publishing in Nashville, Tennessee. Putman became McBride's mentor and friend. In the early 1970s, The Hagers recorded five of his songs and performed them on the television show Hee Haw. However, McBride did not make money from these recordings.
Frustrated by his lack of success selling songs, McBride stopped writing. He worked for the U.S. Post Office for fourteen years. In 1980, McBride told co-writer Roger Murrah that he would quit his job and move to Nashville if their song "A Bridge That Just Won't Burn" was recorded as a single. McBride says, "Roger called me one night and said 'I guess you need to pack your bags, we've got Conway's next single.' I quit the post office the day after Christmas, 1980 ...".
Career
Conway Twitty released McBride's song, "A Bridge That Just Won't Burn", in October 1980. The song entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart at number 62 the week of October 18, 1980. It stayed on the chart for seventeen consecutive weeks, peaking at number three the week of January 10, 1981. It won the BMI Country Award in 1981.
In January 1981, McBride started working as a songwriter for Bill Rice and Jerry Foster, along with Roger Murrah. McBride's first number one song on Billboard's Hot Country Songs Chart was "Bet Your Heart on Me" recorded by Johnny Lee and released in September 1981. Lee's recording entered Billboard Hot Country Songs at number 55 the week of October 3, 1981, staying there for fifteen consecutive weeks and peaking at number one the week on December 5, 1981. It also made the Billboard Hot 100 chart, entering at number 84 the week of October 10, 1981, and peaking at number 54 on November 14, 1981.
In March 1983, the country band Alabama released McBride's song, "Dixie Boy", on their album The Closer You Get... Although McBride's song was not a hit, the album stayed on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart for 206 weeks. It was also the Country Music Association's Album of the Year.
In 1987, Waylon Jennings released "Rose in Paradise", a song McBride co-wrote with Stewart Harris. "Rose in Paradise" would rise to number one on Billboard's Hot Country Songs Chart in April 1987. This success led publisher Charlie Monk and CBS Songs to buy McBride's contract from Jerry Foster. Also in 1987, George Jones recorded "I'm a Survivor", a song McBride co-wrote with Keith Stegall, for the album titled Too Wild Too Long.
In 1988, McBride met Alan Jackson, a young singer newly arrived in Nashville. The two began writing songs together; Jackson became McBride's most frequent collaborator during the 1990s and the 2000s. Jackson recorded their song "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow" and released it as a single in 1989, with another song written by the pair, "Short Sweet Ride", on the B-Side. "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow" peaked number two on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in December 1990. The song was also included on Jackson's album, Here in the Real World, released in February 1990, along with two other songs written by McBride and Jackson. Although the album peaked at number 57 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, it went Multi-Platinum and was the 1991 TNN Music City News Country Awards Album of the Year.
Personal life and death
McBride married and lived in Huntsville, Alabama. They had two sons, Brent and Wes. In January 1981, McBride and his family moved to Franklin, Tennessee, so he could write songs in Nashville. McBride's second wife, Jeanne Ivey, is a former elementary and high school classmate. They lived in Hazel Green, Alabama, on land once farmed by his grandfather.
McBride died January 7, 2026, at the age of 78.
Awards and honors
1981 – BMI Country Award: "Bridge That Just Won't Burn" by Conway Twitty, co-written by McBride and Roger Murrah
1983 – Country Music Association Awards, Album of the Year: The Closer You Get by Alabama. McBride wrote "Dixie Boy".
1988 – BMI Country Award: "Rose in Paradise" by Waylon Jennings, co-written by McBride and Stewart Harris
1991 – TNN Music City News Country Awards, Album of the Year: Here in the Real World by Alan Jackson. McBride wrote "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow", "She Don't Get the Blues", and "Short Sweet Ride"
1992 – TNN Music City News Country Awards, Album of the Year: Don't Rock the Jukebox by Alan Jackson. McBride wrote "That's All I Need to Know", "Someday", and "Just Playin' Possum"
1993 – Academy of Country Music Awards, Single Record of the Year: “Chattahoochee” by Alan Jackson, co-written by McBride and Jackson
1993 – Academy of Country Music Awards, Album of the Yearr: A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'bout Love) by Alan Jackson. McBride co-wrote "Chattahoochee", "(Who Says) You Can't Have It All", "Tropical Depression", and "If It Ain't One Thing (It's You)".
1993 – American Music Awards, Favorite Country Single: “Chattahoochee” by Alan Jackson, co-written by McBride and Jackson
1993 – American Music Awards, Favorite Country Album: A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'bout Love) by Alan Jackson
1994 – ASCAP Country Award, Song of the Year: "Chattahoochee" by Alan Jackson, co-written by McBride and Jackson
RIAA certification
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awards certification based on the number of singles and albums sold. Gold status indicates 500,000 units sold. Platinum status indicates 1,000,000 units sold. Multi-Platinum status indicates 2,000,000 + units sold, with a new certification for every increase in a million units.