Billy Kirsch

Billy Kirsch attended Wesleyan University before leaving college to become a musician, focusing on a career as a jazz musician. After living in New York City, he moved to Nashville to enter the country music industry.^[1]

Kirsch then became a songwriter for country music artists, working for publishers including Kidbilly Music and Nocturnal Eclipse Music.^[2] The first major performer to record a song of his was Kenny Rogers,^[3] and he wrote the song “Is It Over Yet” performed by Wynonna Judd.^[1]

1998 Kirsch co-wrote the song “Holes in the Floor of Heaven” with Steve Wariner,^[4] which received the Song of the Year prize from the Academy of Country Music that year.^[5] It also received the Country Music Association Award Song of the Year prize^[6][7] and a Grammy nomination^[8] for Best Country Song.^[9] The story behind Kirsch's writing of the song was published in the book Chicken Soup for the Soul: Country Music: The Inspirational Stories behind 101 of Your Favorite Country Songs.^[10]

In 2002 Kirsch's song “I Believe In The Mystery” was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song.^[11] In 2003 Kirsch co-wrote the song "Stay Gone" with singer Jimmy Wayne, which was named one of BMI's 2003 songs of the year on American radio and television.^[12] Additionally he has written and published songs for artists including Rogers,^[13] Alabama,^[14] Engelbert Humperdinck, Tim McGraw, and Lee Greenwood.^[15]

In 2006 Kirsch created the “team building through song” concept and began a business consultancy. Clients that he has worked with through the company have included Walt Disney, Microsoft, L’Oréal, Harley-Davidson, and Pfizer.^[16] Kirsch is the president of the firm, Kidbilly Music Team Building.^[17]