NASHVILLE, TN (CelebrityAccess) — Billy Sherrill, the famed audio engineer who worked with artists such as Kenny Rogers, Kenny Chesney, The Chicks, died on September 10th. He was 77.
No cause of death was reported.
Born in west Tennessee and raised in Kentucky, Sherrill began performing with local bands while still in high school and college and got his first experience in a recording studio while recording in a friend’s studio in Benton, Kentucky.
Sherrill helped to launch Thomas Wayne’s studio that became the Sound Shop and helped to make tape copies for Nashville music publishers.
While working at Sound Shop, Sherrill worked with producer Larry Butler on Jean Shepard’s “Slippin’ Away” (1973), which broke into the top 10 of the country charts and established a working relationship between Sherrill and Butler.
The duo went on to collaborate on records for artists such as Dottie West, Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich, and Mickey Gilley, among others
When Butler acquired Jack Clement’s recording studio in 1974, Sherrill joined him and the two collaborated on many of Kenny Rogers’ hits, including “Lucille,” “The Gambler,” “You Decorated My Life” and “Coward of the County,” among others.
After venturing out on his own, Sherrill engineered albums for artists such as The Chicks (AKA The Dixie Chicks) Grammy-winning Fly album, and Kenny Chesney’s early work such as “That’s Why I’m Here.”
Sherrill was inducted into the Musicians Hall of fame in 2019 and he was presented with a lifetime achievement award for his studio work by the Audio Engineering Society (AES) that same year.
Visitation will take place on September 20 followed by a celebration of life on September 21st. The family asks that in lieu of flowers that donations be made to the Musicians Hall of Fame.
