Deric Ruttan

Deric J. Ruttan (born January 27, 1972) is a Canadian country music singer, songwriter and record producer from Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada. A Nashville, Tennessee resident, he has released four studio albums and has written or co-written more than 60 songs that have been recorded by other recording artists.[1]

Deric Ruttan
Ruttan performing at the 2012 Burlington's Sound of Music Festival
Background information
Born (1972-01-27) January 27, 1972
OriginBracebridge, Ontario, Canada
GenresCountry
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
InstrumentsVocals, guitar, harmonica, drums
Years active2003–present
LabelsLyric Street
On Ramp
Black T
Associated actsDierks Bentley, Eric Church, Doc Walker
Websitedericruttan.net

Breakthrough

Deric moved to Nashville in 1994 to pursue his music career, spending his days writing songs and his nights scouring the city getting ideas and learning from local singer-songwriters. He got his break in 1999 when producer Steve Bogard heard one of Deric's tapes and liked it. Steve signed Deric to a songwriting deal and immediately began recording his first demos. After Doug Howard at Lyric Street Records heard his demo and Deric played five songs live for Randy Goodman, Deric entered a record deal with the label. In 2003, he released his debut album, Deric Ruttan.[2]

Songwriting

In 2003, just as his first single "When You Come Around," was released, he celebrated his first No. 1 as a songwriter when friend and collaborator Dierks Bentley took the Ruttan/Bentley/Brett Beavers co-write "What Was I Thinkin'" to the top of the charts in the US. The song helped set Bentley on the path to country stardom. (To date, Bentley has recorded six Ruttan co-writes, including the 2005 chart-topper Lot of Leavin' Left To Do.) In 2004 Ruttan's "My Way", recorded by Aaron Pritchett, was the most-played Canadian country song of that year. Capitol Nashville's Eric Church had an American Billboard hit with his and Ruttan's "Guys Like Me" in 2007, and cuts on other acts followed, on artists like Gary Allan, Paul Brandt, Doc Walker, Jason Blaine, and The Higgins.[3]

In September 2007, Ruttan was awarded his first Canadian Country Music Award (CCMA) for Songwriter of the Year (along with co-writers Aaron Pritchett and Mitch Merrett), for "Hold My Beer", recorded by Pritchett.[4] He won the CCMA for songwriter of the year once again in 2014 for "Mine Would Be You," recorded by Blake Shelton.

Ruttan has written and co-written songs for prominent country musicians including Dierks Bentley ("What Was I Thinkin'" and "Lot of Leavin' Left to Do"), Aaron Pritchett ("Hold My Beer" and "My Way"), Jason Aldean ("Any Ol' Barstool"), Eric Church ("Guys Like Me" and "Hell on the Heart"), and Blake Shelton ("Mine Would Be You and Came Here to Forget").

Since 2011, Deric has written for Nashville-based publishing company THiS Music. He renewed his deal with THiS Music in 2016.[5]

As a recording artist

It took over four years for Ruttan to follow up his 2003 self-titled release. In 2008 he released his second album, aptly titled First Time in a Long Time, which yielded four hit radio singles at Canadian country radio: the title track, "Lovin' You Is Killin' Me", "California Plates" (co-written with members of Manitoba country band Doc Walker), and "Good Time", a duet with Bentley. (The video for "Good Time" reached No. 1 on CMT Canada's video countdown).[4]

"It wasn't just that writing songs for other artists was taking time away from me writing my next record", says Ruttan. "It was that suddenly I was known as a guy who'd written radio hits for other acts – the bar had been raised for me, creatively, because of that. I felt the next record I made needed to be really, really good."[6]

At the 2008 Canadian Country Music Awards, Ruttan earned a total of four nominations – "Male Artist", "Songwriter", "Record Producer", and "Best Album," and closed the show performing alongside The Guess Who/Bachman Turner Overdrive guitar legend Randy Bachman. By the following year, "First Time In A Long Time" had garnered so much radio airplay that it earned Ruttan and co-writer Jimmy Rankin a SOCAN Country Music Award at the 2009 SOCAN Awards in Toronto.[4]

In January 2010, with "Sunshine," Deric began releasing albums on his own independent label, Black T Records. He captured live audio on Sunshine's supporting tour to create 2011's live album, "Up All Night – Deric Ruttan Live." He released his most recent album, "Take the Week Off," in October 2013.

He has found success as an artist on Canadian country radio, and he continues to balance touring to support his albums with songwriting at home. "I’ve never been happier with the balance in my career," he says. "I tour about as much as I’d ever want to. Jason Blaine, Chad Brownlee and I recently did 25 shows across Canada in the Your Town Throwdown tour, and I played festivals in the summer. That lets me get my performance ya-yas out, and I’m in Nashville writing the rest of the time. Considering I haven’t lived there in 20 years, I feel really embraced by Canada."[7]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details
Deric Ruttan
First Time in a Long Time
  • Release date: April 1, 2008
  • Label: On Ramp Records
Sunshine
  • Release date: January 12, 2010
  • Label: Black T Records
Take the Week Off
  • Release date: October 15, 2013
  • Label: Black T Records

Live albums

Title Details
Up All Night – Deric Ruttan Live
  • Release date: September 20, 2011
  • Label: Black T Records

2000s

Year Single Peak positions Album
CAN Country
[8]
CAN
[9]
US Country
[10]
2003 "When You Come Around" 46 Deric Ruttan
"Unbeatable"
2004 "I Saved Everything" 16
2005 "Take the Wheel" 10
"Shine" 7
2006 "Invisible" 13
2007 "Good Time" (with Dierks Bentley) 11 First Time in a Long Time
2008 "First Time in a Long Time" 10 96
"Lovin' You Is Killin' Me" 17
2009 "California Plates" 14
"Almost Beautiful" 13
"Sing That Song Again" 13 Sunshine
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

2010s

Year Single Peak positions Album
CAN Country
[8]
CAN
[9]
2010 "Up All Night" 7 91 Sunshine
"That's How I Wanna Go Out" 6 87
2011 "Sunshine (Hey Little Girl)" 23
"She's Like a Song" 16 Up All Night – Deric Ruttan Live
2012 "Main Street, 1979" 16
"My Kind of Freedom" 17
2013 "Where the Train Don't Stop" 11
"Take the Week Off" 10 66 Take the Week Off
2014 "Pass It Around" 17
"Country Mile"
"Good Thing Gone" 42
2015 "Don't It Feel Good"
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year Video Director
2003 "When You Come Around"[11] Trey Fanjoy
"Unbeatable"
2005 "Take the Wheel"
"Love Did"
2007 "Good Time" (with Dierks Bentley) Antonio Hrynchuk
2008 "First Time in a Long Time"
"Lovin' You Is Killin' Me" Joel Stewart
2009 "California Plates"
2010 "That's How I Wanna Go Out" Warren P. Sonoda
2011 "Sunshine (Hey Little Girl)"
2012 "Main Street, 1979" Jeth Weinrich
"My Kind of Freedom" John Fucile/Lisa Fucile/Deric Ruttan
2013 "Take the Week Off" Margaret Malandruccolo
2014 "Pass It Around"
"Good Thing Gone" Paul McGuire

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Result
2003 Canadian Country Music Association Chevy Trucks Rising Star Award Nominated
2004 Male Artist of the Year Nominated
Chevy Trucks Rising Star Award Nominated
Album of the Year – Deric Ruttan Nominated
2005 Male Artist of the Year Nominated
2007 SOCAN Songwriter of the Year – "Hold My Beer" Won
2008 Male Artist of the Year Nominated
Album of the Year – First Time in a Long Time Nominated
Songwriter of the Year – "First Time in a Long Time" Nominated
2011 Juno Awards of 2011 Country Album of the YearSunshine Nominated
Canadian Country Music Association Male Artist of the Year Nominated
Single of the Year – "That's How I Wanna Go Out" Nominated
Songwriter of the Year – "That's How I Wanna Go Out" Nominated
CMT Video of the Year – "That's How I Wanna Go Out" Nominated
2012 Songwriter of the Year – "They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore" Nominated
Songwriter of the Year – "Main Street, 1979" Nominated
2013 Single of the Year – "Main Street, 1979" Nominated
Songwriter of the Year – "Cool" Nominated
2014 56th Annual Grammy Awards Grammy Award for Best Country Song – "Mine Would Be You" Nominated
Canadian Country Music Association Single of the Year – "Take the Week Off" Nominated
Songwriter of the Year – "Mine Would Be You" Won
CMT Video of the Year – "Take the Week Off" Nominated
2015 Songwriter of the Year – "Country Side" Nominated
2017 Country Music Association of Ontario Male Artist of the Year Nominated
Songwriter of the Year – "Came Here to Forget" (with Craig Wiseman) Won

References

  1. "Canadians in Nashville", Words and Music, Fall 2010
  2. work="Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Deric Ruttan". CA: CMT.ca. Archived from the original on May 4, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  4. "Busy hit songwriter Deric RuttanL'auteur-compositeur Deric Ruttan – SOCAN Words and Music". Socanmagazine.ca. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  5. Peak chart positions for country singles in Canada:
  6. "Deric Ruttan – Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  7. "Deric Ruttan – Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  8. "Home Site of Trey Fanjoy – Video Director". Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
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