Spirit Music CEO Frank Rogers Receives South Carolina’s Highest Honor
May 4, 2026
Order of the Palmetto Presented by Governor McMaster
Multi-platinum record producer, songwriter, musician, music publisher, label executive, and South Carolina native, FRANK ROGERS, received his home state’s highest honor on April 30 as the Honorable Henry McMaster, Governor of South Carolina presented him with the Order of the Palmetto.
Established by Governor John C. West in 1971, the Order of the Palmetto is presented in recognition of a lifetime of extraordinary achievement, service, and contributions on a national or statewide scale. The Order of the Palmetto recognizes individuals who have selflessly given of their time, resources and goodwill through a variety of different causes and pursuits to the benefit of their neighbors, fellow citizens and the fabric and prosperity of South Carolina.
Frank was born in Florence, S.C. and grew up in Sumter, S.C.,and is CEO of Spirit Music and President of Fluid Music Revolution. As a record producer, Frank has worked with artists such as Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Josh Turner, Trace Adkins, Scotty McCreery, Chris Stapleton, Hootie & The Blowfish, Phil Vassar, Granger Smith, Darryl Worley and The Jompson Brothers to name a few. His work has resulted in 46 Number One singles and over 80 Top Twenty singles, with more than 40 singles and 20 albums being certified by the RIAA as diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold. Frank has received 18 Country Music Association award nominations (with one win) and 27 Academy of Country Music award nominations (with five wins). He has been awarded Billboard Magazine’s No. 1 Hot Country Producer honor five times (2006–2010) and MusicRow Magazine Producer of the Year four times (2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009). He has produced 17 Grammy nominated songs or albums including 4 Grammy winners. Other artists Frank has recorded include Allison Krauss, Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, BB King, Vince Gill, Lady Antebellum, Don Henley (The Eagles), Dolly Parton, Trisha Yearwood, Snoop Dogg, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), George Jones, Buck Owens, Colbie Caillat, Clint Black, Kidd Rock, Lee Brice, Michael Ray and Charlie Wilson. Rogers was named Billboard Magazine’s #2 Hot Country Producer of the 21st Century.
As a songwriter, Frank has had songs recorded by artists such as Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Josh Turner, Trace Adkins, Granger Smith, Kenny Rogers, Chris Stapleton, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Hootie and The Blowfish, Cody Johnson, Matthew West, Clint Black, Charlie Wilson, Thompson Square, Scotty McCreery, Maddie and Tae, Julie Roberts, Montgomery Gentry, Steve Holy, Michael Ray, Lee Brice, Kidd Rock, Billy Gibbons, Tim Montana, The Cadillac Three and Frank Ray among others. Frank’s songwriting credits include ten Number One songs: “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song)” by Brad Paisley, “Alright” and “This” by Darius Rucker, “Backroad Song” by Granger Smith and “Five More Minutes,” “This Is It,” “In Between,” “You Time,” and “Cab In A Solo” by Scotty McCreery as well as “Bottle Rockets” by McCreery and Hootie & The Blowfish. He has received 16 ASCAP Songwriter Awards to date.
Frank has written and recorded many songs for movies and TV including songs for Disney Pixar’s Cars, Cars 2, Monte Carlo, Kit Kittredge An American Girl and the theme song for the TruTV series “Black Gold.
As an executive, Frank is the former VP of EMI Nashville Productions where he signed artists including Brad Paisley and Darryl Worley. In 1999, Rogers opened up Sea Gayle Music with Paisley and Chris DuBois where he signed artists including Chris Stapleton and Ingrid Andress. The successful publishing company has had over 45 Billboard Number One songs, including the 2003 Grammy Best Country Song, “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” and 2009 CMA Song Of The Year, “In Color.” In 2010 and 2011, Sea Gayle Music was named ASCAP Country Publisher of the Year. In 2009, the three partners formed Sea Gayle Records, whose roster has included the likes of Sheryl Crow and Jerrod Niemann.
In 2016, Frank opened Fluid Music Revolution and in 2019 he was named the CEO of Spirit Music Nashville. In 2022 Frank was also named Chief Creative Officer for Spirit Music and in 2025 rose to CEO of Spirit Music. Spirit and Fluid have combined for over 40 Billboard Number One singles under Rogers’ leadership. Rogers was named one of Billboard’s Country Power Players in 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Frank and his wife Jessica endowed a scholarship at Belmont University’s Mike Curb Collage of Entertainment and Business and they also co-founded Notes For Education which supports arts education in Nashville, TN and Napa, CA.
About Spirit Music:
A boutique music publisher with global reach, Spirit Music wants to bring music publishing back to its hard driving, entrepreneurial, service-and-results oriented roots. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Nashville with offices in Los Angeles and the UK, Spirit has become a haven for veteran songwriters, buzzing newcomers, and iconic music catalogs from all genres and parts of the world. As one of the world’s leading independent music publishers, owning and/or managing more than 100,000 songs spanning nine decades and every musical genre, Spirit’s portfolio consists of over 800+ charted hits and 200+ number one songs. The company’s repertoire includes hits recorded by such iconic artists as HARDY, Ed Sheeran, Chris Stapleton, Camilla Cabello, The Who, John Legend, Chicago, The Go-Go’s, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Jay-Z, Billy Gibbons, Ricky Martin, Brad Paisley, Toto, Madonna, Jason Aldean, Five Finger Death Punch, The Black Crowes, T.Rex, Charles Mingus, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Billy Squier, Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston, Eminem, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Salt-N-Pepa, Tom Petty, and more.
