Scott Hendricks

Scott Hendricks (born July 26, 1956) is an American record producer who has produced over 30 country music artists. His productions have garnered 116 Top 10s, and 75 Number One hits. Between 1995 and 1997, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Capitol Records Nashville. Between 1998 and 2001 he served as President and CEO of Virgin Nashville. He now serves as Warner Music Nashville's Executive Vice President of A&R. Acts for whom Hendricks has produced include Restless Heart,John Michael Montgomery, Brooks & Dunn, Trace Adkins, Alan Jackson, Faith Hill, Blake Shelton, Jana Kramer, Dan + Shay, Michael Ray, William Michael Morgan and Tegan Marie.

Scott Hendricks was born in Clinton, Oklahoma. While attending Oklahoma State University, Hendricks met Tim DuBois (who later would serve as President of Arista Nashville) and Greg Jennings (who later became a member of the band Restless Heart). Hendricks moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1978, first working as an engineer in a studio owned by Tompall & the Glaser Brothers with legendary producer Jimmy Bowen. Hendricks would also assist producer Barry Beckett in his work with Hank Williams Jr., Alabama, Etta James, and many others.

His first work as a producer came in 1985 when he and DuBois co-produced Restless Heart's debut album. Over the next decade he produced several artists, such as Alan Jackson, Brooks and Dunn, Trace Adkins, Faith Hill, John Michael Montgomery, Steve Wariner, and Suzy Bogguss. In 1991 he founded the music publishing company Big Tractor, whose writers penned “I Saw God Today” for George Strait and “Amazed” for Lonestar.

In 1995, Hendricks was hired as President and CEO of Capitol Records Nashville. There, he oversaw the careers of Garth Brooks and Deana Carter as well as signing Keith Urban, and Trace Adkins.

Hendricks exited Capitol in 1997 and took over as President and CEO of Virgin Records' Nashville division; where he served from its establishment in 1998 until its dissolution in 2001. He then returned to his independent work as a producer. In 2007, Hendricks joined Warner Music Nashville as the Senior Vice President of A&R.

In addition to his A&R duties at Warner, Hendricks’ producing efforts have been instrumental in Blake Shelton's ascent from mid-level act to bona fide star with twenty-five No. 1 singles, including “Hillbilly Bone,” a duet with Trace Adkins which won an ACM Award for Best Collaboration in 2011.

To date, Hendricks has produced a staggering 116 Top 10 hits, with 75 of those hits going all the way to No. 1. In all, he's spent 114 weeks— over two years —at the top of the chart. The stat that he is most proud of is that he has taken 19 different artists to the Top 10, and 13 of which have reached No. 1.

Hendricks rarely contemplates those successes and prefers to credit the artists and songwriters. Nevertheless, Music Row insiders and avid readers of liner notes know him well from his participation in a long line of hits, from Restless Heart's wedding classic “I’ll Still Be Loving You” to the recent, 2 week Dan + Shay No. 1 hit “Tequila.”

In addition to all Hendricks' accolades, the artists he's produced have extended him many superlatives over the years. Michael Ray, a more recent collaborator, said in a 2018 interview, “I’m a better singer from working with Scott Hendricks,” he says. “He not only is a producer of mine, but he’s a great friend and a great guy, but for me where he shines as a producer is when it comes to vocals. I always joke with him. In the middle of cutting vocals, I go from loving him to hating him, loving him to hating him. He might say, ‘That was great, but I just didn’t believe it.’ When you leave, you really know that song.”

In April of 2014, Hendricks was promoted to Executive Vice President of A&R at Warner Music Nashville.