Mike Reid (singer)

Michael Barry Reid (born May 24, 1947 in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is a retired professional American football defensive lineman and Grammy Award winning songwriter.

Football Career

Reid was named All-America in 1969 while playing at Penn State under coach Joe Paterno. In 1969, he won the Outland Trophy for being the best interior lineman in college football and the Maxwell Award for being the top college football player. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in music from Penn State in 1969.

He was the first-round draft pick (#7 overall) of the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1970 NFL Draft. He made two trips to the Pro Bowl (1972 and 1973) before his retirement following the 1974 season due to knee injuries and his desire to focus on a music career. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

Music Career

Between football seasons, Reid would perform as a pianist for the Utah Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. During this time, he met Larry Gatlin, who helped Reid start his songwriting career. In 1984, he won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song with Stranger in My House, which was sung by Ronnie Milsap. Reid would also work with Mike Gray, Marie Osmond, Tanya Tucker, Collin Raye and Conway Twitty. In the 1980's, Reid wrote 11 number one hits. In 1990, Reid started his own singing career and had hits such as Walk on Faith and As Simple As That'. In 2005, Reid was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

External links

• Reid's stats
• Yahoo Music Bio on Reid