It’s insane to think that the booming and inimitable voice of Chris Stapleton resounded under the mainstream radar for as long as it did.
It’s hard to imagine what music would sound like today without his songs.
Before his multiple award wins and his major label debut Traveller made him a household name, Stapleton wore a myriad of hats on Music Row as a frontman for groups like Grammy-winning bluegrass outfit, The SteelDrivers, and rock band, The Jompson Brothers. He was also the writer behind some of country music’s biggest and most notable songs, having had more than seventy songs cut by other artists in a seven-year stretch of writing.
Let those numbers sink in for a second.
Let’s start with “Whiskey and You,” originally recorded by Tim McGraw back in 2007 for his album, Let It Go. You forgot about that version, didn’t you?
What about “Independent Trucker” cut by Brooks & Dunn? Or Darryl Worley’s “Nothin’ But A Love Thang” from his 2006 album, Here And Now?
But it was a little song called “Your Man” recorded by Josh Turner that became Stapleton’s first No. 1 as a songwriter in 2006.
“What’s really shocking is to see Josh sometime because if you don’t know what he looks like he sounds much older,” Stapleton said of Turner at the 2006 No. 1 party for the hit. “You’d expect him to look like Trace Adkins. And it’s really cool to see such a young guy have a powerful voice.”
Then came “Never Wanted Nothing More,” a happy little uptempo recorded by Kenny Chesney that went on to become yet another smash for Stapleton as a writer. The hits kept coming with even more No. 1s for Darius Rucker (“Come Back Song”), Thomas Rhett (“Crash and Burn”) and Luke Bryan (“Drink A Beer”).
And now, nearly 20 years into his Nashville life, he’s scored his first No. 1 as an artist with the Grammy-winning “Broken Halos,” a feat he never expected to happen when he first arrived in town.
We’re confident it’s the first of many more No. 1s to come. Happy Birthday, Chris.
Here are a few of our favorite Stapleton originals:
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“Your Man”
Album: Josh Turner’s Your Man
Songwriters: Stapleton, Chris Dubois, Christophe Dubois, and Jace Everett
It’s too bad this song isn’t more smoldering, you know?
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“Never Wanted Nothin’ More”
Album: Kenny Chesney’s Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates
Songwriters: Ronnie Bowman and Stapleton
We’ve never wanted anything more than a Stapleton version of this tune.
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“Love’s Gonna Make It Alright”
Album: George Strait’s Here For A Good Time
Songwriters: Al Anderson and Stapleton
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“Come Back Song”
Album: Darius Rucker’s Charleston, SC 1966
Songwriters: Casey Beathard, Darius Rucker and Stapleton
We didn’t know Rucker was in on this write!
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“Crash and Burn”
Album: Thomas Rhett’s Tangled Up
Songwriters: Jesse Frasure and Stapleton
Oh yeah, we caught that adorable “Say Anything” reference with the stereo, did you?
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“Drink A Beer”
Album: Luke Bryan’s Crash My Party
Songwriters: Jim Beavers and Stapleton
This incredibly moving performance from Bryan features Stapleton on backup vocals.
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“Don’t Start Lying to Me Now”
Album: Joss Stone’s LP1
Songwriters: Melissa Peirce, Stapleton and Joss Stone
Yes, you read it correctly. That’s the soul powerhouse Joss Stone you’re thinking of, and that write was a match made in R&B Heaven.
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“There’s More Where That Came From”
Album: Lee Ann Womack’s There’s More Where That Came From
Songwriters: Christophe Dubois and Stapleton
Now that’s a country music mic drop right there.
