3 Modern Country Musicians Who Were Successful Songwriters Before Hitting It Big

There would be no song without songwriters and given that a good deal of Nashville’s biggest stars don’t write their own music, then they also wouldn’t have a career if it wasn’t for songwriters. It’s a somewhat thankless job, as songwriters aren’t walking the red carpet or headlining stadium shows. Rather, they are in a room with the goal of writing a hit for somebody else.

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None of that first paragraph should dissuade one from becoming a songwriter, as it is a highly coveted profession and one that only a few can get thanks to its quality and competitiveness. However, if you’re a big personality with big ambitions, then surely it can be a bit limiting. To these three musicians, it seemingly was, as they wanted to make their own music, on their own terms.

Chris Stapleton

Chris Stapleton isn’t even close to halfway through his career and he is already arguably one of the greatest songwriters of all time. However, his songwriting talents have been brewing for quite some time, as the decorated artist wrote over 1,000 songs during his time as a songwriter.

During his time as a songwriter, Stapleton wrote hits for some of the biggest names in the game. Some of those names and their songs include Kenny Chesney and “Never Wanted Nothing More,” George Strait and “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright,” as well as as Josh Turner and “Your Man.”

Ernest

Before Ernest caught the attention of the masses, he quietly wrote and wrote. Notably, Ernest wrote songs for Morgan Wallen, Jake Owen, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, and Chris Lane. Ernest scored a No. 1 hit by writing Thomas Rhett’s hit single, “Marry Me.”

In addition to his No. 1 hit with Rhett, Ernest wrote “Blessings” for Florida Georgia Line and “Drink It All Day” for Jake Owen. Following his gradual climb to fame, Ernest went on to write a hoard of some of Morgan Wallen’s most popular songs.

HARDY

HARDY climbed the ranks of Nashville and became a household name when he released his 2018 album, This Ole Boy. Although, before that, he was just another songwriter in Nashville. Much like Ernest, Hardy worked with the same clientele such as Florida Georgia Line, Morgan Wallen, Blake Shelton, and Dierks Bentley.

HARDY scored so much success as a songwriter that he became the official songwriting partner of Florida Georgia Line and wrote their songs “Simple” and “Talk You Out of It.” Regarding his other collaborations, HARDY wrote “I Don’t Know About You” for Chris Lane and “Up Down” for Morgan Wallen.

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