Paul Craft

Paul Craft
Birth namePaul Charles Craft
Born(1938-08-12)August 12, 1938
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedOctober 18, 2014(2014-10-18) (aged 76)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
GenresCountry
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter

Paul Charles Craft (August 12, 1938 – October 18, 2014) was an American country singer-songwriter.[1] The Memphis-born Craft was known as the songwriter for Mark Chesnutt's single "Brother Jukebox", and the novelty song "It's Me Again, Margaret", recorded by Ray Stevens, and Craft himself. Between 1977 and 1978, Craft charted three singles on RCA Nashville.

His song "Keep Me From Blowing Away" was originally recorded by The Seldom Scene on their 1973 album Act II and was then recorded by Linda Ronstadt on her 1974 album Heart Like a Wheel, and has since been recorded by Moe Bandy, T. Graham Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Grascals and Willie Nelson. His song "Midnight Flyer" was recorded by the Eagles. His song "Dropkick Me, Jesus" was a No. 17 country hit for Bobby Bare in 1976. He also wrote Moe Bandy's "Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life" and T. Graham Brown's "Come as You Were" among others.[2]

Craft was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on October 5, 2014.[3]

Craft died at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee on October 18, 2014, at the age of 76.[4][5]

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  2. ^ Langer, Emily (2014-10-20). "Paul Craft, who wrote country classics including 'Dropkick Me, Jesus,' dies at 76". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  3. ^ "Nashville Songwriters Foundation - Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Inducts John Anderson, Paul Craft, Tom Douglas and Gretchen Peters NSAI Presents Annual Awards". Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  4. ^ "Paul Craft, Songwriters Hall of Famer, dies at age 76". Tennessean.com. 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  5. ^ Leahey, Andrew (2014-10-20). "Paul Craft Dead: Country Songwriter Dies at 76". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-05-25.