For the past five decades, Scott Hendricks has been a mainstay on the country charts. Since his first chart topper with Restless Heart’s “I’ll Still Be Loving You” in 1987, the revered country producer has amassed a total of 77 No. 1 songs and has produced 120 Top 10 singles, making him the country genre’s most successful producer of the last quarter century.

Long before the Oklahoma native was the man behind successful projects by Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Dan + Shay, and Blake Shelton, he was in the high school band and stage band. In between football practice and school, Hendricks would spend his weekends playing in a country band. While attending Oklahoma State University, he played lead guitar in a band called Marin. When his bandmate introduced the group to Greg Jennings, Hendricks immediately recognized the future Restless Heart member’s talent and offered to give up his guitar playing go out front and mix the band instead.