Roger Sovine, who spent much of his four-decade career in country music as an executive at BMI Nashville and as a leader in Nashville’s country music community, has died. He was 82.
Sovine passed away peacefully on Dec. 23, surrounded by family at Alive Hospice in Nashville, Tenn.
Born Feb. 17, 1943, Sovine was immersed in music from a young age as the son of “Giddyup Go” hitmaker Woodrow Wilson “Red” Sovine, most widely known for his country truck-driving songs, and Norma Searls Sovine. The Sovine family relocated from Eleanor, W. Va., to Nashville when Roger was 12. After graduating from high school and serving in the United States Marine Corps, he embarked on a career in country music.
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Sovine got his career start at Nashville’s Cedarwood Publishing Company in 1965. In 1972, he moved over to BMI, where he was assistant vp of writer/publisher relations. Positions at Welk Music Group and Tree International followed, but by 1985 Sovine was back with BMI for the long haul, now as vp of writer/publisher relations — an executive position he held through 2001 when he retired.
In Sovine’s years with BMI, he fostered outlaw country (backing the likes of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson) and nurtured artists who’d become mainstream country hitmakers (Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Brooks & Dunn, Keith Urban and more).
As an advocate for songwriters and a mentor to young professionals in the music industry, he served in various roles within Nashville’s community. He was a trustee of the Country Music Foundation and a trustee of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS), for which he was also a member of the board of governors and four-term president of its Nashville chapter.
Previously he’d also held positions as chairman of the Copyright Society of the South, executive vice president and board member of R.O.P.E., and president and chairman of the board of the Country Music Association. He was a former commissioner of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment & Music Commission and a charter organizer and board member of Leadership Music. Additionally, he’d served as an executive committee member for the T.J. Martell Foundation for Cancer, Leukemia and AIDS Research, MusiCares and the United Way of Middle Tennessee.
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Sovine was the recipient of the Nashville Recording Academy’s Governors Award in 2000. He was honored for outstanding lifetime contributions to the music community and the Nashville chapter of the Recording Academy.
Sovine retired early to travel with his wife, Shirley, and to spend more time playing music with his grandchildren (he played guitar), fly fishing and golfing. He also dedicated time to advocating for children’s education and supporting Nashville Classical West Charter School.
A celebration of life for Sovine will be held Monday, Jan. 5, at 3 p.m. local time at BMI Headquarters (10 Music Square East, Nashville, Tenn.).
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Alive Hospice at 1718 Patterson Street in Nashville, where Sovine received care, and Nashville Classical West Charter School at 1015 Davidson Drive in Nashville, which established the Sovine Endowment in Roger’s honor; the arts endowment will “ensure that Nashville’s children have the foundation to discover their voices and hearts on stage and in life.”
Sovine is survived by his wife of 62 years, Shirley Sovine; his son, Jim Sovine (Belinda); his daughter, Amy Sovine; eight grandchildren, Roger Wayne Sovine III, Wesley Sovine, Hope Sovine, Haley Sovine, Nick Peterson, Hannah Meskimen (Bronson), Madison Peterson and Lily Elder, and two great-grandchildren, Jackson Sovine and Harvey Beau Meskimen.
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