Leslie Satcher

Leslie Satcher
Born
Leslie Winn Satcher

1962 (age 63–64)
Paris, Texas, U.S.
Genres
OccupationSinger-songwriter
InstrumentVocals
Years active1989–present
LabelWarner Bros.
Websitelesliesatcher.net

Leslie Winn Satcher (born 1962) is an American country and bluegrass singer-songwriter. As a songwriter, she has written charting singles for artists including Pam Tillis, Martina McBride, George Strait, Gretchen Wilson, and Kellie Pickler. She has released three solo albums and one album with the Electric Honey Badgers. Satcher was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2025.

Early life

Satcher is a native of Paris, Texas, and a fifth-generation Texan. She grew up in a Baptist family and sang in churches and schools. Country music was part of her childhood; she recalled listening to Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner records on her mother's stereo. She later studied architecture at Texas A&M University and worked at a lumberyard in Paris.[1]

In 1988, Satcher moved to Nashville, Tennessee, intending to become a recording artist. She tested her singing at a recording booth on Music Row and performed at the Bluebird Café.[1] After former Judds guitarist Don Potter suggested that songwriting could lead to a recording contract, she began concentrating on writing. In the early 1990s, songwriter Max D. Barnes took an interest in her work. When Satcher was laid off from a job at a religious publishing company, she used six months of severance pay to write full-time. Island Bound Music signed her to a publishing contract in 1994.[2]

Career

Songwriting and Love Letters

By the late 1990s, other artists had recorded dozens of Satcher's songs. Her first charting hit as a songwriter was Pam Tillis's 1998 single "I Said a Prayer", which reached number 12 on the Billboard country chart.[3] Other early recordings included Deana Carter's "You Still Shake Me", Jo Dee Messina's "He'd Never Seen Julie Cry", and album cuts by artists including Vince Gill, George Jones, Lorrie Morgan, Randy Travis, Lee Ann Womack, and Sara Evans.[2][1]

Satcher signed with Warner Bros. Records as a recording artist and released her debut album, Love Letters, in 2000. Produced by Luke Wooten, the album featured harmony vocals from Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss. In a profile for The Tennessean, Craig Havighurst described the album as a mixture of country, folk, blues, and bluegrass and noted Satcher's use of narrative characters and family history.[4] Reviewing the album, Havighurst awarded it four stars and praised its literary storytelling and mixture of country, bluegrass, blues, and pop.[5] Brian Mansfield of the Gannett News Service gave the record three stars, writing that Satcher's own compositions distinguished it from her cover of "Ode to Billie Joe".[6]

Satcher wrote "When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues" after drawing on the personalities of women in her East Texas family and an experience with heartbreak. Martina McBride's recording reached number eight on the country chart in 2002.[1] Satcher's subsequent charting compositions included McBride's "For These Times", Kevin Denney's "Cadillac Tears", and Kellie Pickler's "Tough". "Politically Uncorrect", recorded by Gretchen Wilson and Merle Haggard, reached number 23 and received a 2006 Grammy nomination for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.[3] The composition was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 2007 Academy of Country Music Awards.[7]

Later recording and songwriting

Satcher independently released her second album, Creation, in 2005, followed by Gypsy Boots in 2011. Her work also crossed into bluegrass: songs recorded in that genre include Alecia Nugent's "Too Good to Be True", Larry Cordle's "Where the Trees Know My Name", and the Farm Hands' "From Your Knees".[3]

In 2007, producer Tony Brown asked Satcher to write a song for George Strait that could reflect his career without suggesting that he was retiring. Satcher and Monty Holmes wrote "Troubadour" during their first writing session together. Strait's recording reached number seven on the country chart and became his 79th top-ten single.[8]

In 2017, Satcher and the Electric Honey Badgers released "This Won't Take Long", featuring Vince Gill and Sheryl Crow.[9] Their album 2 Days in Muscle Shoals, produced by Brad Crisler and featuring guest vocals from Gill, Crow, and Trisha Yearwood, followed in 2018.[10]

Satcher repeatedly encouraged Yearwood to write with her, leading to a 2022 session with Yearwood and Steve Dorff in which they wrote "When October Settles In". Yearwood described the session as the beginning of the creative process that led to The Mirror (2025), her first album consisting entirely of co-written material.[11] Satcher co-wrote seven songs on the album, including its title track.[12] In 2026, Satcher and Bridgette Tatum accompanied Yearwood on the 15-city Mirror Tour, which presented the songs in an acoustic format and discussed their composition.[13]

Satcher received multiple BMI Million-Air awards and was nominated for induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2023.[3] She was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2025.[14]

Discography

Albums

Title Album details
Love Letters
Creation
  • Released: July 18, 2005
  • Label: Jellan Records
Gypsy Boots
  • Released: October 1, 2011
  • Label: Reata Records

[15]

2 Days in Muscle Shoals
(with the Electric Honey Badgers)
  • Released: March 9, 2018
  • Label: NHMM

[16]

Singles

Year Single Album
2001 "Love Letters from Old Mexico" Love Letters
"Burn Me Down"
"Ode to Billie Joe"
2002 "The Slow Way Home"
2017 "This Won't Take Long" 2 Days in Muscle Shoals
2024 "We've All Got Our Reasons" —

Selected songs written for other artists

The table combines Satcher's charting singles with a selection of prominent album cuts and title tracks. Chart peaks are from Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.[17]

Year Song Recording artist Co-writer(s) Peak or distinction
1996 "He'd Never Seen Julie Cry" Jo Dee Messina Max T. Barnes Album cut highlighted in contemporary profiles[2]
1997 "A Man with 18 Wheels" Lee Ann Womack Bobby Carmichael Album cut; also issued as a B-side[18]
1998 "I Said a Prayer" Pam Tillis N/a No. 12
1999 "You Still Shake Me" Deana Carter Tim Ryan Rouillier No. 36
2001 "When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues" Martina McBride N/a No. 8
2002 "Cadillac Tears" Kevin Denney Wynn Varble No. 30
2002 "You Remain" Willie Nelson featuring Bonnie Raitt Don Poythress, Donald Wallace Album cut from The Great Divide[19]
2003 "Old Time Fiddle" Vince Gill Vince Gill Album cut from Next Big Thing; Satcher also sang harmony[20][21]
2004 "Chariot" Gretchen Wilson John Caldwell Album cut from Here for the Party[22]
2005 "Pistol" Trisha Yearwood Al Anderson Album cut from Jasper County[23]
2005 "When Being Who You Are Is Not Enough" Patty Loveless Jim Lauderdale Album cut from Dreamin' My Dreams; Emmylou Harris sang harmony[24]
2005 "Politically Uncorrect" Gretchen Wilson featuring Merle Haggard Billy Henderson, Danny Steagall No. 23; ACM Song of the Year nomination
2007 "For These Times" Martina McBride N/a No. 35
2008 "Troubadour" George Strait Monty Holmes No. 7
2011 "Tough" Kellie Pickler N/a No. 30
2013 "Crazy Ain't Original" Sheryl Crow Al Anderson, Sheryl Crow Album cut from Feels Like Home[25]
2019 "Prove You Wrong" Sheryl Crow featuring Stevie Nicks and Maren Morris Al Anderson, Sheryl Crow Single from Threads[26]
2019 "Ain't Nothin' to It" Cody Johnson David Lee Title track of Ain't Nothin' to It[27]
2019 "Storm in a Shot Glass" Reba McEntire Mary Browder, Will Robinson Album cut from Stronger Than the Truth[28]
2020 "Bad for You" The SteelDrivers James LeBlanc, Tammy Rogers Single and title track[29]
2022 "Working Man's Wage" The Del McCoury Band Wynn Varble Album cut from Almost Proud; previously recorded by Trace Adkins[30]
2025 "Bringing the Angels" Trisha Yearwood Beth Bernard, Bridgette Tatum, Trisha Yearwood Co-written for The Mirror[31]
2025 "Little Lady" Bridgette Tatum, Trisha Yearwood
2025 "The Mirror" Bridgette Tatum, Trisha Yearwood
2025 "Fearless These Days" Makayla Lynn, Trisha Yearwood
2025 "The Ocean and the River" Makayla Lynn, Trisha Yearwood
2025 "When I'm with You" Brett Boyett, Trisha Yearwood
2025 "When October Settles In" Steve Dorff, Trisha Yearwood

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Carter, Walter (October 27, 2001). "McBride erases Satcher's heartache". The Tennessean. p. 35. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 Hurst, Jack (February 11, 2001). "The real McCoy". Chicago Tribune. p. 177. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "2023 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame nominees announced". Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. June 21, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  4. ↑ Havighurst, Craig (February 25, 2001). "The slow way home". The Tennessean. p. 65. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Havighurst, Craig (January 29, 2001). "Keep your ear on this 'Sparrow'". The Tennessean. p. 32. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Mansfield, Brian (February 1, 2001). "Leslie Satcher has plenty left over". The Courier-News. Gannett News Service. p. 41. Retrieved July 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Nominations announced for the 42nd annual Academy of Country Music Awards" (Press release). CBS. March 5, 2007. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  8. ↑ Houghton, Cillea (June 14, 2023). "Meaning Behind George Strait's 'Troubadour'". American Songwriter. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Leslie Satcher Joined By Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow On New Single, Out Today". MusicRow. September 2, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  10. ↑ Parker, Eric T. (March 5, 2018). "Leslie Satcher Delivers Perfect Saturday Afternoon Album On Friday With 'Two Days In Muscle Shoals'". MusicRow. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  11. ↑ Gold, Adam (July 17, 2025). "Trisha Yearwood finds her voice as a songwriter on new album 'The Mirror'". Axios. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  12. ↑ Owens, Jessica (July 18, 2025). "Trisha Yearwood Writes All the Songs on 'The Mirror,' Out Now". Everything Nash. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  13. ↑ Hollabaugh, Lorie (February 26, 2026). "Trisha Yearwood Previews 'The Mirror Tour' At Special Ford Theater Show". MusicRow. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Leslie Satcher". Texas Heritage Songwriters Association. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Gypsy Boots by Leslie Satcher". Apple Music. October 1, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  16. ↑ "2 Days in Muscle Shoals by Leslie Satcher and the Electric Honey Badgers". Apple Music. March 9, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  17. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2012). Hot Country Songs: 1944–2012 (8th ed.). Record Research.
  18. ↑ "Release "Lee Ann Womack" by Lee Ann Womack". MusicBrainz. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  19. ↑ "You Remain (feat. Bonnie Raitt)". Shazam. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Next Big Thing – Vince Gill". AllMusic. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Next Big Thing Reflects Country Singer Gill's New Found Happiness". Voice of America. March 8, 2003. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Chariot". Shazam. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Pistol". Shazam. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  24. ↑ Himes, Geoffrey (October 7, 2005). "Patty Loveless 'Dreamin' My Dreams'". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  25. ↑ "Feels Like Home – Sheryl Crow". AllMusic. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Prove You Wrong (feat. Stevie Nicks & Maren Morris)". Shazam. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Ain't Nothin' to It – Cody Johnson". AllMusic. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Stronger Than the Truth – Reba McEntire". AllMusic. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  29. ↑ Lawless, John (December 10, 2019). "Bad For You from The Steeldrivers". Bluegrass Today. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  30. ↑ "Working Man's Wage". Shazam. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
  31. ↑ Owens, Jessica (July 18, 2025). "Trisha Yearwood Writes All the Songs on 'The Mirror,' Out Now". Everything Nash. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
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