Bill Owens

William Earl "Bill" Owens (September 28, 1935 – April 7, 2021) was an American country music songwriter. He was the uncle of Dolly Parton. Over the course of his career, he wrote or co-wrote more than 800 songs, including “Put It Off Until Tomorrow," which he co-wrote with Parton. The song won the 1966 BMI Song of the Year award. Early life Bill Owens was born on September 28, 1935, in Sevier County, Tennessee, the seventh of eight children of Rev. Jacob “Jake” Robert Owens and Rena Kansas Valentine Owens. His sisters included Avie Lee (mother of Dolly Parton) and Dorothy Jo Owens Hope, who also collaborated musically with Parton. His father, Jake Owens, was the subject of the song “Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man,” written by Parton and her aunt Dorothy Jo Hope. The song was a top ten hit for Parton and Porter Wagoner on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1970. Early career Owens began performing in the 1950s under the name “Little Billy Earl with the Spit Curl.” He began teaching his niece Dolly to play the guitar at age 8, and by age 10 he arranged for her to appear on a Knoxville, Tennessee, radio show, the Cas Walker Farm and Home Hour. The show later became a television program, further increasing Parton’s exposure. He also got her a spot performing on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, while she was just 13. Parton was introduced by Johnny Cash and received 3 encores. While Parton was still in high school, they began writing songs together and landed a songwriting contract while also performing together at clubs in East Tennessee. Parton said, "He saw early on that that I was serious about my singing". Songwriting success When Parton finished high school, Owens moved to Nashville and began performing as a guitarist with country music stars Carl and Pearl Butler, among others. Owens and Parton signed songwriting contracts with Combine Music, and while there wrote “Put It Off Until Tomorrow” which became a number 6 hit on the Billboard Country Chart for Bill Phillips in April 1966. While still signed with Combine, Owens and Parton wrote a second hit for Phillips, “The Company You Keep,” which peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Country chart later that year.