Josh Turner Never Dreamed Chris Stapleton Would Be A Superstar
Chris Stapleton has done more than his fair share of writing country songs. Long before he was a country superstar himself, he co-wrote Josh Turner’s “Your Man,” which topped the charts in 2006.
In an interview with Josh last week to discuss his upcoming Greatest Hits album, he said he would never have thought Chris would be such a big star. Tuner told us, “Chris and I had crossed paths a lot back in those days. He was writing for the publishing company that was co-owned by my producer, Frank Rogers. So, Chris and I have done demos together, and I have cut songs of his. I guess ‘Your Man’ was the first song that I had cut. He was one of three writers on that song for us, but then he also sang background vocals for us on ‘Loretta Lynn’s Lincoln’ on the Your Man record.”
He added, “Chris and I had rubbed elbows a lot in those days, and I never… Back in those days, if you would have told me he was going to be the superstar he is today, I would have been like, ‘You’re crazy.'”
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He said, “I’m still a little bit shocked because even back then, I never saw the desire in him to be an artist. He was just content writing songs and doing demos and doing his thing. If he had that desire, I never saw it. He was just so quiet and so mild-mannered and so laid back that I just didn’t see it. But obviously, he’s capable of taking on that role, and he’s done that, and I’m very happy for him.”
Turner worked a lot with Chris, but he wasn’t sure the song he co-wrote would be such a hit. He told us, “I’ve cut several of Chris’ songs, and when I first heard ‘Your Man,’ it was just him singing it with a guitar, and of course, I had heard his voice before I was very familiar with it, but it was hard to hear what I would sound like singing it without actually doing that. And that’s what Frank (his producer) actually encouraged me to do when I heard it because I was kind of skeptical. Frank was like, ‘Just take it home, play around with it, see what you can do with it tomorrow.’ So, I went home, and did that and recorded it, and the rest is history.”
Stapleton recently announced his new album, Higher, will be out on November 10. He also released the first single, “White Horse,” co-written by Stapleton and Dan Wilson. Wilson and Stapleton previously co-wrote “When The Stars Come Out,” from Stapleton’s debut album, 2015’s Traveller.
10 Songs Chris Stapleton Wrote For Other Artists
"Love's Gonna Make It Alright" by George Strait (2011)
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This song was released in November 2011 as the second single from his album Here for a Good Time. Chris wrote the song with Al Anderson.
"Drink a Beer" by Luke Bryan (2013)
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Written by Stapleton and Jim Beavers, Luke has described “Drink a Beer” as “the coolest sad song ever” and notes he connects with the story after having lost both of his siblings. It was released in November 2013 as the third single from Bryan’s fourth studio album, Crash My Party, and became his seventh number-one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in February 2014.
"Crash and Burn" by Thomas Rhett (2015)
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This song, written by Chris and Jesse Frasure, was the lead single to Thomas’ second studio album, Tangled Up. The first song by Rhett about heartache, “Crash and Burn,” tells the story of the narrator whose relationship falls apart.
"Never Wanted Nothing More" by Kenny Chesney (2007)
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This song was released in June 2007 as the first single from Kenny’s 2007 album Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates. To date, it is his fastest-climbing number-one single, reaching the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in its eighth chart week. Stapleton wrote it with Ronnie Bowman.
"Whiskey and You" by Tim McGraw (2007)
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An album cut on Tim McGraw’s ninth studio album, Let It Go, released on March 27, 2007. Chris co-wrote the song with Lee Thomas Miller.
"Nobody's Fool" by Miranda Lambert (2011)
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An album cut from Miranda’s fourth studio album, Four the Record. The album became the highest-charting record of Lambert’s career at the time, reaching number three on the Billboard 200. It eventually sold over one million copies in the United States. Chris wrote this song solo.
"Your Man" by Josh Turner (2005)
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This song was released in July 2005 as the lead-off single and title track from Josh Turner’s album of the same name. The fourth chart single of his career, it became his first number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in early 2006. The song won ASCAP awards for Stapleton and co-writer Chris DuBois.
"Come Back Song" by Darius Rucker (2010)
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Darius co-wrote the song with Casey Beathard and Chris. It was released to country music radio in July 2010 as the lead single from Rucker’s second album of country music, Charleston, SC 1966.
"Homesick" by Sheryl Crow (2013)
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This is an album cut from Feels Like Home, Sheryl Crow’s ninth studio album and her debut country music record. The album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee. Chris co-wrote the song with Crow for the project.
"Ready to Roll" by Blake Shelton (2011)
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An album cut from Red River Blue, Blake Shelton’s sixth studio album and is his inaugural No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart. Stapleton co-wrote the song with Jim Beavers and Jonathan Singleton.
