Mark McGuinn, "Mrs. Steven Rudy" Songwriter, Dies at 58

Mark McGuinn, the jazz-trained North Carolina singer-songwriter whose sly storytelling carried "Mrs. Steven Rudy" to No. 6 on Billboard's country chart, died October 26. He was 58.

McGuinn arrived in Nashville in 1994 with a trumpet, a beatnik style and a head full of songs. He became one of country radio's most refreshing surprises of the early 2000s. Lonestar and George Jones later recorded his songs.

Who was Mark McGuinn?

Mark Albert McGuinn was born August 19, 1968, in Greensboro, North Carolina. He attended Grimsley High School. A gifted multi-instrumentalist, he played guitar, piano and trumpet, honing his chops in a jazz band.

He dreamed of playing professional soccer. An injury changed that path. He followed his heart to Nashville in 1994 to pursue songwriting.

How did "Mrs. Steven Rudy" become a hit?

In 2001 McGuinn signed with the brand-new independent label VFR Records. The label released his self-titled debut album that May and planned to lead with "That's a Plan." A disc jockey at KPLX in Dallas started spinning another track instead: "Mrs. Steven Rudy," a witty, sly tale McGuinn wrote with Shane Decker. Listeners loved it. Stations across the region followed. VFR made it his first single.

Considered a dark horse for his jazz roots and unconventional image, McGuinn took the song to No. 6 on Billboard's country chart and No. 44 on the Hot 100. It was the best-selling country single in the nation for five straight weeks.

The album entered the Top Country Albums chart at No. 18 — a record for the highest debut by a first release from an independent label. It topped Billboard's Heatseekers chart and reached No. 2 on the Independent Albums chart. Produced by McGuinn and Decker, it featured "Heaven Must Be Missin' You," "If the World Was Mine," "One of Their Own," "Silver Platter," "All About the Ride," "Love Don't Float" and "Busy Signal." AllMusic praised its blend of entertaining arrangements and solid songwriting. Follow-up singles charted too: "That's a Plan" reached No. 25 and "She Doesn't Dance" hit No. 29.

What did he write for other artists?

On September 11, 2001, deeply moved by the attacks, McGuinn wrote and recorded the tribute "More Beautiful Today." He asked that it not be promoted to radio, offering it as a free download on his website instead. So many listeners and stations embraced it that it still reached the country chart.

He also wrote "Unusually Unusual." Lonestar recorded it on their 2001 album "I'm Already There" and took it to No. 12 on the country chart as a single.

What came after VFR Records?

VFR Records closed in 2002. McGuinn stepped away from the spotlight to start a family. He returned in 2006 with "One Man's Crazy," released on Blue Flamingo Records, the independent label he founded with songwriting partner Jim Foster.

On that album he played nearly everything himself: guitars, Dobro, mandolin, Wurlitzer and trumpet. He shared the duet "Better a Painful Ending" with Georgette Jones. Highlights included the title track, "Bring 'Em Back" — written with Stacey McGuinn — plus "Deep," "Turtle," "Trampoline," "Everest," "Wide Open" and a new recording of "More Beautiful Today."

That same year he joined Wayne Warner and the Nashville All-Star Choir on "God Bless the Children." In 2008, George Jones released "You and Me and Time," a song McGuinn co-wrote. His final single, "Til U Got Home," arrived in 2011.

From a Greensboro kid playing trumpet in a jazz band to the songwriter heard on radios across America, McGuinn always followed his own unusual path — and country music was richer for it.