Billy Sherrill, widely regarded as one of the chief architects of the Nashville Sound, died on 4 August 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee, following a short illness, at the age of 78. As a songwriter and producer working largely behind the scenes, he shaped the pop-inflected country style that dominated the charts from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, and his work with artists such as George Jones, Tammy Wynette and Charlie Rich left a lasting mark on the genre.

Sherrill began as a pianist performing alongside his evangelist father before moving into jazz, R&B and rock, then working as a producer at Sam Phillips' Nashville studio from 1960 and joining Epic Records as a staff producer in 1963. His 1966 co-written hit "Almost Persuaded" spent nine weeks at No. 1, launching a career in which he drew on influences including Phil Spector's "wall of sound" to craft lush arrangements. He guided Tammy Wynette to stardom, writing and producing hits including "Stand by Your Man", and later revived George Jones's flagging career by persuading him, after more than a year of urging, to record "He Stopped Loving Her Today", which became a landmark hit.