bio

Born and raised in picturesque Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Gordie Sampson grew up thoroughly immersed in music, first playing the family piano at age four before picking up the guitar as a teenager. He drew on a wide range of influences—Celtic, pop, R&B, and rock—absorbing everything from Stevie Ray Vaughan and Black Sabbath to Stan Rogers and Neil Young, all filtered through the Gaelic and French traditions that shaped his community.

After a stint cutting his teeth in bar bands, Sampson began working with Ashley MacIsaac, Natalie MacMaster, The Rankin Family, and The Chieftains, blending pop sensibilities with Celtic roots in ways that pushed his songwriting and production forward. He released his debut Stones in 1998, but it was his sophomore album, 2004’s Sunburn, that connected deeply in Nashville, leading country stars like Keith Urban and Faith Hill to reimagine his songs. The following year, his ballad “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” made famous by Carrie Underwood, earned him a Grammy Award for Best Country Song and solidified his reputation as one of Nashville’s most sought-after writers.

Since then, Sampson has been nominated for two additional Grammys (including one as an engineer) and has amassed more than 400 artist cuts, with dozens climbing the radio charts. His songs have been recorded or performed by Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Guy Clark, Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson, Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, Dan + Shay, and Florida Georgia Line, among many others. Over the years he has also collected multiple major awards, including a CMA Song of the Year, an Academy of Country Music Award, Juno and SOCAN Awards, more than a dozen East Coast Music Awards, several Canadian Country Music Awards, and international honors from the ASCAP Awards, Nashville Songwriters Association, and International Songwriting Competition. Today, Sampson remains an in-demand writer, producer, performer and session guitarist, shaping the sound of contemporary country and pop from his base in Nashville.

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