Laird was born in Hartstown, PA on May 4, 1978.[1] He wrote songs and learned guitar in elementary school.[5] After seeing a Randy Travis concert in high school, Laird claims he became fascinated with songwriting and production.[6] He taught himself basic elements of music theory by listening to the radio and dissecting songs.[5] Laird's parents took him in high school to see Middle Tennessee State University and its recording program,[5] and he enrolled there in 1997, graduating in 2001 with a degree in Recording Industry Management.[7][8]
After college Laird moved to Nashville. Laird's first job in the industry was assistant tour manager for Brooks & Dunn, though he spent his weekends writing.[8] He participated in songwriter nights in Nashville at venues such as Bluebird Cafe. In 2002, Chris Oglesby, at BMG Music at the time, offered Laird a publishing deal.[8] BMG was later bought by Universal Music Publishing Group, which took over Laird's contract and made him a staff writer in 2008.[9]
While working at BMG he met a receptionist, Beth Mason. The two were married in 2010, and went on to co-found Creative Nation in 2011.
Music career
edit
Early in his time at UMPG, Bill Luther took an interest in him and encouraged him as a writer.[6] Luther brought Laird along with him to write a song with Hillary Lindsey.[10] The three worked together and named a song around their rapport, called "Painless." The song went on to be Laird's first released song by Lee Ann Womack in 2005.[9]
He was named BMI's Country Songwriter of the Year in 2012, and his song with Rodney Atkins, "Take a Back Road" was named Song of the Year.[14] He was named ACM's Songwriter of the Year in 2015.[15]
In 2011, Laird and his wife Beth founded Creative Nation, a music publishing and management company for country music songwriters and producers. While Beth Laird handles logistics, Luke Laird focuses on songwriting.[20][21]
^ abcdSchlansky, Evan (January 31, 2014). "Masters of Songwriting". American Songwriter.
^ abReuter, Anne (June 2, 2017). "The Writer's Round with Luke Laird". Sounds like Nashville.
^Allen, Eric (July 6, 2011). "Luke Laird: One of Music City's Top Songwriters is also an MTSU Alum". The Murfreesboro Pulse. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
^ abcdDunkerley, Beville (June 13, 2014). "Songwriter Spotlight: Luke Laird". Rolling Stone.
^ abLaundauer, Janelle (March 23, 2008). "Songwriter Spotlight: Luke Laird". Country Music Online.
^Landauer, Janelle (March 23, 2008). "Luke Laird Chases His Dream of Becoming A Songwriter –– And Scores BIG With 'So Small'". Country Music Online. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
^ abHook, Brittany (December 14, 2015). "20th Number One Song and Grammy Nods Mark Memorable Week for Songwriter Luke Laird". Forbes.
^Ross, Danny (June 20, 2017). "This Guy Wrote Your Favorite Songs". Forbes.
^Moore, Rick (June 27, 2011). "Nashville Songwriter Series: Luke Laird". American Songwriter.
^Paulson, Dave (October 30, 2012). "2012 BMI Country Awards honor Tom T. Hall, Dallas Davidson, Luke Laird". The Tennessean.
^Staff (April 7, 2015). "Loretta Lynn, Luke Bryan are Early 2015 ACM Awards Winners". Rolling Stone.
^ abcStaff (February 8, 2015). "Grammys 2015". LA Times.
^ abcdWatts, Cindy (February 14, 2016). "MTSU Honors Luke Laird with L.A. Reception". The Tennessean.
^"61st Annual GRAMMY Awards". GRAMMY.com. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
^Lewis, Randy (January 26, 2013). "Grammys 2014: Kacey Musgraves wins award for best country album". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
^"POWER PLAYERS: 30 UNDER 30: Beth Mason Laird, Director of writer/publisher relations, BMI Nashville". Billboard. August 18, 2010. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
^Rau, Nate (April 10, 2014). "Creative Nation's Power Couple are Hitmakers". The Tennessean.
^Nicholson, Jessica (August 3, 2016). "Creative Nation Adds Belmont Student Kassi Ashton to Roster". Music Row.
^"CATALOG — Creative nation". Creative Nation. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
^Cantrell, LB (27 July 2021). "Lori McKenna Enters Partnership With Concord, PULSE & Creative Nation". Music Row. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
^"Universal Music Publishing Group Re-Signs Nashville Hit-Maker Luke Laird To New, World-Wide Publishing Agreement" (Press release). Universal Music Publishing Group. March 6, 2012.
^"CMA Honors Triple Play Award-Winning Songwriters During Eighth Annual CMA Songwriters Luncheon - CMA World - Country Music Association". CMA World - Country Music Association. 2017-02-15. Archived from the original on 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
^ ab"CMA Honors Triple Play Writers". MusicRow - Nashville's Music Industry Publication - News, Songs From Music City. 2010-10-14. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
^ ab"CMA Honors Songwriters With Triple Play Awards". MusicRow - Nashville's Music Industry Publication - News, Songs From Music City. 2014-02-04. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
^"CMA Presents Triple Play Awards". MusicRow - Nashville's Music Industry Publication - News, Songs From Music City. 2013-01-30. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
^ ab"2015 CMA Awards Winners -- Complete List". The Boot. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
^"Country Music Association Awards, list of nominees". Retrieved 2018-08-30.
^ abcFriedlander, Kari (2013-09-10). "CMA Awards 2013: Full Nominees List Revealed". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
^Melas, Chloe. "ACM Awards 2017: Jason Aldean takes home entertainer of the year". CNN. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
^ abcStaff (2015-04-07). "Loretta Lynn, Luke Bryan Are Early 2015 ACM Awards Winners". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
^ abStaff (2014-04-07). "2014 Academy of Country Music Awards - Complete Winners List". ABC News. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
^Rogers, Chris (2013-02-13). "2013 Academy Of Country Music Award Nominees: Taylor Swift & More — Full List". Hollywood Life. Archived from the original on 2018-06-13. Retrieved 2018-08-30.