Sawyer Brown

Sawyer Brown
Sawyer Brown in concert, 1987
Background information
Origin	Apopka, Florida, United States
Genres	Country
Years active	1981–present
Labels	Capitol/Curb, Lyric Street, Beach Street
Associated acts	Don King, Robert Randolph, Mac McAnally
Website	http://www.sawyerbrown.com/
Members	Mark Miller Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard Shayne Hill Jim Scholten Joe Smyth
Past members	Duncan Cameron Bobby Randall

Sawyer Brown is an American country music band founded in 1981 in Apopka, Florida, by five members of country pop singer Don King's road band: Bobby Randall (guitar) and Jim Scholten (bass guitar), both from Midland, Michigan; Joe Smyth (drums), Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard (keyboards), and Mark Miller (lead vocals). After King retired in 1981, the five members decided to form a band, first choosing the name Savanna before switching to Sawyer Brown, also the name of a road near where they practiced.

Originally, Sawyer Brown was known for a primarily country pop sound dominated largely by novelty tunes; by 1991, however, the band began to express a more serious side to its music by adding ballads to its repertoire. That year, the band also dropped its affiliation with Capitol, and Curb Records assumed promotion and distribution of all subsequent albums and singles (except for 2003, when Sawyer Brown temporarily switched to Lyric Street Records). Bobby Randall also left the band in 1991, and was replaced by Duncan Cameron. Cameron subsequently departed in 2004, with Shayne Hill assuming the role of lead guitarist.

To date, Sawyer Brown has released twenty studio albums, of which three have been certified gold in the United States for sales of 500,000 copies. More than fifty of their singles have entered the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including three Number One singles. Sawyer Brown also received a Horizon Award from the Country Music Association in 1985, as well as a Vocal Group of the Year award in 1997 from the Academy of Country Music and 5 Vocal Band Of The Year Awards from the TNN Music City News Country Awards.

The group's members were originally part of country pop singer Don King's road band. When King stopped touring in 1981, the group decided to stay together, taking the name "Sawyer Brown" after Sawyer Brown Road, the street where they rehearsed. The band played up to five sets a night, six days a week, until they auditioned for the TV show Star Search in 1983. They auditioned just to get the videotape to promote the band, yet ended up winning the $100,000 grand prize and record contract.