Climbing Higher

Whether Performing His Own Songs Or Loaning Them Out, Country Artist Phil Vassar Has Been A Constant Chart Presence

originally published February 7, 2007

When country artist Phil Vassar looks back on his second release, 2002's American Girl, he doesn’t have many stories to tell about the album. “The second album… I don’t even remember recording that album,” Vassar said in a 2005 interview. “I really honestly don’t remember anything about it. I have no memory of it, really, because we were so busy on the road. We’d come home off the road, jump in the studio for 12 hours and jump back on the bus. That’s no way to cut a record.”

Vassar’s account of the second CD is not a sign of any lapse in memory. In fact, he's currently giving fans a trip back through his past - along with a taste of the present - on the newly released CD Greatest Hits Volume 1. The album, however, is not the typical best-of release. Yes, it does include seven of Vassar’s biggest hits as a solo act. But it’s supplemented by five songs that predate his 2000 self-titled debut album, as well as three brand-new tunes.

But these "new" songs, however, newly recorded by Vassar and his touring band, may well ring a bell with country music fans; they're songs Vassar wrote during his time as a full-time songwriter on Nashville’s Music Row that were recorded by other artists and became number one country singles. Those tracks include “My Next Thirty Years” and “For A Little While,” both chart-toppers for Tim McGraw; “Bye-Bye” and “I’m Alright,” both made famous by JoDee Messina; and “Little Red Rodeo,” a song that gave Collin Raye a taste of chart-topping success.

Vassar, in a recent phone interview, says he thinks the combination on Greatest Hits Volume 1 makes a lot of sense. “I think it was time to tidy up my career and say, 'Look, here are my songs as a writer and my songs as an artist, where I’ve been and where I’m going,' and kind of rock it into the next record,” he says. “I think it’s a really cool deal.”

Back when his early songs were being pitched to top country artists, it appeared that songwriting alone might be Vassar’s future in country music. A native of Lynchburg, VA, he moved to Nashville in the mid-1980s hoping his songwriting, vocal and instrumental skills would earn him a record deal. Instead, he turned to songwriting after he was turned down repeatedly.

It took Vassar plenty of time to establish himself as a songwriter. Crooner Englebert Humperdinck became the first artist to record a Vassar track when he cut “Once in a While” in 1996. But that taste of success started to get Vassar noticed. Alan Jackson tried “Right on the Money” on for size, and it became a number one song (though it's nowhere to be found on Greatest Hits Volume 1). Then came Messina recording “Bye Bye” and “I’m Alright” and McGraw raiding the Vassar songbook to record “For A Little While” and “My Next Thirty Years.”

With this track record of hits, record labels started getting very interested in Vassar, and in 2000, he signed with Arista Nashville. At first it looked like Vassar’s success as a songwriter might quickly carry over to his recording career. His first album spawned four top 10 singles, including the top hit “Just Another Day In Paradise.”

But then came the misstep with American Girl. Not wanting to miss that initial momentum, Vassar says he rushed into the project unprepared. The album produced two top 10 singles (“This Is God” and the title song), but it wasn’t anything close to a blockbuster hit. If anything, Vassar, who won the Academy of Country Music award for top new male vocalist following the release of his first CD, saw his career trajectory level off a bit.

So, for third album Shaken Not Stirred, Vassar was determined to make both the music and the recording a memorable experience, which meant giving himself the necessary time - six months - to make the CD he envisioned. The extra care paid off, as Shaken Not Stirred recaptured much of Vassar’s early career momentum. The CD produced a number one single, “In A Real Love,” as well as a top 20 hit in “I’ll Take That As A Yes (The Hot Tub Song).”

Now the Greatest Hits Volume 1 CD has only enhanced Vassar’s profile. One of the new songs on the CD, “Last Day Of My Life,” became Vassar’s fastest-charting single and reached number two on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

Vassar has already started writing for his next studio album and he thinks his most recent material (including the new numbers on Greatest Hits Volume 1) show he is continuing to grow as a songwriter. “I’m really just writing better than I’ve ever written,” he says. “I feel the challenge, and every day I wake up and I want to go out and do it better than I did the day before. You know what, I just feel like I’m on a roll.”

Alan Sculley

WHO: Phil Vassar, Matt Moore
WHERE: Georgia Theatre
WHEN: Thursday, February 8
HOW MUCH: $15