[1][3] McBride's songs have been recorded by more than eighty major artists, including Alabama, Trace Adkins, Johnny Cash, Tammy Cochran, Diamond Rio, Crystal Gayle, Vern Gosdin, Jack Greene, Wade Hayes, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Toby Keith, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Lee, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lonestar, Reba McEntire, Willie Nelson, The Oak Ridge Boys, Johnny Paycheck, Charley Pride, Pam Tillis, Randy Travis, Conway Twitty, and Keith Whitley.

[1][4][5][2] His most successful collaboration was with Alan Jackson, resulting in the five Top 20 singles and the chart-topping songs "Chasing That Neon Rainbow", "(Who Says) You Can’t Have It All", and "Someday".

[9][1][10] In the 1970s, McBride brought his songs to Curly Putman, a fellow songwriter from Alabama who had started Tree Publishing in Nashville, Tennessee.

[10] In 1980, McBride told co-writer Roger Murrah that he would quit his job and move to Nashville if their song "A Bridge That Just Won’t Burn" was recorded as a single.

[9] McBride says, "Roger called me one night and said ‘I guess you need to pack your bags, we’ve got Conway’s next single.’ I quit the post office the day after Christmas, 1980..."[9] Conway Twitty released McBride's song, "A Bridge That Just Won’t Burn", in October 1980.

[9] In January 1981, McBride started working as a songwriter for Bill Rice and Jerry Foster, along with Roger Murrah.

In 1987, Waylon Jennings released "Rose in Paradise", a song McBride co-wrote with Stewart Harris.

[4] "Rose in Paradise" would rise to number one on Billboard's Hot Country Songs Chart in April 1987.

[14] This success led publisher Charlie Monk and CBS Songs to buy McBride's contract from Jerry Foster.

[9] Also in 1987, George Jones recorded "I'm a Survivor", a song McBride co-wrote with Keith Stegall, for the album titled Too Wild Too Long.

"Chasin' That Neon Rainbow" peaked number two on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in December 1990.

[20] "Tropical Depression" peaked at number 75 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart in August 1993.

[1]Tammy Cochran recorded "Angels In Waiting" in 2001, a song she co-wrote with McBride and Stewart Harris.

[10] The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awards certification based on the number of singles and albums sold.