Phil Vassar

In a move that's more common in the American country music scene than just about anywhere else in mainstream music, Phil Vassar broke into the music scene as a songwriter, working behind the scenes until his skill proved to be so great that it had to be shared with the world. However, Vassar did originally move to Nashville, Tennessee in his early 20's to pursue a career as a solo artist, but although he was able to secure a publishing deal, no solo hits were forthcoming. However, many other artists were impressed with his songwriting, and by the late 90's, artists like Neal McCoy, Tim McGraw and Jo Dee Messina were covering songs of his to massive critical and commercial acclaim. As a result of this, Vassar signed a record deal with Arista Nashville in late 1999, and began work on his debut studio album.

Vassar's debut efforts as a solo artist did not disappoint, and while his first single, October 1999's “Carlene” was a top five hit on the Billboard country charts, its follow up “Just Another Day In Paradise”, released after the his self-titled debut album dropped, went five better and topped the same chart a year later in November 2000. Thanks to the success of its singles, his debut album was later certified Gold for shipping half a million copies, and in the space of a little under two years, Phil Vassar had gone from a respected behind the scenes guy, to one of the hottest acts in American country music. Ever since then, Vassar has remained one of the most popular country acts of the modern age, even breaking the top ten of the Billboard 200 with his 2008 fourth album “Prayer Of A Common Man”. He may be something of a late bloomer by today's standards, but Vassar still comes highly recommended.