Name	Mel Tillis
Height
Naionality	American
Date of Birth	8 August 1932
Place of Birth	Tampa, Florida, USA
Famous for

Mel Tillis was born in Tampa, Florida in 1932. His stutter developed during his childhood, a result of a bout of malaria. As a child, Tillis learned the drums, as well as guitar. At age 16, he won a local talent show, and soon joined the United States Air Force, and worked for the railroad. When young Tillis was stationed in Okinawa, he formed a band called The Westerners, which played at local nightclubs. Tillis attended the University of Florida.

After leaving the military in 1955, Tillis worked a number of odd jobs and moved to Nashville, Tennessee the following year. Tillis wrote "I'm Tired", a #3 country hit for Webb Pierce in 1957. Other Tillis hits include "Honky Tonk Song" and "Tupelo County Jail". Ray Price and Brenda Lee also charted hits with Tillis' material around this time. In the late-50s, after becoming a hit-making songwriter, he signed his own contract with Columbia Records in the late-50s. In 1958, he had his first Top 40 hit, "The Violet and a Rose", followed by the Top 25 hit, "Sawmill".