Jimmy Ritchey is an American country music songwriter and record producer from Centralia, Washington. The variety of Jimmy Ritchey's music-industry contributions is as impressive as the speed with which he has accomplished them. In the span of just over a decade, he has co-written four top-10 hits, produced albums for more than 10 artists, played on dozens of recording sessions and created his own song-publishing company. He has also toured coast-to-coast as a road musician.
Early Life
Ritchey grew up in a musical family in Lewis County in Washington state. His great-great grandparents had a band and both grandmothers were musicians along with several of his uncles. He began playing in childhood and went on to master the mandolin, acoustic guitar, banjo, bass, fiddle and electric guitar. In his late teens, he started commuting to Seattle where he was hired as an accompanist by various country stars such as Bobby Bare, Ferlin Husky and Del Reeves, when they were touring in the Pacific Northwest. In between these gigs, Ritchey played in local grunge-rock bands.
Career
Ritchey's career took hold shortly after his move to Nashville in 1995 with the goal of using his talent to take him on the road in tour buses and into recording studios. Within months of arriving, he was hired to go on the road with followed by a stint with Kid Lonesome. This led to an introduction to singer Tommy Shane Steiner and eventually the opportunity to produce Steiner's album with RCA. The record label initially wanted producers Paul Worley and Frank Liddell to produce the album, but after encouragement from both, agreed to allow Ritchey to produce it. In 2010, Ritchey opened , a collaborative venture with the late publishing veteran and several talented songwriters, including country stars Sam Hunt and Pam Tillis. Ritchey co-wrote several songs that have charted on Hot Country Songs:
He signed an exclusive agreement with BMG Chrysalis on December 3, 2012. Ritchey has had over 40 songs recorded by major-label artists. As a record producer, he has worked with Owen, Chesnutt, Greg Bates, and Clay Walker. Ritchey is currently managing emerging Sony country artist and recently returned from a tour in Germany. He also performed with in the 2019 "An American Christmas" held in Umea, Sweden. He was recently honored to be named 2020 Distinguished Alumnus by the Centralia College Foundation.
Community Involvement
Ritchey spends a significant amount of time in the community, volunteering at local schools to mentor and instruct students. His success has allowed him to give back to organizations by donating his time and talents, performing at events to raise funds, most recently for Leukemia/Lymphoma, , and the March of Dimes.
