Brett Beavers
Education and early career[edit]
Beavers attended Baylor University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in secondary education[1] in 1985.[2] He spent the next four years playing bass guitar with Mack Abernathy throughout the United States, honing his skill as a songwriter.[2] After a year away from the music business, when he married and taught high school science in Tyler, Texas,[2] he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to join a band with Deryl Dodd.[3] Shortly after arriving in Nashville, Beavers began touring with Martina McBride as bass player and bandleader, from 1992–1996, and then with Lee Ann Womack from 1997–2005 in the same capacity.[2] During this time, he started a publishing company and began getting his songs recorded by such artists as Tim McGraw and Billy Ray Cyrus.[3] In 2005, he stopped performing and touring to pursue songwriting and producing on a full-time basis.[2] His brother, Jim, is also a Nashville songwriter.[4]
With Dierks Bentley[edit]
Much of Beavers' success has been with Dierks Bentley, for whom he produces and co-writes several of his songs, a collaboration that began in 2001.[5] The partnership has produced several number-one Hot Country Songs, including "Sideways",[6] "Come a Little Closer",[7] "Feel That Fire",[8] and "Every Mile a Memory".[9] In addition to chart-topping success, the pairing has led to a SOCAN[10] and NSAI Achievement Award for "What Was I Thinkin'",[11] a BMI Award Most Performed Song for "Trying to Stop Your Leaving",[12] and Grammy Award nominations for Best Country Song, "Long Trip Alone"[13] and Country Song of the Year, "Every Mile a Memory".[14] The songs that he has written and produced for Bentley have also led to Beavers being honored at the BMI Country Awards every year from 2006–2009.[15][16][17][18]
Author[edit]
Along with Tom Douglas, Beavers wrote the inspirational book Something Worth Leaving Behind, based on the song of the same name that they co-wrote for Lee Ann Womack.[19]