Tom Shapiro

Tom Curtis Shapiro, born 5/18/1950 in Kansas City, Missouri, has had a songwriting career unparalleled in the history of Music Row. To date he is the only songwriter to be named BMI’s Country Songwriter of the Year three times in a five year period (‘93, '96, '97). In addition, he was named Music Row Magazine’s top country songwriter in 1995 and won the CMA Triple Play award in 1995 and 1997.

Tom Shapiro began his career as a pop songwriter, but he became a dominant country music writer in the 1980s, ultimately scoring more than 50 Top 10 country hits. Shapiro is a four-time BMI Country Songwriter of the Year winner, and he was NSAI’s Songwriter of the Decade for the 1990s. His is among the defining voices in modern country songwriting.

Shapiro was BMI’s top country songwriter for the years 1993, 1996 and 1997 on the strength of numerous hits. His 1990s run was stellar, as he penned airplay standards including Kathy Mattea’s “Walking Away a Winner”, Trisha Yearwood’s “Thinkin' About You”, Tim McGraw’s “She Never Lets It Go to Her Heart”, and Sara Evans' “No Place That Far”. His run of success continued into the new century, as he scored smashes with Brooks & Dunn’s “Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You”, Darryl Worley’s “I Miss My Friend”, Montgomery Gentry’s “If You Ever Stop Loving Me”, Keith Urban’s “You Look Good in My Shirt” and Rascal Flatts’ “Why Wait”. He won his fourth BMI country songwriter prize in 2002.

“I simply write what I like,” Shapiro told Great American Country TV upon his 2008 induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. “If what you like is what other people like, you’re in great shape. If not, you’re in trouble.” Shapiro proved time and again his taste and the public’s were perfectly in tune.