Hillary Lindsey

Hillary Lindsey was born on August 11, 1977, in Washington, Georgia, where her early musical talents were fostered. She started writing songs at age two and later sang in her church choir, winning local and 4-H singing competitions. In 1994, Lindsey moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University’s Music Business School. During her senior year, she secured her first publishing deal in 1997 with Famous Music Publishing. Initially signed as an artist to Sony Music, she transitioned fully into songwriting after three months with the label. Her dedicated focus on songwriting quickly led to numerous placements, including eight cuts in her first year as a writer.

Lindsey achieved her first number-one song in 2002 with Martina McBride’s “Blessed.” That same year, her co-written song “This Mystery” was a number-one hit in the Netherlands. Her career flourished, notably through her collaboration with Carrie Underwood, for whom she has penned eleven number-one tracks, including “Jesus, Take the Wheel” and “Two Black Cadillacs.” In 2006, she earned her first Grammy Award for Best Country Song for “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” Lindsey also received an Academy Award nomination and two Golden Globe nominations in 2011 for “Coming Home” from the movie “Country Strong.” She founded her own song-publishing company, Hang Your Hat Music, in 2020 through a partnership with Concord Music Publishing.

Her work has earned her numerous accolades, including a second Grammy Award in 2016 for Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” and a third Grammy in 2020 for Lady Gaga’s “I’ll Never Love Again” from “A Star Is Born.” Lindsey has been nominated three times for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. In 2020 and 2021, she was named Songwriter of the Year by the Academy of Country Music, making her only the second woman to receive this honor twice. She is also an inductee into the 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame and the 2022 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. As part of “The Love Junkies” alongside Lori McKenna and Liz Rose, she has co-written songs for Lady Gaga and Little Big Town, contributing to over 50 million song sales.