The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., (NYSE: MHP) is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, and business services. It publishes numerous textbooks and magazines, including Architectural Record and Aviation Week, and is the parent company of Standard & Poor's, Platts, and J.D. Power and Associates. It is the majority owner of the Canadian publisher McGraw-Hill Ryerson (TSX). The company has its corporate headquarters in 1221 Avenue of the Americas, Midtown Manhattan, New York City.

The McGraw-Hill Companies traces its history back to 1888 when James H. McGraw, co-founder of the company, purchased the American Journal of Railway Appliances. He continued to add further publications, eventually establishing The McGraw Publishing Company in 1899. His co-founder, John A. Hill, had also produced several technical and trade publications and in 1902 formed his own business, The Hill Publishing Company.

Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the Soundscan era. He is married to country singer Faith Hill and is the son of former baseball player Tug McGraw.

McGraw had 11 consecutive albums debut at Number One on the Billboard albums charts. Twenty-one singles hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. He has won 3 Grammys, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) awards, 10 American Music Awards, and 3 People's Choice Awards. His Soul2Soul II Tour with Faith Hill is the highest grossing tour in country music history, and one of the top five among all genres of music.

McGraw has ventured into acting, with supporting roles in The Blind Side (with Sandra Bullock), Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, and Four Christmases (with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon), and lead roles in Flicka (2006) and Country Strong (2010). He was a minority owner of the Arena Football League's Nashville Kats. Taylor Swift's debut single, "Tim McGraw", refers to him and his song, "Can't Tell Me Nothin'".

Faith Hill (born Audrey Faith Perry; September 21, 1967) is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S. Country charts.

Hill has been honored by the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music, the Country Music Association, the American Music Awards and the People's Choice Awards. Her Soul2Soul II Tour 2006 with McGraw became the highest-grossing country tour of all time. In 2001, she was named one of the "30 Most Powerful Women in America" by Ladies Home Journal. In 2008, Hill released her first Christmas album, titled Joy to the World. In 2009 Billboard named her as the #1 Adult Contemporary artist of the decade 2000-2009. Hill was ranked the 39th best artist of the 2000-10 decade by Billboard.

Hill was born in Ridgeland, Mississippi, north of Jackson, Mississippi. She was adopted as an infant, and named Audrey Faith Perry. She was raised in the nearby town of Star, 25 miles outside of Jackson, Mississippi. Her adoptive parents raised their two biological sons along with Hill in a devout Christian environment.