Pat Bunch
Birth namePatricia Karen Bunch[1]
Birth dateJune 22, 1939
Death dateJanuary 30, 2023 (aged 83)
Death placeCross Plains, Tennessee, U.S.
InstrumentGuitar, vocals
GenreCountry
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Years active1976–2023

Patricia Karen Bunch (June 22, 1939 – January 30, 2023) was an American country music songwriter. Born in Zanesville Ohio, Patricia Karen Hendershot. After moving to Phoenix Arizona in October of 1963, she met and married her second husband. She started her songwriting career under the name Pat Bunch in 1974 which was her last name from her second marriage. She decided to keep the last name, "Bunch" since that was how everyone one knew her professionally in Nashville even though she remarried to her third husband in 1975. After seeing Kris Kristofferson at a concert in Phoenix, she met him backstage and asked him if she could successfully be in the music business without relocating to Nashville. He told her no, so in the Fall of 1974 she made the move to Nashville. Much of her earlier chart hits resulted from collaborations with fellow songwriters Mary Ann Kennedy and Pam Rose. Bunch also had multiple chart successes co-writing with Doug Johnson. Bunch's co-writing credits include the Grammy Award-nominated song "I'll Still Be Loving You" by Restless Heart.[2] Other songs that she has written include "Wild One" by Faith Hill and "Living in a Moment" by Ty Herndon.

Bunch died at her home in Cross Plains, Tennessee, on January 30, 2023, at the age of 83.[3]

Chart singles

The following is a list of Pat Bunch compositions that were chart hits. [4]

YearSingle TitleRecording ArtistChart Positions
Billboard Hot 100Billboard ACBillboard Country
1979Ten Thousand and One
co-written with Dan Mitchell
Connie Smith88
1984Me Against the Night
co-written with Mary Ann Kennedy & Pam Rose
Crystal Gayle4
1985The First Word in Memory Is Me
co-written with Mary Ann Kennedy & Pam Rose
Janie Fricke7
1985Somebody Else's Fire
co-written with Mary Ann Kennedy & Pam Rose
Janie Fricke4
1987I'll Still Be Loving You
co-written with Mary Ann Kennedy, Todd Cerney & Pam Rose
Restless Heart3331
1987He's Letting Go
co-written with Mary Ann Kennedy & Pam Rose
Baillie & the Boys18
1993Wild One
co-written with Jaime Kyle & Will Rambeaux
Faith Hill1
1994You Wouldn't Say That to a Stranger
co-written with Doug Crider
Suzy Bogguss43
1995I Want My Goodbye Back
co-written with Dave Berg & Doug Johnson
Ty Herndon7
1995Love Like This
co-written with Mary Ann Kennedy & Pam Rose
Carlene Carter70
1995Safe in the Arms of Love
co-written with Mary Ann Kennedy & Pam Rose
Martina McBride4
1995What If Jesus Comes Back Like That
co-written with Doug Johnson
Collin Raye21
1996Living in a Moment
co-written with Doug Johnson
Ty Herndon1
1997I Have to Surrender
co-written with Doug Johnson
Ty Herndon17
1999Slow Dance More
co-written with Doug Johnson
Kenny Rogers67
2000Santa's Got a Semi
co-written with Doug Johnson
Keith Harling60
2000I Need You All the Time
co-written with Jimmy Price & Shane Teeters
Blackhawk40
2001Even Then
co-written with Shane Teeters
John Michael Montgomery59
2005She Didn't Have Time
co-written with Nicole Witt
Terri Clark25
2006Come On Rain
co-written with Doug Johnson
Steve Holy35
2013Better I Don't
co-written with Chris Janson and Kelly Janson
Chris Janson40

References

  1. ^ "Patricia Karen Bunch Price Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information"
  2. ^ "Mary Ann Kennedy biography". Mary Ann Kennedy. Archived from the original on October 9, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2009.
  3. ^ Oermann, Robert K (February 8, 2023). "Hit Songwriter Pat Bunch Passes". MusicRow
  4. ^ "Pat Bunch Chart Listing". Pat Bunch. Retrieved February 27, 2012.