Inductees | Mel Tillis

Mel Tillis

Induction Year: 1976

Birth Name: Lonnie Melvin Tillis

Birth Date: 08-08-1932

Place of Birth: Tampa, Florida

Death Date: 11-19-2017

Place of Death: Ocala, Florida

One of country music's funniest and most affable entertainers, Mel Tillis is also the author of emotionally devastating classics including "Detroit City" and "Ruby (Don't Take Your Love to Town)." Though fans know Tillis for his welcoming stage presence, his hits as a recording artist, his motion picture appearances and his chronic stutter (one that doesn't affect his singing), some listeners are unaware of his stature as a songwriter of depth and consequence.

Tillis' songs have been a part of the country music landscape since the late 1950s and have been covered by Webb Pierce, Ray Price, Brenda Lee, Bobby Bare, Waylon Jennings, Kenny Rogers and many others. He is a member of the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame, and he has won a CMA Entertainer of the Year prize in addition to two BMI Songwriter of the Decade awards.

Tillis was raised in Florida. A bout with childhood malaria caused his stutter. Fresh out of the Air Force, while working for the Atlantic Coastline Railroad, Tillis went to see a Ray Price concert, met Price and showed him a song he'd written called "I'm Tired." Price was interested enough in the song to take it with him to Nashville, and in 1957 Webb Pierce had a #1 country hit with "I'm Tired." Tillis moved to Nashville that same year.

It was the mid-1960s before Tillis had a Top 20 country record as a singer, but others found great successes with his songs. His grandest success came with Bare's bracing 1963 version of "Detroit City," a song that didn't top country charts but that went on to become a Grammy-winning million-seller. "Detroit City" kick-started Bare's career and captivated fans who related to the song's displaced narrator's plea: "I want to go home/Oh Lord, I want to go home."

"Ruby (Don't Take Your Love to Town)" became another indelible Tillis song after Kenny Rogers & the First Edition's 1969 version. And though the subject matter involved a crippled American veteran, "Ruby" resonated across the ocean, becoming a #1 hit in England.

In the 1970s, Tillis became a major country star in his own right. He also appeared in numerous movies and was heavily involved in publishing. He is also the proud father of singer-songwriter and country star Pam Tillis. Mel Tillis stands as a true country music renaissance man, and as the writer of some of the finest Nashville songs ever written.

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Song Catalog Highlights

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"Burning Memories"(written with Wayne P. Walker)

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"Detroit City"(written with Danny Dill)

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"Honey (Open That Door)"

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"I'm Tired"(written with A. R. " Buck" Peddy, Ray Price)

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"Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town"

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Song Catalog

"A Thousand Miles Ago"

(written with Webb Pierce)

Webb Pierce

1959

#6 country

"All the Time"

(written with Wayne P. Walker)

Kitty Wells

1959

#18 country

Jack Greene

1967

#1 country

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"Burning Memories"

(written with Wayne P. Walker)

Ray Price

1964

#2 country

Mel Tillis

1977

#9 country

"Crazy Wild Desire"

(written with Webb Pierce)

Webb Pierce

1962

#8 country

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"Detroit City"

(written with Danny Dill)

Billy Grammer

1963

#18 country

Bobby Bare

1963

#6 country, #4 adult contemporary, #16 pop

Tom Jones

1967

#27 pop

Dean Martin

1970

#36 adult contemporary

"Emotions"

(written with Ramsey Kearney)

Brenda Lee

1961

#7 pop

"Heart Over Mind"

Ray Price

1961

#5 country

Mel Tillis

1970

#3 country

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"Honey (Open That Door)"

Ricky Skaggs

1984

#1 country

"Honky Tonk Song"

(written with A. R. "Buck" Peddy)

Webb Pierce

1957

#1 country

"I Ain't Never"

(written with Webb Pierce)

Webb Pierce

1959

#2 country, #24 pop

Mel Tillis

1972

#1 country

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"I'm Tired"

(written with A. R. " Buck" Peddy, Ray Price)

Webb Pierce

1957

#3 country

Ricky Skaggs

1987

#18 country

"Mary, Don't You Weep"

(written with Marijohn Wilkin)

Stonewall Jackson

1959

#12 country

"Memory Maker"

(written with Kent Westberry)

Mel Tillis

1974

#3 country

"Mental Revenge"

Johnny Darrell

1967

Waylon Jennings

1967

#12 country

Mel Tillis

1976

#15 country

Linda Ronstadt

1970

"No Love Have I"

Webb Pierce

1959

#4 country, #54 pop

Gail Davies

1978

#26 country

Holly Dunn

1992

#67 country

Pam Tillis

2002

"One More Time"

Ray Price

1960

#2 country

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"Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town"

Johnny Darrell

1967

#9 country

Kenny Rogers & the First Edition

1969

#6 pop, #6 adult contemporary, #39 country

"Sawmill"

(written with Horace Whatley)

Mel Tillis

1973

#2 country

"Thoughts of a Fool"

(written with Wayne P. Walker)

Ernest Tubb

1961

George Strait

1992

Other Media

Mel Tillis singing one of his hits, circa late 1970s.
Cover of Mel Tillis concert souvenir book, circa early 1970s.
Undated Mel Tillis promotional shot.
Later undated promotional shot of Mel Tillis.