Born Oct. 28, 1972, Brad Paisley likely has few memories of his life before performing. Before his 13th birthday, Paisley had established himself as the go-to performer in his small hometown of Glen Dale, West Virginia. Landing a full ride to Nashville’s Belmont University from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, he earned his degree in music business and landed a songwriting contract with EMI Records. Getting his start penning songs for other artists, including David Kersh’s Top 5 hit “Another You,” Paisley eventually decided to give his own material a shot. On this day (Feb. 1) in 1999, the eventual 14-time CMA Award winner introduced himself to country music audiences with his debut single, “Who Needs Pictures.”
Videos by American Songwriter
Brad Paisley’s Debut Single Barely Missed the Top 10
Brad Paisley wrote “Who Needs Pictures”—the title track and lead single off his debut album—with songwriters (and business partners) Frank Rogers and Chris DuBois. The song begins with our narrator coming across “an old Kodak camera in my dresser drawer.” After viewing the photographs of him and a previous lover enjoying themselves on trips to Cozumel, Mexico, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he decides against developing the film. Who needs pictures / With a memory like mine?
“Frank was sitting there holding his camera saying, ‘You know, what about a song about a camera with film still in it that hasn’t been developed?’ And we kind of talked about how—if the film contained images of someone that you maybe miss, or someone that you’ve lost, or something that’s a really vivid image—then what’s the point in getting it developed?” Paisley recalled in a past interview. “Anything that comes back… probably doesn’t compare to how you remember it.”
[RELATED: 3 Songs That Prove Brad Paisley Is One of the Greatest Songwriters of All Time]
His Next Song Was a Chart-Topper
“Who Needs Pictures” peaked at No. 12 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Brad Paisley would follow up six months later with “He Didn’t Have to Be,” his first No. 1 single. He has since collected 18 more chart-toppers. Ten of those were consecutive, staring with 2006’s “When I Get Where I’m Going” and ending in 2009 with “Then.”
After the success of “Who Needs Pictures” and “He Didn’t Have to Be,” Paisley switched it up with his next No. 1 hit, the light-hearted “I’m Gonna Miss Her.”
“I had all of these sad songs and ballads… and I said, ‘Look, I’ve got to write something that doesn’t make you want to kill yourself,’” he told Billlboard in 2017. “And between these other songs, we wrote ‘I’m Gonna Miss Her’ as a joke — a stand-up act, really. It became a No. 1 record, so it sort of goes to show that, ‘Hey, if it works, it works.’”
Featured image by Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.