Phil Vassar

Phil Vassar is a country artist who cut his teeth writing for Alan Jackson and Tim McGraw before striking out as an artist in his own right. Born in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1964, it wasn't until his time at university in Harrisburng that he really began to devote himself to music. While there he learned to play the piano and began working as a singer in clubs, opting to move to Nashville to pursue a career in music when he left. Things took off when Vassar was singing in a club there and a customer took his demo tape to his father, Engelbert Humperdinck. The crooner was impressed and recorded 'Once in a While', a song Vassar had penned with a friend.

From there, Vassar's career as a songwriter bloomed. He was picked up by EMI and went on to write songs for Collin Raye ('Little Red Rodeo'), Alan Jackson ('Right On the Money'), Tim McGraw ('For a Little While'), Jo Dee Messina ('Bye Bye' and 'I'm Alright'), and BlackHawk ('Postmarked Birmingham').

In 1998 Vassar became a performer in his own right, signing a record deal with Arista. His eponymous debut album was released in 2000 and he had a hit with its lead single, 'Carlene', when it hit the country top five. The follow-up, a version of 'Just Another Day in Paradise', fared even better and got to number one. Vassar continued to put out albums regularly through the 2000s, only slowing down a little in the next decade but still releasing 'American Soul' and 'Look Back Forward' in 2016 and 2018.