T. G. Sheppard

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T. G. Sheppard (born William Neal Browder, July 20, 1942 in Humboldt, Tennessee) is an American country music singer.

After graduating from high school, he ran away from his home to become involved in the music business in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially he worked in the record business and tried recording pop music under the name Brian Stacy.

T.G. Sheppard's Greatest Hits compilation.

In 1975 he recorded the song "Devil in the Bottle," which became a No. 1 hit on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart. The follow-up, "Tryin' to Beat the Morning Home," also went to No. 1. Several subsequent releases during 1975-1977 also made the top 10.

In 1978, Sheppard signed with Warner Bros. Records, where he enjoyed his greatest success. Starting with that summer's "When Can We Do This Again," he had a series of 15 consecutive top 10 releases, including 10 No. 1 songs. The biggest of the lot included "Last Cheater's Waltz" (1979); "I'll Be Coming Back For More" and "Do You Want to Go to Heaven" (1980); "I Loved 'Em Everyone" and "Party Time" (1981); "Only One You," "Finally" and "War is Hell (On the Homefront Too)" (1982). Another major hit came in 1984: "Slow Burn."

In 1985, he moved from Warner Bros. to Columbia Records, where he continued to enjoy success. After just missing the top 20 with "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" (a remake of the Elvin Bishop hit), he returned to the top 10, with his biggest success during this time frame coming with 1986's "Strong Heart" (the last of his 14 No. 1 hits, as it turned out). Three more songs peaked at No. 2 in 1987: "Half Past Forever (Til I'm Blue in the Heart)," "You're My First Lady" and "One for the Money."

Sheppard's success continued until about 1988, when rootsy neotraditoinalist artists began to eclipse more polished pop-country artists like Sheppard on the country charts. He continued to tour and play throughout the 1990s, but did not sign a new record contract, and did not release any new material until his 2002 live release, T.G. Sheppard: Live at Billy Bob's, which found Sheppard performing his classic hits for an enthusiastic crowd at the famed honky tonk in Fort Worth, Texas.