Over the past 15 years, Chris Stapleton has ascended from his days as the mighty-voiced frontman and guitarist-writer for groups including the bluesy-bluegrass outfit The SteelDrivers and hard-charging rock group The Jompson Brothers to one of country music’s most formidable solo artists, having been nominated for the Country Music Association’s entertainer of the year trophy six times.
He’s also become an in-demand collaborator, for artists including Adele, Pink, Carly Pearce and Taylor Swift, known as a vocalist capable of extracting every ounce of emotion from a song.
2015 marked a breakthrough moment for Chris Stapleton’s solo career, when he teamed with Justin Timberlake for a collaborative performance at that year’s CMA Awards — performing a mashup of Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” with Timberlake’s “Drink You Away.” “Tennessee Whiskey,” a song previously recorded by both David Allan Coe and George Jones, would become a modern-day classic, thanks to Stapleton’s ruggedly soulful rendering.
“Tennessee Whiskey” helped propel Stapleton’s debut solo album Traveller to the peak of the Billboard 200 albums chart for two weeks, as well as a staggering 29 weeks at the pinnacle of Billboard‘s Top Country Albums. His followup albums From A Room, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, each also lifted to No. 1 on Top Country Albums, as did his 2020 album Starting Over. He’s earned two more No. 1 hits on Hot Country Songs, with “Starting Over” and “You Should Probably Leave.”
He’s taken home eight Grammy wins, as well as winning the CMA’s male vocalist of the year six times and the album of the year honor three times. He’s gearing up to release his latest album, Higher, on Nov. 10 and just issued his latest single, “White Horse.”
But before the sold-out tours, accolades and chart-topping solo hits, Stapleton had long been gaining traction in Nashville’s music industry circles as not only a peerless vocalist, but a top-shelf songwriter, writing hits for Kenny Chesney, Josh Turner, Sheryl Crow, Joss Stone, Alison Krauss & Union Station and many others.
Here, we look at some of the top songs Stapleton has written for other artists.
Stapleton wrote this song with Jim Beavers and Lee Thomas Miller, and Bentley recorded it as part of his 2012 album Home. Joe Nichols later recorded the song for his 2017 album Never Gets Old.
“All my friends are songwriters and musicians,” Bentley said of the song. “It’s fun to have them included in this record, have them be part of the story and to find songs that made the album feel like it had a unique center to it.”
Included on McGraw’s 2007 album Let It Go, “Whiskey and You” was written by Stapleton and Lee Thomas Miller. Nearly a decade later, Stapleton would offer his own rendition of the song, including it on his 2015 album Traveller.
Country Music Hall of Fame member Alan Jackson is known for writing many of his hit songs solo, making the notion of a songwriter earning a cut on one of his albums even more of a coveted prospect.
Stapleton earned two cuts on Jackson’s 2012 album, Thirty Miles West. He wrote the album opener “Come Back as a Country Song” with Terry McBride, and also contributed the song “Talk is Cheap” — which Stapleton wrote with his wife Morgane, as well as songwriting luminary Guy Clark.
Stapleton co-wrote this pop-country fusion with Jesse Frasure; the song also lifts Sam Cooke’s 1960 song “Chain Gang.” Thomas Rhett included the song on his 2015 album Tangled Up, and the song reached No. 2 on Hot Country Songs.
Stapleton and Chris DuBois co-wrote this song, which serves as the title track from Womack’s 2005 album. “The worst part of doing what I never should have done/ Is that I know there’s more where that came from,” she sings, on this cheatin’ song that centers on the emotional crossroads of passionate desire and guilty conscience. The album, which also contained Womack’s single “I May Hate Myself in the Morning,” would go on to win a CMA Award for album of the year.
In 2007, “Never Wanted Nothing More” became a five-week No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart. Stapleton wrote the song with Ronnie Bowman.
In 2010, this song served as the lead single from Rucker’s Charleston, SC 1966 album. Stapleton wrote the song with Rucker and Casey Beathard. “Come Back Song” enjoyed a two-week run at No. 1 on Country Airplay.
Stapleton wrote this track with Al Anderson, which was included on Strait’s 2011 album Here For a Good Time. The song also reached No. 3 on Hot Country Songs that year.
Stapleton has since come full-circle, now opening Strait’s current slate of stadium shows, alongside Little Big Town. During a recent performance at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, Strait and Stapleton collaborated on a performance of the song.
Stapleton again teamed with frequent collaborator Jim Beavers to write this ballad of mourning for a deceased loved one. Luke Bryan recorded the song and debuted it in 2013 during a performance on the CMA Awards, with Stapleton also contributing background vocals during the performance.
Bryan connected deeply with the song, dedicating that CMA Awards performance of “Drink a Beer” to his late siblings Chris and Kelly. “Beer” spent five weeks atop Hot Country chart in 2014.
Stapleton worked with co-writers Jace Everett and Chris DuBois to write this sultry, soulful song that became the title track for Josh Turner’s 2005 album. “Your Man” reached the pinnacle of Hot Country Songs in March 2006.