Darryl Worley

Darryl Worley. . Country music singer Darryl Worley scored three No. 1 hits between 2002 and 2005. Hailed as a traditionalist, Worley puts a contemporary gloss on classic country. His songs address everyday themes and are rooted in long held values., Born in Memphis on Oct. 31, 1964, Darryl Wade Worley grew up South of Savannah, Tennessee, in Pyburn near Pickwick Lake, his father was a Methodist minister and paper mill worker, and his grandfather ran a nightclub and played guitar and banjo. Worley graduated from the University of North Alabama with a degree in biology and chemistry. He taught school in Hardin County and worked in the chemical industry while playing music on the side. , Starting in 1994, Worley wrote songs that were published by FAME Music in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and he continued to play nightclubs in and around Savannah. In 1999, George Jones recorded Worley’s co-written song “Sinners and Saints” for the Cold Hard Truth album. That year, Worley also secured a recording contract with DreamWorks Records in Nashville. Producer James Stroud signed him after seeing him at the Moose Lodge in Savannah. , Worley’s debut album, Hard Rain Don’t Last, was released in July 2000. Worley wrote 10 of the album’s 12 songs. Four of the songs were released as singles, and three , “When You Need My Love”, “A Good Day to Run” and “Second Wind” – reached Billboard’s country Top 20. The music video for “A Good Day to Run” was shot in the Burnt Church community eight miles east of downtown Savannah., Released in 2002, the title song of Worley’s second album. I Miss My Friend was his first No. 1 country hit. The album also reached the top of the Country Albums chart., The title song and first single from Worley’s third album, Have You Forgotten?, also reached No. 1, but it attracted controversy when it was interpreted as advocating for the forthcoming invasion of Iraq. Worley, an ardent patriot, had toured U.S. bases during the 2002 Christmas season, and he maintained that, “The song is posing a question: Have you forgotten what happened to our country on 9/11? The song also reached No. 22 on the pop Hot 100 singles chart, and the album topped the Country Albums chart. , Worley’s fourth album, Darryl Worley, contained his fourth No. 1 single, “Awful Beautiful Life”, but his label, DreamWorks, had been acquired by the Universal Music Group in 2003 and was closed in 2006. Worley released two more albums and took time to focus on fatherhood and family. In 2019, he returned to Muscle Shoals, where he’d pitched songs 25 years earlier to record, Second Wind: Latest and Greatest, a collection of re-recorded hits and new songs., Worley lost both his grandfathers to cancer, and in 2002, he organized the Darryl Worley Foundation, a nonprofit that hosts all-year fundraising events. On March 3, 2016, there was a groundbreaking ceremony for the Darryl Worley Cancer Treatment Center on Wayne Road/Highway 64 in Savannah., Caption , Darryl Worley performing for the US military in 2016 , Reverse Side , Seven Genres of Music call Tennessee home. More songs are written, recorded, and played live here than anywhere else in the world. The Soundtrack of America is made in Tennessee. Tennessee Music Pathways connect you to the people, places, and events that shaped music history., From the big cities to the small communities, this statewide program identifies, explains, and preserves the legacy of music in Tennessee. Be it a story of the past, a star of the present, or the promise of the future, Tennessee Music Pathways help you Follow the Music.