Deric Ruttan
Deric J. Ruttan, born January 27, 1972, is a Canadian country singer, songwriter and record producer from Bracebridge, Ontario. He moved to Nashville in 1994 to chase his music dream. His big break came in 1999 when producer Steve Bogard heard his work and signed him to a songwriting deal. After performing songs for Lyric Street Records, he got a record deal and released his self-titled debut album in 2003.
One of his early co-writes, What Was I Thinkin’ (with Dierks Bentley and Brett Beavers), reached No. 1 in the U.S., helping Bentley rise to fame. In Canada, his song My Way, performed by Aaron Pritchett, was the most-played country song of 2004. Ruttan has written songs for many artists, including Eric Church, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Aaron Pritchett and Maddie & Tae. He won the Canadian Country Music Award for Songwriter of the Year in 2007 for Hold My Beer and again in 2014 for Mine Would Be You. Since 2011 he has worked with THiS Music in Nashville, renewing his deal in 2016.
He released First Time in a Long Time in 2008, which produced several Canadian hits and a No. 1 video for Good Time with Dierks Bentley. In 2010 he started his own label, Black T Records, releasing Sunshine that year, followed by a live album in 2011 and Take the Week Off in 2013. Today he continues to tour in Canada and write in Nashville, balancing his life between the two places.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:22 (CET).