"I am still shocked, honored and humbled by this award," said Craig Wiseman.  "The fact that it was other songwriters voting on my work over the years that has led to this makes it the most touching acknowledgment I have ever received.  I cannot help but think of and thank all of the dozens of my brilliant, talented co-writers who were there in every single song that played a part in this.  They are dear friends and the best of the best and it is an honor to work with each and every one of them...  well, except that one guy... kidding!" laughs Craig.

And Wiseman will be back on the charts soon, as he wrote the new Blake Shelton single "Hillbilly Bone" which will be hitting country radio this fall.

Founder of Big Loud Shirt Industries (a music publishing company), Wiseman is one of today's most celebrated songwriters and has played a significant role in shaping country music. To date, Wiseman has had well over 300 cuts, 100 singles, 17 #1's and has had songs on over 80 million records sold.  He has also won countless awards, including a Grammy for Tim McGraw's 10-week #1, "Live Like You Were Dying," ASCAP's Songwriter Of The Year three times and CMA & ACM Song Of The Year awards in consecutive years.  Craig has written songs for, among many others, Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Brooks & Dunn, Toby Keith & LeAnn Rimes.

NASHVILLE, TN / October 19, 2009 - Grammy Award winning songwriter Craig Wiseman was honored last night as the Nashville Songwriter Association's (NSAI) Songwriter of the Decade for 2000-2009 at this year's annual awards dinner held in Music City.  Wiseman is only the second songwriter to be given this esteemed honor and follows acclaimed songwriter Tom Shapiro who was awarded the nod for 1990-1999.  Over the past decade, Wiseman has penned 56 hit songs that rapidly climbed the country music charts with 11 of these records landing in the coveted No. 1 spot.  During this time frame, Wiseman has also had songs on over 45 million albums sold.

Nod Presented At Annual NSAI Awards Dinner Last Night