User:Montewarden1967/sandbox

Monte Warden (born Montgomery Carson Warden on April 26, 1967) won his first of 7 Austin Music Awards (for Best New Band) when he was all of 15 years old. The band in question was the country trio Whoa Trigger!, which the young Warden rode all the way into his next project - the even more popular and highly influential, Wagoneers, which scored a major-label deal with A&M Records after performing at the 1st SXSW. The band's "Stout and High" debut was released to worldwide critical acclaim and is widely considered one of the best and most influential country albums of the 80s. Chet Flippo called The Wagoneers, "The Greatest Honk-Tonk Band that ever was". His self-titled solo debut was named one of the 100 best American albums of the 20th century by NME. Warden's biggest commercial success has been as a songwriter, selling millions of records, landing cuts in major film and television shows, as well as with artists like Kelly Willis, Patty Loveless, George Jones, Bruce Robison, Travis Tritt, and George Strait, to name a select few. Warden co-wrote Strait's smash-hit, "Desperately". In the fall of 2005, Warden was awarded his first BMI songwriting award for success in the country field. In March 2007, Warden was awarded the prestigious BMI 'Million-Air' Award, signifying over 1 million radio performances of his song, "Desperately". Warden is also recognized throughout the world as one of the preeminent experts on the life, career, and catalogue of Rock and Roll pioneer, Buddy Holly. Warden is a rare two-time member of The Texas Music Hall of Fame, both as a solo artist and as a member of The Wagoneers. The Wagoneers reunited in 2012 and recently completed their first album since 1989 with Grammy-winning and multi-platinum producer, Mark Bright, at the helm. Warden lives in his hometown of Austin, Texas with his wife, Brandi, and their three sons.