The Greatest Man I Never Knew - Wikipedia The Greatest Man I Never Knew `` The Greatest Man I Never Knew '' Single by Reba McEntire from the album For My Broken Heart B - side `` If I Had Only Known '' Released July 1992 Genre Country Length 3 : 14 Label MCA 54441 Songwriter ( s ) Richard Leigh Layng Martine, Jr. Producer ( s ) Tony Brown Reba McEntire Reba McEntire singles chronology `` The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia '' ( 1992 ) `` The Greatest Man I Never Knew '' ( 1992 ) `` Take It Back '' ( 1992 ) `` The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia '' ( 1992 ) `` The Greatest Man I Never Knew '' ( 1992 ) `` Take It Back '' ( 1992 ) `` The Greatest Man I Never Knew '' is a song written by Richard Leigh and Layng Martine, Jr., and recorded by American country music artist Reba McEntire. It released in July 1992 as the fourth and final single from her album For My Broken Heart. The song reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in October 1992. Richard Leigh has described the song as being about his own father and that several other of his hit songs were also from his own life ( `` I 'll Get Over You '' and `` Do n't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue '' ). The song debuted at No. 57 for the week of August 15, 1992. Chart performance Chart ( 1992 ) Peak position Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) Year - end charts Chart ( 1992 ) Position Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) 22 US Country Songs ( Billboard ) 70 Preceded by `` No One Else on Earth '' by Wynonna RPM Country Tracks number - one single November 21, 1992 Succeeded by `` Seminole Wind '' by John Anderson References Jump up ^ Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks Jump up ^ `` Top RPM Country Tracks : Issue 1856. '' RPM. Library and Archives Canada. November 21, 1992. Retrieved August 15, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Reba McEntire Chart History ( Hot Country Songs ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1992 ''. RPM. December 19, 1992. Retrieved August 15, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Best of 1992 : Country Songs ''. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1992. Retrieved August 15, 2013. Reba McEntire 1990s singles Sweet Sixteen `` Walk On '' Rumor Has It `` You Lie '' `` Rumor Has It '' `` Fancy '' `` Fallin ' Out of Love '' For My Broken Heart `` For My Broken Heart '' `` Is There Life Out There '' `` The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia '' `` The Greatest Man I Never Knew '' It 's Your Call `` Take It Back '' `` The Heart Wo n't Lie '' ( with Vince Gill ) `` It 's Your Call '' Greatest Hits Volume Two `` Does He Love You '' ( with Linda Davis ) `` They Asked About You '' Read My Mind `` Why Have n't I Heard from You '' `` She Thinks His Name Was John '' `` Till You Love Me '' `` The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter '' `` And Still '' Starting Over `` On My Own '' `` Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands '' `` Starting Over Again '' `` You Keep Me Hangin ' On '' What If It 's You `` The Fear of Being Alone '' `` How Was I to Know '' `` I 'd Rather Ride Around with You '' `` What If It 's You '' If You See Him `` If You See Him / If You See Her '' ( with Brooks & Dunn ) `` Forever Love '' `` Wrong Night '' `` One Honest Heart '' So Good Together `` What Do You Say '' Other songs `` What If '' Guest singles `` Oklahoma Swing '' ( with Vince Gill ) This 1990s country song - related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Greatest_Man_I_Never_Knew&oldid=842715528 '' Categories : 1992 singles Reba McEntire songs RPM Country Tracks number - one singles Songs written by Richard Leigh ( songwriter ) Songs written by Layng Martine Jr. Song recordings produced by Tony Brown ( record producer ) MCA Records singles 1991 songs 1990s country song stubs Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2011 Singlechart usages for Canadacountry Singlechart called without artist Singlechart called without song Singlechart usages for Billboardcountrysongs All stub articles Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 24 May 2018, at 06 : 02. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who wrote the song the greatest man i never knew
Answer: Richard Leigh