Buddy Buie

2016 Honoree

(1941-2015)

Buddy Buie in the recording studio

Buddy Buie was born in Marianna, Florida in 1941, moving with his family to Dothan, Alabama at a young age. As a high school student, Buie began to pursue his love, songwriting, with his first songwriting partner, John Rainey Adkins. Buie also started promoting local and regional music shows. One of his first big breaks came when he became the road manager for Roy Orbison. Buddy was also responsible for a local group, the Candymen  becoming Orbison’s back up band

The first Buddy Buie-written song to get airtime on the radio was “Georgia Pines,” which has become a Wiregrass standard. Buddy’s big songwriting break came in the mid to late 1960s when he and JR Cobb co-wrote the hits for Dennis Yost and the Classics IV – songs like, “Spooky,” “Stormy,” “Traces,” and “Every Day with You Girl,”. Buie had more hits like, “Most of All” for B.J. Thomas and “Single Girl,” his first top 40 song by Sandy Posey. 

Buddy Buie is pictured front-left with the ARS at the recording studio..

In the 1970’s Buddy formed the Atlanta Rhythm Section (ARS), which had numerous gold albums and had such hits as “So Into You,” “Imaginary Lover,” “Champagne Jam,” “Doraville,” and others. Buddy also partnered with Arnie Geller and created the BGO record label which had such hits as “I Love the Nightlife” and “Pac-Man Fever.” Country hits included “Rock Bottom” by Wynonna Judd and “Mr. Midnight” by Garth Brooks. 

The BMI catalog consists of over 340 Buddy Buie written and co-written songs. Two of those songs are in the Top 50 most recorded songs of all-time. Most of Buie’s songs were written at his family’s house trailer on Lake Eufaula with his longtime friend, J.R. Cobb. Buie retired to Lake Eufaula with his childhood sweetheart, Gloria, in 2015. 

In his later years, Buie spent time traveling around the world to places he had always wanted to visit. He was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.  Buddy was also a founding member of the Downtown Music Fest in Dothan, Alabama. The festival was organized to raise money for the fight against ALS.  In the two years the music fest was held, the organization contributed a total contribution of $80,000 to help fight ALS.  

Buddy Buie, the gentleman who never forgot his roots and always came home, passed away on July 18, 2015.