Tony Ramey is an Americana and Country Music singer and songwriter. During his career, he has recorded eleven albums and EPs and had dozens of songs recorded by other country music artists. His repertoire of songs reaches over 3,400 in number and his songwriting career spans twenty-four years as a professional. Ramey wrote and performed the title song for the movie, The Last Ride a fact-based drama about the final days of troubled country-music legend Hank Williams. His music can also be heard on the soundtrack for . He has performed a duet with Willie Nelson on his Soul Survivor album, which brought some acclaim to his status as a troubadour. His songs have appeared in television as well on daytime drama series “The Young and the Restless” and on outdoor television shows such as “Canada in the Rough”.
(Tony) Anthony Ramey was born on April 17, 1974, in Kenova, West Virginia. He grew up in Kenova where his father was a journeyman for Owens-Illinois Glass Company and his mother was a law department assistant. Tony has one older brother, Aca Ramey, a federal park ranger in Huntington, WV for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Tony began earning royalties from his songs when he was only seventeen years old—garnering song credits on Nashville independent artists and acts working out of Branson Missouri.
After graduating from Ceredo-Kenova High School, Tony earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English Literature at Marshall University. While in college, Tony formed the Dixie Flyer Band, a country music cover band who also played Tony's original songs he had begun writing at the age of 11. After winning the True-Value Country Showdown, Dixie Flyer toured extensively throughout Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia, performing at fairs, festivals, and other music venues. Tony moved to Nashville and later worked on a PhD in English Literature with Concentrations in Old English, Romanticism, and American Literature. His scholarship and work in Samuel Taylor Coleridge garnered a Wolfe Award from MTSU's graduate school for excellence in critical writing and research.
Ramey's frequent performances included opening for Billy Ray Cyrus, Dan Seals, Reba McEntire, Lorrie Morgan, George Jones, Keith Whitley, Glen Campbell, and other Country Music artists.
Ramey was offered a deal on Polydor Polygram/Mercury Records, but shortly thereafter the Polygram division was bought by A&M of California and the Nashville office was closed. Ramey began working with Tom Collins, a producer and publisher on Nashville's Music Row. Ramey's first gold record as a songwriter, "I Don't Want This Song to End, was recorded by John Michael Montgomery.
Several years later, Tony and Tom Collins amicably parted ways. Not long after, Ramey was invited to do a songwriting round at the Bluebird Café. While performing at Bluebird, Ramey was seen by the creative director of Muy Bueno Music, owned by country music artist George Strait. While at Muy Bueno, Ramey amassed a catalog of more than 900 songs and several country Top Forty, international Top Forty, and gold record and platinum record hits.
In 2007, Tony left Muy Bueno to sign with Cherry Lane Music of New York, which began by publishing songs from the iconic John Denver and Elvis Presley. Ramey's songs were performed on television and in film, and by Canadian, Australian, and European musicians. While at Cherry Lane, Ramey produced and released his self-titled fifth studio album.
When BMG Germany acquired Cherry Lane in 2010,[1] Ramey joined Davis Music Group in Nashville as creative director/songwriter for the company's publishing division.[2] [3] His stint there would only last a year and the road would call him out again to begin touring as a troubadour.
In the spring of 2011, Tony moved to Greenville, Texas, where he is continuing to write music, and has undertaken a concert tour throughout the US. After moving to Texas, he recorded CDs Throwback, Soul Survivor (which features Willie Nelson), and The Spirit of Hank and the Heart of James Dean. He is the recipient of the Country Music Association of Texas Independent Artist of the Year Award in 2016. In 2015, Country Music icon Ray Price recorded a song Tony co-wrote called "No More Songs to Sing" for his Beauty Is: The Last Sessions Album. Most recently (2015-16), Mark Chesnutt recorded Tony Ramey's song "Oughta Miss Me By Now" and Marcus Lindsey of The Marcus Lindsey Band recorded "Too Much Ain't Enough" in 2015 for his self-titled debut album Marcus Lindsey. His song credits on current releases include the 2018 Spotify and Texas Country Radio hit "Any Night in Texas," the title song from Jon Wolfe's 2018 album release, and "A Country Boy's Life Well Lived from the same collection."
Gold records
Awards
| Song | Recorded By | Label | Album | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I Don't Want This Song To End | John Michael Montgomery | Atlantic | Leave A Mark | 1998 | |
| Make Up In Love | Doug Stone | Atlantic | Make Up In Love | 1999 | |
| Something To Write Home About | Craig Morgan | Atlantic | Craig Morgan | 2000 | |
| Second Chance | Trisha Yearwood | MCA | Inside Out | 2002 | |
| Lonesome Wind | Stevens Sisters | Rounder Records | Little By Little | 2002 | |
| Kings For A Day | Jake Mathews | Open Road/EMI (Canada) | Time After Time | 2003 | |
| The Ride Of My Life | Kelly Kenning | Airastar Records | Ride Of My Life | 2004 | |
| Weekend In Juarez | Kelly Kenning | Airastar Records | Ride Of My Life | 2004 | |
| Watertower Skyline | Tony Ramey | Airastar Records | Places | 2004 | |
| Let Me Be Lonely | Tony Ramey | Airastar Records | Places | 2004 | |
| That's How I's Raised | Kevin Denny | Lyric Street Records | Unreleased | 2005 | |
| Hot Grease and Zydeco | George Strait | MCA | Twang | 2008 | |
| Never Been To Texas | Jason Meadows | Baccerstick Records | You Ain't Never Been To Texas | 2008 | |
| Second Chance | Katrina Elam | Black River Records | Pure Country 2: The Gift (Soundtrack) | 2010 | |
| Too Much Ain't Enough | Clinton Gregory | Melody Round Up | Too Much Ain't Enough | 2011 | |
| The Last Ride | Tony Ramey | Live Bait/Curb Records | The Last Ride (Soundtrack) | 2011 | |
| Hold A Woman | Bucky Covington | eOne Music | Good Guys[4] | 2011 | |
| Summertime Girl | Aaron Watson | Big Label Records | Real Good Time | 2012 | |
| Broke Down In Georgia | Bobby Cyrus | BGC Records | Home Place | 2012 | |
| His New Baby | Jon Wolfe | Warner Bros. | It All Happened In A Honky Tonk | 2013 | |
| That's How I Was Raised | Alabama | Show Dog-Universal | Alabama and Friends | 2014 | |
| No More Songs to Sing | Ray Price | Amerimonte Records | Beauty Is | 2015 | |
| Broken Bones | Moe Bandy | Bandy Productions, LLC | Lucky Me | 2015 | |
| Oughta Miss Me By Now | Mark Chesnutt | Nada Dinero | Tradition Lives | 2016 | |
| Too Much Ain't Enough | Marcus Lindsey | Vision Records | Marcus Lindsey | 2016 | |
| Any Night in Texas | Jon Wolfe | Fool Hearted Productions | Any Night in Texas | 2018 | |
| Country Boy's Life Well Lived | Jon Wolfe | Fool Hearted Productions | Any Night in Texas | 2018 |
Re-mastered Releases
Singles