Elbert West

Elbert West was born on July 22, 1967.[4] During his childhood years, Elbert began writing songs for his church. Then after high school, West decided to move to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue his dream of hitting it big in the music industry. He co-wrote titles for Tracey Lawrence, John Michael Montgomery, and Tim McGraw. In 1992, West married Tammy Ash, musician in her own right. And in 1994, they had their first child. Followed by two more children in 1998 and 2001. By 2001, he had signed to Broken Bow Records, then a newly formed independent label, and his debut album, Livin' the Life, was released that year.[1] West co-wrote ten of the album's thirteen tracks,[3] while others — including "(This One's Gonna) Leave a Mark", previously recorded by John Michael Montgomery — were co-written by Randy Archer and Johnny Park, formerly of the duo Archer/Park. "Diddley", which peaked at No. 56 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts, was the album's lead single and West's only single to chart. "Diddley" was also made into a music video, which aired on CMT.[2] Erik Hage of AllMusic gave the album four stars out of five, saying, "West has a big, husky baritone, a keen songwriting ability, a defiant attitude, and is a major country talent."[5] After a falling out over a record, West left Broken Bow Records. He decided to start his own independent country music label in 2009. It started as Moo Town Records, and later changed to HonkyTone Records where he wrote songs and produced tracks for artists such as Tim Culpepper and Jordan Carter.

In 2013, West had started having seizures, and couldn’t continue on his musical journey. West died in Portland, Tennessee on May 18, 2015, aged 47 (his age was initially misreported as 46), from a stomach aneurism. Leaving his wife Tammy, and their three children surviving him.[6][7]