Chris Stapleton is by now a household name, at least in country music. But before Stapleton's reign as one of the genre's best vocalists began, he was a songwriter, trying to get other people to record his music. In 2015, Stapleton started winning awards, beginning with five that year, when he also had a hit with another relative newcomer: Thomas Rhett.
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Stapleton not only co-wrote "Crash and Burn" with Jesse Frasure for Rhett's sophomore Tangled Up record, but he also sang background vocals on it. The song became Rhett's fourth No. 1 hit.
"I would be lying if I told you I wasn't extremely nervous about what the feedback was going to be," Rhett admitted to Rolling Stone, when the song was released. "But it was the perfect decision for us, and I have been completely blown away with the way fans have been responding to it!"
It stands to reason that, since Stapleton helped write it, the song wouldn't be an easy one to sing.
"The first time I heard this song, I immediately loved the paradox of how happy it sounds, even though the lyrics are about a guy who loses out in love," Rhett remembers (via Songfacts). "It's also definitely one of the most vocally challenging songs I've ever recorded. But ... I really wanted to try new things, to stretch myself and explore that side of my sound."
Other Songs Chris Stapleton Wrote For Other People
Stapleton has written, either by himself or with co-writers, plenty of his own hits. Among his own songs that Stapleton wrote are "Traveller," "White Horse," "You Should Probably Leave," and more. But Stapleton has also written songs for other artists as well.
Stapleton is the writer behind some of country muisc's most notable songs, including Tim McGraw's "Whiskey and You," Lee Ann Womack's "There's More Where That Came From," George Strait's "Love's Gonna Make It Alright," Luke Bryan's "Drink A Beer," and many more.
"I like to hear other people do things that I wrote, because they're always gonna -- that's what artistry is," Stapleton says (via American Songwriter).
It was also songwriting that lured Stapleton into country music, more than being a singer.
"The instant I found out somebody would pay you to sit in a room and write songs and play guitar all day, I thought, 'Well, man, that's the job for me,'" Stapleton recounts. "'I'm gonna figure out how to do that.'"
