Chris Stapleton is new but old and he’s the real deal. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1978 making him 38 years old. He moved to Nashville in 2001 to begin his music career but settled as merely a songwriter for 15 whole years. That’s a lot of time to put in to make hundreds of songs that ultimately became someone else’s. Six of those songs became number ones including, “Never wanted Nothing More,” by Kenny Chesney, “Love’s Gonna Make it Alright,” by George Strait, and “Come Back Song,” by Darius Rucker. The problem is, everyone knows these songs but there’s not a chance anyone knows Chris Stapleton wrote them. It’s about time he gets a little credit around here. He finally got behind the mic in 2015 and started making a bigger name for himself. His debut album, Traveler, did really well and won this small town country and bluegrass artist tons of awards. It reached number one on the Billboard 200. He also won awards for Best Male Vocalist, New Artist of the Year, and Album of the Year.
The best thing about Chris Stapleton is that he is a new artist but he has an older more authentic style of music than everything else on the radio right now. He’s not in it for the fame he just loves playing good music. Nashville Scene Magazine said, “While critics agree that Stapleton’s literally overnight success is changing the trajectory of modern country music, ushering in a new era of commercially viable substance, success isn’t changing the man himself.” He seems just like a really talented normal guy who happens to be climbing up the fame ladder. Knowing that he is a humble guy makes me appreciate him and his music that much more. You get the sense that his music is organic, true to who he is, and just a form of self-expression. He clearly loves what he does and that kind of passion goes a long way. The humble artist told Nashville Scene magazine, “I think it would be radical to have this little, tiny stage that only fits the band(…)The audience can get as close to you as they want to get, on the floor, and not a lot of bells and whistles, and [we] just walk out there and play music. I think that would be a radical thing to do in an arena-type setting. I think if I went and saw that, it would blow my mind.” He wants to bring back the good ole country we once had and move past the modern day poppy crud. I’m all for Chris and I think he has the potential to really impact the world of country music. Keep doin your thing Chris Stapleton, we’re really picking up what your putting down.
Wow I did not know that about Chris Stapleton. Thank you for writing this post. Hopefully you are right in that he will bring back the country we grew up with and can end this new weird stuff people are putting out there. The fact that he seems down to earth and genuinely loves his job just makes me want to root for him even more. You are right in saying that he seems like a super talented guy who finally got what he deserves. At 38, he isn’t too old to have a long and successful career as a country star. Let’s hope he is the “right” kind of country star.
I had no idea Chris Stapleton used to be a ghost-writer! Your so right about how his style is a little bit older, and not as common for radio today. Knowing the information about him being in the country music game for so long definitely makes it easier to realize that. I absolutely love Traveller, and I think Tennessee Whiskey is a perfect example of bringing back the older sounds. I never knew how humble and down to earth he was, and I for sure like him more now because of it. I had not even heard of him before that album, and he really is going to change the scene. Thanks for sharing that! Pretty cool to learn more about new singers.
I. Love. Chris. Stapleton!!! He has the voice of an angel and I have a deep respect for his true talent. He is bringing the country back in todays country music and that makes me so excited. All of the songs on his Traveller album are amazing and I listen to it all the time so I was happy to see someone writing a post on him. He deserves to be successful after writing so many incredible songs for so long without receiving much credit at all. I really enjoyed your post and am a huge fan of Chris Stapleton!!
I really haven’t listened to much Chris Stapleton but I’ve had friends telling me for a while that I needed too. I checked out “Tennessee Whiskey” and it definitely has a vintage sound. To me it sounds all around Southern, like a mix of country, soul, blues, and rock. His story reminds me a lot of Sturgill Simpson who you should check out if you haven’t heard of him. He’s also from Kentucky and just started getting famous in his late 30’s with the album, Metamordern Sounds in Country Music in 2014. He’s got more of a Waylon Jennings sound to his music.