They join CEO Vinnie Freda and Billboard Country Update Editor Tom Roland for the panel “The Songwriters Behind Country’s Biggest Hits” at CMA Fest in Nashville on June 6
May 29, 2026 (Menomonee Falls, WI) – Record Research Inc., the authority on music industry chart performance, today released their official list of the Top 10 songwriters on Billboard’s Country Singles charts from 1944-2025, with Ashley Gorley coming in at #1 and Shane McAnally at #2. The full list of the 40 top-ranked Country songwriters over the past four decades will be published in Record Research’s new book, Joel Whitburn’s History of Top Country Singles 1944-2025, which will be officially released on June 4, 2026. The book is available for preorder now at recordresearch.com.
To celebrate the book’s release, Record Research CEO Vinnie Freda will speak on the panel “The Songwriters Behind Country’s Biggest Hits” alongside Gorley and McAnally on Saturday, June 6 at 11am CT during CMA Fest in Nashville at the CMA Close Up Stage inside Music City Center. The panel will be moderated by Billboard Country Update Editor Tom Roland and will focus on the writers behind the genre’s biggest songs, how hits endure, and what chart history reveals about songwriting legacy.
The Top 10 Country Songwriters are:
- Ashley Gorley
- Shane McAnally
- Bob McDill
- Bill Anderson
- Harlan Howard
- Billy Sherrill
- Craig Wiseman
- Tom Shapiro
- Rhett Akins
- Merle Haggard
The list is determined by a formula that accounts for each songwriter’s compositions that peaked at #1, within the weekly Top 40, or elsewhere on the Country singles charts from January 8, 1944 through December 27, 2025. This section of the book is presented in partnership with Nan Kingsley and in honor of Bob Kingsley, whose life-long dedication to spotlighting the songwriters behind the hits in his weekly countdown radio shows brought Country music’s songwriters to national prominence.
Gorley has written 81 #1 songs with more than 400 songs recorded by artists including Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Thomas Rhett, Dan + Shay, Kelsea Ballerini, Bon Jovi, Weezer, and more. McAnally has written and/or produced over 50 #1 songs for artists including Kacey Musgraves, Old Dominion, Sam Hunt, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini, Tigirlily Gold, and more, and has been nominated for more CMA Awards than any other songwriter in history.
“Ashley Gorley and Shane McAnally have contributed to a stunning number of hits, putting them at the top of over 80 years of Country music. It’s an honor to celebrate my first book release with Record Research at CMA Fest alongside these two songwriting legends,” said Freda. “They, and all of the songwriters on the list, continue to shape and reshape Country music, and it will be fascinating to see how these charts evolve in the coming years.”
Joel Whitburn’s History of Top Country Singles 1944-2025 provides the most accurate account available of the full history of popular Country music, including an artist-by-artist listing of every song that has ever appeared on the Country singles charts, from the debut of the Most-Played Juke Box Folk Records chart in 1944 to the last Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts of 2025. The book includes a comprehensive title index, multiple song and artist rankings, and a chronological listing of every #1 Country hit.
About Record Research
Record Research Inc. is the authority on music industry chart performance. The company was founded by author and music historian Joel Whitburn in 1970, publishing music reference books that are relied upon by music industry professionals and devoted music fans worldwide. Covering 1890 through the present day, Record Research documents the music charts for genres including Pop, Country, R&B, Rock, Adult Contemporary, and Dance, detailing the complete history of the singles and albums that have appeared on the charts of Billboard magazine, as well as the singles charts of other music industry periodicals such as Cash Box, Gavin Report, Radio & Records, and Record World/Music Vendor.
Following Whitburn’s passing in 2022, Vinnie Freda joined Record Research as CEO and majority owner in September 2025, working with Publisher Kim Bloxdorf and head researcher Paul Haney to preserve and expand upon Whitburn’s legacy. The company is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.
For more information, visit recordresearch.com.