Craig Bickhardt

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Craig Bickhardt | image = | birth_name = Craig William Bickhardt | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1954|09|07}} | origin = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | instrument = Vocals, guitar | genre = Country | occupation = Singer-songwriter | years_active = 1984–present | label = MTM (in S-K-B), Stone Barn (solo) | past_member_of = S-K-B }}

'''Craig William Bickhardt''' (born September 7, 1954) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His musical career includes co-writing credits for the Judds, Steve Wariner, Kathy Mattea and others. He was also a member of S-K-B, formerly S-K-O, after Paul Overstreet exited the band. He has released six studio albums and one live album of his own.

==Early life== Bickhardt was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 7, 1954. His father Harry worked at WIP-FM radio in Philadelphia and moonlighted as a big band musician. Craig performed as a local musician during his teenage years, including in a local band called Wire and Wood Band, which opened for Bruce Springsteen and others.<ref name="about">{{cite web|title=Craig Bickhardt|url=http://www.itsaboutmusic.com/craigbickhardt.html|work=It's About Music|accessdate=July 13, 2009|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100904221615/http://www.itsaboutmusic.com/craigbickhardt.html|archivedate=September 4, 2010}}</ref>

==Career== In 1974, he moved to Los Angeles, where he and Michael Sembello began writing songs, some which were recorded by Art Garfunkel.<ref name="about"/> A re-established Wire and Wood Band later recorded for October Records, but never completed an album due to financial challenges.<ref name="about"/>

Bickhardt signed to a publishing contract with EMI in 1982. Among his first musical recordings were two songs for the soundtrack to the 1983 film ''Tender Mercies'', one of which ("You Are What Love Means to Me") charted at No. 86 on the ''Billboard'' country singles chart. He also sang background vocals on Reba McEntire's 1984 album, ''My Kind of Country''.<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|last=Ruhlmann|first=William|title=Craig Bickhardt biography|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p56576/biography|pure_url=yes}}|work=Allmusic|accessdate=July 13, 2009}}</ref> From there, he found work as a songwriter, with one of his first cuts being "That's How You Know When Love's Right", which became a Top Ten country hit when Nicolette Larson and Steve Wariner recorded it as a duet.<ref name="allmusic"/> He also co-wrote "You're the Power" along with F.C. Collins for Kathy Mattea, as well as the Judds' Number One hit "I Know Where I'm Going", the latter a collaboration with Don Schlitz and Brent Maher.<ref name="allmusic"/> Bickhardt eventually moved to Nashville, Tennessee.<ref name="about"/> Craig's song ''Never Been in Love'' appears on the 1982 Randy Meisner self-titled album.<ref>Album jacket notes.</ref>

After Paul Overstreet departed the country music trio S-K-O (formerly Schuyler, Knobloch and Overstreet), Bickhardt was recruited to take Overstreet's place in the trio. As a result, the group was renamed S-K-B (Schuyler, Knobloch and Bickhardt). Bickhardt made his debut on the group's second and final album, 1987's ''No Easy Horses'' on MTM Records. This album contained several songs that he co-wrote, including two of its singles: "This Old House" and "Givers and Takers".<ref name="allmusic"/> S-K-B disbanded in 1989 after MTM closed. He continued to write songs for other artists throughout the 1980s, including "Turn It Loose", another Number One hit for the Judds.<ref name="allmusic"/> Other hits he wrote in the 1980s included "If I Never See Midnight Again" by Sweethearts of the Rodeo and "I Can't Turn the Tide" by Baillie & the Boys, the latter of which he co-wrote with lead singer Kathie Baillie and her husband Michael Bonagura.<ref name="allmusic"/>

In 1993, Bickhardt and Thom Schuyler (also formerly of S-K-O) recorded the Christmas music album ''Precious Child''. He continued his songwriting, including hits for Stacy Dean Campbell, Martina McBride, Pam Tillis, and the Kinleys.<ref name="allmusic"/> He also co-wrote for Great Plains, a band which included former Poco member Jack Sundrud. Bickhardt and Sundrud co-wrote Ty Herndon's 1998 Number One hit "It Must Be Love" as well.<ref name="allmusic"/>

Bickhardt returned to recording in 2001 with his first solo album, ''Easy Fires'', released on his own label, Stone Barn Records. In 2006, he returned to his native Pennsylvania and continued to record. A duet album with Sundrud entitled ''Idlewheel'' was released that year, followed by a solo album ''Brother to the Wind'' in 2009.

He won First Prize in the prestigious 4th Annual IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards) in 2008 with his song "Sugarcane Street" in the Open category. He also hosted a songwriting workshop in association with the Nashville Songwriters Association International.<ref>{{cite web|title=Songwriting workshop with Craig Bickhardt|url=http://nsaicharlotte.com/2009/01/15/craig-bickardt-workshop|date=January 1, 2009|work=NSAI|accessdate=July 13, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714203633/http://nsaicharlotte.com/2009/01/15/craig-bickardt-workshop/|archive-date=July 14, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On March 12, 2011, Bickhardt appeared with J.D. Malone, Thom Schuyler, for a performance that included original music from all three artists. This tour was called "On the Road and in the Round."<ref>[http://www.chaplinsmusiccafe.com/apps/calendar/showEvent?calID=4811168&eventID=114265392&next=showMonth%3fcalID%3d4811168%26month%3d2%26year%3d2011 On The Road and In The Round]; retrieved October 22, 2011</ref>

==Personal life== Bickhardt lives in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania with his wife, Eileen, and twin children.<ref name="about"/>

==Discography==

===Albums=== *''Precious Child'' (with Thom Schuyler) (1993) *''Easy Fires'' (2001) *''Idlewheel'' (with Jack Sundrud) (2006) *''Brother to the Wind'' (2009) *''Live at Sellersville Theater'' (2011) *''The More I Wonder'' (2014) *''Idlewheel Roots & 3'' (with Jack Sundrud) (2015) (a reissue of the material from two EPs entitled "The Old Roots" and "Idlewheel 3" *''Idlewheel – Live at Morningstar'' (with Jack Sundrud) (2015) *''Carrying A Dream'' (2017) (specialty-merch live album, now out-of-print) *''Home for the Harvest'' (2018) *''Outpourings'' (2022) *''Man of Sorrow'' (with Thom Schuyler) (2025)

===Digital Singles=== *''In Between Dances'' (2010)

===Charting Singles=== {| class="wikitable" |- !rowspan="2"|Year !rowspan="2"|Single !colspan="1"|Chart Positions !rowspan="2"|Album |- !width="50"|<small>US Country</small> |- |1984 |"You Are What Love Means to Me" |align="center"|86 |''Tender Mercies'' soundtrack |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.craigbickhardt.com/ Craig Bickhardt] official website *[http://www.inacoustic.com/ IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards)]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bickhardt, Craig}} Category:1954 births Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American male singer-songwriters Category:Living people Category:Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:Country musicians from Pennsylvania Category:S-K-O members