MONTY CRISWELL

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Songwriter of “Tough,” "Like Jesus Does," "Just Fishin'," and "Five More Minutes".

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Monty Criswell grew up on the coast of Alabama and began his professional songwriting career in 1993, after graduating from the University of Alabama and passing on an acceptance to law school. Monty is a two-time Grammy nominee for Country Song of The Year (“I Saw God Today” and “Just Fishin’) and won the CMA Single of the Year award in 2008 (”I Saw God Today”). In 2021, his Eric Church song “Hell Of A View” won the Music Row Awards Song of the Year and received a CMA nomination for both song and single of the year.

 

He's had over 300 songs recorded over the span of his 29-year career as a full-time songwriter. His songs have been recorded by such artists as Jake Owen, Kenny Chesney, Justin Moore, Brantley Gilbert, Chris Young, Darius Rucker, Eric Church, George Strait, Michael Ray, Scotty McCreery, Frank Ray, Drake White and Trace Adkins among others. On the most recent Trace Adkins album, several of Monty’s songs include collaborations between Trace, Luke Bryan, Pit Bull, Keb Mo’, Stevie Wonder and Snoop Dogg. Hits include "Tough" (Craig Morgan), "Like Jesus Does" (Eric Church), "I Saw God Today" (George Strait), "Just Fishin" (Trace Adkins), "Five More Minutes" (Scotty McCreery) and most recently “Hell of a View” (Eric Church) among others.