10 Great Songs You Didn't Know Chris Stapleton Wrote

× × Skip to main content

By Andrew Leahey

Andrew Leahey

• How Virtual Songwriting Sessions Became the Nashville Norm
• Flashback: See Patsy Cline Croon ‘I Fall to Pieces’ in Final TV Appearance
• I Was Prescribed Trump’s Steroid. It Made Me Feel Invincible

View all posts by Andrew Leahey April 15, 2020

After moving to Nashville in 2001, Chris Stapleton kicked off his career as a songwriter for other singers, spending his days whipping up hits for Kenny Chesney, Josh Turner, and Darius Rucker. His own bands came and went along the way, including a run with left-of-center bluegrass group the SteelDrivers and one album with half-serious Southern-rockers the Jompson Brothers. By the time his duet with Justin Timberlake at the 2015 CMA Awards catapulted his solo career to the top of the mainstream, Stapleton had become one of the industry’s best-kept secrets: a songwriter, guitarist, and knockout singer whose pen was just as mighty as his voice. Here, we take a look at some of the songs that helped get him there: 10 tracks that Stapleton wrote for others.

• Adele, “If It Hadn’t Been for Love” (2011)

  

  Two weeks before Adele launched her career with 2008's 19, the SteelDrivers released their own debut, filtering the texture and twang of bluegrass music through the roar of frontman Chris Stapleton's pipes. It was Adele's voice that brought the most attention to "If It Hadn't Been for Love," though, with the "Rolling in the Deep" singer releasing her own version of this murky murder ballad as a bonus track on 2011's 21.

• Kenny Chesney, “Never Wanted Nothing More” (2007)

  

  It took two months for "Never Wanted Nothing More" to scale the country charts, giving Kenny Chesney the quickest-climbing Number One hit of his career. The song's storyline moves at a speedy pace, too, with the narrator buying his first car, losing his virginity and getting married within the first two verses.

• Joss Stone, “Don’t Start Lying to Me Now” (2011)

  

  With its rapid-fire vocal delivery and Erykah Badu-worthy drum track, "Don't Start Lying to Me Now" is more influenced by R&B than country. Joss Stone's rasp helps seal the deal, pushing Stapleton's song far away from his rootsy comfort zone. Recorded in Nashville with producer Dave Stewart, the song is one of the darkest horses in Stapleton's catalog, proof that even country boys know their way around a big-city beat.

• Ashley Monroe, “Winning Streak” (2015)

  

  "Winning Streak" is a neo-traditional firecracker, driven forward at a breakneck pace by barroom piano, roadhouse guitar licks and saloon-worthy swing. Monroe, Stapleton and Jessi Alexander wrote the song together, adding pep and punch to an album that often reserves its most beautiful moments for the slower numbers.

• Thomas Rhett, “Crash and Burn” (2015)

  

  Stuck halfway between the worlds of Motown and modern-day pop, "Crash and Burn" could, at first listen, be mistaken for a Bruno Mars song. Once the track's brawny, big-hearted hook barrels its way into the mix, however, it's pure Stapleton. "Crash and Burn" topped the country charts in September 2015, just a handful of weeks before Stapleton's career-changing performance at the CMA Awards.

• Sheryl Crow featuring Zac Brown, “Homesick” (2013)

  

  Sheryl Crow duets with Zac Brown on this mid-tempo ballad, but she teamed up with Stapleton for the song's creation. Released on her debut country album, Feels Like Home, the song feels like a thesis for the entire record, with Crow delivering the punchline — "I get homesick for anywhere but home" — with equal parts nostalgia and heartbreak.

• George Strait, “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright” (2011)

  

  Stapleton was playing country-fried cock-rock with the Jompson Brothers when George Strait released this song in late 2011. A sweet, straightforward song about leaning on your loved one’s support, “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright” was proof that Stapleton couldn’t leave country music behind, even while his own band churned out hoot-worthy, horn-dog tunes like “Ride My Rocket.” Strait’s take on “Love” became a Top Three hit.

• Josh Turner, “Your Man” (2006)

  

  Josh Turner's deep baritone may have given "Your Man" its signature rumble, but Stapleton gave it life, dreaming up the tune — his first chart-topper — with Chris DuBois and Jace Everett. It was Turner's first Number One, too, paving the way for a career that has since taken him up the charts four more times. Meanwhile, videos of Stapleton performing "Your Man" can be viewed on YouTube, with the songwriter replacing Turner's butter-smooth delivery with grit and dirty soul.

• Alison Krauss & Union Station, “Miles to Go” (2011)

  

  Alison Krauss’ recording of “Miles to Go” owes a debt not only to Stapleton, who co-wrote the song with Union Station bassist Barry Bales, but to the rest of the SteelDrivers too, thanks to an arrangement that mirrors the rootsy stomp of Stapleton’s former band. Lush and lovely, the song is one of the highlights of Paper Airplane, Krauss’ most recent album with Union Station.

• Lee Ann Womack, “There’s More Where That Came From” (2005)

  

  Released more than a decade before Chris Stapleton's career-breaking performance at the 2015 CMA Awards, this kickoff track to Lee Ann Womack's 2005 album is country music at its most straightforward. Fiddle, baritone guitar and pedal steel lay the bedrock for Womack's voice, which howls a tale of cheating hearts and cheap motel rooms with equal parts pain and passion.

In this article:

• Chris Stapleton

• Music
• Music Lists

More News

• 

  Don Bryant, Memphis Soul Veteran and 'I Can't Stand the Rain' Writer, Dead at 83 

  • Obituary
  • By Cheyenne Roundtree
• 

  Perry Bamonte, Guitarist for the Cure, Dead at 65

  • Obituary
  • By Kory Grow
• 

  Sierra Hull Lost Her Voice Right Before a TV Taping. Her Mandolin Sang for Her

  • Grammys 2026
  • By Josh Crutchmer
• 

  Bono and Imelda May Bring 'Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)' to the Streets of Dublin

  • Ringing in Song
  • By Kory Grow
• 

  Tyler, the Creator Ends Huge Year With New Freestyle 'Sag Harbor'

  • CHRISTMAS SURPRISE
  • By Cheyenne Roundtree

Read more

• ’Big Brother' Star Mickey Lee Dead at 35

  • Obituary
  • 1:27 PM

• Bono and Imelda May Bring 'Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)' to the Streets of Dublin

  • Ringing in Song
  • 10:59 AM

• Tyler, the Creator Ends Huge Year With New Freestyle 'Sag Harbor'

  • CHRISTMAS SURPRISE
  • 10:40 AM

• Peso Pluma, Tito Double P Celebrate Their Corrido Dynasty on Unapologetic Album, 'Dinastía'

  • Exclusive
  • 12:01 AM

Top stories newsletter

A Cultural Force That Transcends Generations Enter your Email By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. Go to PMC.com

Most Popular

The Worst Movies of 2025

Spiked '60 Minutes' Segment Spreads Online After Canadian TV Network Posts Unedited Episode

Keith Urban Is Reportedly Questioning Whether Divorce From Nicole Kidman Was a 'Huge Mistake'

Chiefs Land Record $1.8B in Public Money to Cross Kansas State Line

You might also like

• 

  James Cameron ‘Will Hold a Press Conference’ to Reveal ‘Avatar 4’ and ‘5’ Storylines If ‘Fire and Ash’ Underperforms and Ends the Franchise Early

  5 hours ago
• 

  These Shows Gave Us Some of the Best Sex Scenes on TV

  4 hours ago
• 

  The 6 Best Infrared Sauna Blankets for Starting the New Year With a Detox

  2 years ago
• 

  Inside How Josh Safdie Filmed the Ping-Pong Matches in ‘Marty Supreme’

  4 hours ago
• 

  Can U.S. Soccer’s Support Kick Year-Round College Model Into Gear?

  10 months ago