Neil Thrasher
Encyclopedia
Joe Neil Thrasher, Jr. is an American country music
singer and songwriter. Between 1995 and 1997, he and Kelly Shiver comprised the duo Thrasher Shiver
, which recorded a studio album for Asylum Records
in 1996 and charted two singles on the Billboard
country charts in early 1997. Although Thrasher Shiver has not been active since 1997, Thrasher has written several singles for other country music artists, such as Jason Aldean
, Rascal Flatts
, Kenny Chesney
, Diamond Rio
, and Montgomery Gentry
. Thrasher has also received an ASCAP Songwriter of the Year award in 2004.
, Alabama
. His father was a member of a gospel music band known as the Thrasher Brothers. The Thrasher Brothers were inducted into the Alabama music Hall of fame in 2005.
Although he had originally planned to play college football, he later switched his focus to singing and songwriting. At college, he met his future wife, Lana, who worked at a management company that managed Garth Brooks
. Thrasher sang backing vocals on Brooks' 1990 album No Fences
and wrote a single for Ricky Lynn Gregg
in 1994. Eventually, the company's owner, Bob Doyle, introduced Thrasher to another singer-songwriter named Kelly Shiver. The two soon formed the duo Thrasher Shiver
, which released one album in 1996 on Asylum Records
. In addition, Thrasher co-wrote Diamond Rio
's 1996 single "That's What I Get for Lovin' You" and Rhett Akins
' 1997 single "Better Than It Used to Be".
Although Thrasher Shiver split up in 1997, both members continued to write songs, with Thrasher being the more prolific of the two. In 1999, Reba McEntire
released "What Do You Say", one of Thrasher's compositions. The song reached Top 5 on the Billboard country music charts. Thrasher had minor success as a songwriter throughout the early 2000s, including low-charting singles for 3 of Hearts
and Meredith Edwards, as well as Kenny Chesney
's "I Lost It
" and Jeff Carson
's "Real Life (I Never Was the Same Again)."
Thrasher became more prolific in the mid 2000s, with Rascal Flatts
releasing four of his songs as singles, including the Number One hits "Fast Cars and Freedom
" and "Take Me There
". The latter was co-written by Chesney, who also topped the country charts in 2004 with "There Goes My Life
", another Thrasher co-write.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer and songwriter. Between 1995 and 1997, he and Kelly Shiver comprised the duo Thrasher Shiver
Thrasher Shiver
Thrasher Shiver was an American country music duo composed of Neil Thrasher and Kelly Shiver, both of whom sang lead vocals and played acoustic guitar. In late 1996, the duo released a self-titled album for Asylum Records, and charted two singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts...
, which recorded a studio album for Asylum Records
Asylum Records
Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell...
in 1996 and charted two singles on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
country charts in early 1997. Although Thrasher Shiver has not been active since 1997, Thrasher has written several singles for other country music artists, such as Jason Aldean
Jason Aldean
Jason Aldine Williams is an American country music singer, known professionally as Jason Aldean. Since 2005, Aldean has recorded for Broken Bow Records, an independent record label for which he has released four albums and twelve singles...
, Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...
, Kenny Chesney
Kenny Chesney
Kenneth "Kenny" Arnold Chesney is an American country music singer and songwriter. Chesney has recorded 15 albums, 14 of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. He has also produced more than 30 Top Ten singles on the U.S...
, Diamond Rio
Diamond Rio
Diamond Rio is an American Country music/Christian music band formed in 1984 in Nashville, Tennessee. Since its foundation, the group has comprised the same six members: Gene Johnson , Jimmy Olander , Brian Prout , Marty Roe , Dan Truman , and Dana Williams...
, and Montgomery Gentry
Montgomery Gentry
Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo composed of vocalists Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry. The two began performing in the 1990s as part of a band which also included Eddie Montgomery's brother John Michael Montgomery, and founded the existing duo in 1999.Signed to Columbia Records,...
. Thrasher has also received an ASCAP Songwriter of the Year award in 2004.
Biography
Neil Thrasher was born in 1963 in BirminghamBirmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. His father was a member of a gospel music band known as the Thrasher Brothers. The Thrasher Brothers were inducted into the Alabama music Hall of fame in 2005.
Although he had originally planned to play college football, he later switched his focus to singing and songwriting. At college, he met his future wife, Lana, who worked at a management company that managed Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
. Thrasher sang backing vocals on Brooks' 1990 album No Fences
No Fences
No Fences is the second studio album by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on August 27, 1990 and reached #3 on the Billboard 200, and #1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart...
and wrote a single for Ricky Lynn Gregg
Ricky Lynn Gregg
Ricky Lynn Gregg is a country music artist of Native American descent. Active between the years of 1993 and 2001, he has recorded three studio albums: two on Liberty Records and one on Row Music Group...
in 1994. Eventually, the company's owner, Bob Doyle, introduced Thrasher to another singer-songwriter named Kelly Shiver. The two soon formed the duo Thrasher Shiver
Thrasher Shiver
Thrasher Shiver was an American country music duo composed of Neil Thrasher and Kelly Shiver, both of whom sang lead vocals and played acoustic guitar. In late 1996, the duo released a self-titled album for Asylum Records, and charted two singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts...
, which released one album in 1996 on Asylum Records
Asylum Records
Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell...
. In addition, Thrasher co-wrote Diamond Rio
Diamond Rio
Diamond Rio is an American Country music/Christian music band formed in 1984 in Nashville, Tennessee. Since its foundation, the group has comprised the same six members: Gene Johnson , Jimmy Olander , Brian Prout , Marty Roe , Dan Truman , and Dana Williams...
's 1996 single "That's What I Get for Lovin' You" and Rhett Akins
Rhett Akins
Thomas Rhett Akins Sr. is an American country singer and songwriter. Signed to Decca Records between 1994 and 1997, he released two albums for the label , followed by 1998's What Livin's All About on MCA Nashville. Friday Night in Dixie was released in 2002 on Audium Entertainment...
' 1997 single "Better Than It Used to Be".
Although Thrasher Shiver split up in 1997, both members continued to write songs, with Thrasher being the more prolific of the two. In 1999, Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...
released "What Do You Say", one of Thrasher's compositions. The song reached Top 5 on the Billboard country music charts. Thrasher had minor success as a songwriter throughout the early 2000s, including low-charting singles for 3 of Hearts
3 of Hearts
3 of Hearts was an American country music trio composed of Blaire Stroud, Katie McNeill, and Deserea Wasdin, all natives of Fort Worth, Texas. Signed to RCA Records in 2001, the trio released its debut album in July of that year. Two of its singles entered the U.S...
and Meredith Edwards, as well as Kenny Chesney
Kenny Chesney
Kenneth "Kenny" Arnold Chesney is an American country music singer and songwriter. Chesney has recorded 15 albums, 14 of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. He has also produced more than 30 Top Ten singles on the U.S...
's "I Lost It
I Lost It
"I Lost It" is the first single released from Kenny Chesney's Greatest Hits album. It peaked at #3 in late-2000. It was co-written by Neil Thrasher and Jimmy Olander, lead guitarist of the band Diamond Rio. Pam Tillis provides background vocals for the song....
" and Jeff Carson
Jeff Carson
Jeffrey Lee Herndon , known professionally as Jeff Carson, is an American country music artist. Originally a session musician in Branson, Missouri and later a demo singer, he was signed to Curb Records in 1995, releasing his self-titled debut album that year, followed by Butterfly Kisses in 1998...
's "Real Life (I Never Was the Same Again)."
Thrasher became more prolific in the mid 2000s, with Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...
releasing four of his songs as singles, including the Number One hits "Fast Cars and Freedom
Fast Cars and Freedom
"Fast Cars and Freedom" is a single, released in March 2005 by country music group Rascal Flatts. It was the group's fourth Number One single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts....
" and "Take Me There
Take Me There (Rascal Flatts song)
"Take Me There" is a single by country music group Rascal Flatts, released on August 17, 2007. It is the first single from their album Still Feels Good. The song became their eighth number-one hit on the Hot Country Songs Chart the week of September 16, 2007...
". The latter was co-written by Chesney, who also topped the country charts in 2004 with "There Goes My Life
There Goes My Life
"There Goes My Life" is the name of a song by country music singer Kenny Chesney. It is the first single released from his 2004 album When the Sun Goes Down. The song spent seven consecutive weeks at number one in late December 2003 and January 2004....
", another Thrasher co-write.
List of singles composed by Neil Thrasher
- 3 of Hearts – "Love Is Enough"
- Rhett Akins – "Better Than It Used to Be"
- Susan AshtonSusan AshtonSusan Ashton is a best-selling and award-winning American Contemporary Christian Music and country music artist who topped the Christian charts throughout the 1990s...
– "You're Lucky I Love You" - Lee BriceLee BriceLee Brice is an American country music artist. Signed to Curb Records' Asylum-Curb division since 2007, Brice has released four singles to country radio, all four of which have charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The fourth of these, "Love Like Crazy," holds the record for the...
— "She Ain't Right" - Chris CagleChris CagleChris Cagle is an American country music artist. Signed with Virgin Records Nashville in 2000, Cagle made his debut on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts with the single "My Love Goes On and On", the first single from his debut album Play It Loud...
– "Never Ever Gone" - Jeff Carson – "Real Life (I Never Was the Same Again)"
- Kenny Chesney – "I Lost ItI Lost It"I Lost It" is the first single released from Kenny Chesney's Greatest Hits album. It peaked at #3 in late-2000. It was co-written by Neil Thrasher and Jimmy Olander, lead guitarist of the band Diamond Rio. Pam Tillis provides background vocals for the song....
," "There Goes My LifeThere Goes My Life"There Goes My Life" is the name of a song by country music singer Kenny Chesney. It is the first single released from his 2004 album When the Sun Goes Down. The song spent seven consecutive weeks at number one in late December 2003 and January 2004....
" - Billy Ray Cyrus – "Somebody Said a PrayerSomebody Said a Prayer"Somebody Said a Prayer" is the first single from Billy Ray Cyrus' debut album for Lyric Street Records, Back to Tennessee. The song first charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart at number 53 for the chart week of August 16, 2008...
" - Diamond Rio – "That's What I Get for Lovin' YouThat's What I Get for Lovin' You"That's What I Get for Lovin' You" is the title of a song co-written by Kent Blazy and Neil Thrasher and released as a single by American country music group Diamond Rio. It was the second single released from their album, IV. It peaked at #4 in the United States, and #19 in Canada...
," "Sweet SummerSweet Summer"Sweet Summer" is the title of a song written by Neil Thrasher and Michael Dulaney and recorded by American country music group Diamond Rio. It was released in May 2001 as the third single from their 2001 album, One More Day. It peaked at #18 in the United States and it also peaked at #4 on the U.S...
," "Wrinkles" - Meredith Edwards – "The Bird Song"
- Rascal Flatts – "I MeltI Melt"I Melt" is a single by American country music group Rascal Flatts. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. It was released in July 2003 as the third single from their 2002 album Melt, and the group's seventh entry on that chart.-Content:Gary LeVox said of the song,...
," "Fast Cars and FreedomFast Cars and Freedom"Fast Cars and Freedom" is a single, released in March 2005 by country music group Rascal Flatts. It was the group's fourth Number One single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts....
," "Take Me ThereTake Me There (Rascal Flatts song)"Take Me There" is a single by country music group Rascal Flatts, released on August 17, 2007. It is the first single from their album Still Feels Good. The song became their eighth number-one hit on the Hot Country Songs Chart the week of September 16, 2007...
," "Bob That HeadBob That Head"Bob That Head" is the title of a song recorded by the American country music group Rascal Flatts. It was written by the group's lead vocalist Gary LeVox, along with Neil Thrasher and Michael Dulaney, and was recorded by Rascal Flatts on their 2007 album Still Feels Good. The song was released in...
," "Why WaitWhy Wait (song)"Why Wait" is the title of a song written by Neil Thrasher, Tom Shapiro and Jimmy Yeary and recorded by country music band Rascal Flatts. It was released as the first single from their seventh studio album Nothing Like This, released on November 16, 2010...
" - Ricky Lynn Gregg – "Get a Little Closer"
- Andy Griggs – "How Cool Is That," "This I Gotta See"
- Brice LongBrice LongBrice Long is an American country music singer. Signed to Columbia Records in 2005, Long charted one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts that year: "Anywhere but Here", which was also released by Chris Cagle a year later...
– "It's Only Monday" - Reba McEntire – "What Do You Say," "StrangeStrange (Reba McEntire song)"Strange" is the title of a song written by Wendell Mobley, Jason Sellers and Neil Thrasher. It was recorded by American country music artist Reba McEntire as her first release for the Valory label, a sister label of Big Machine Records. McEntire debuted the song on the Academy of Country Music...
" - Montgomery Gentry – "Some People ChangeSome People Change (song)"Some People Change" is the title of a song written by Neil Thrasher, Jason Sellers, and Michael Dulaney. It was originally recorded by American country music artist Kenny Chesney for his 2004 album When the Sun Goes Down. It was then recorded by Canadian country music artist George Canyon for his...
" - Marty RaybonMarty RaybonMarty Raybon Marty Raybon Marty Raybon (born December 8, 1959 is an Award Winning American country music artist. He is known primarily for his role as the lead singer of the band Shenandoah, a role which he held from 1985 to 1996. He recorded his first solo album, Marty Raybon, in 1995 on Sparrow...
– "Cracker Jack Diamond" - Collin RayeCollin RayeFloyd Collin Wray Floyd Collin Wray Floyd Collin Wray (born August 22, 1959 or 1960,Although multiple online sources all indicate Raye's date of birth as 1959, Raye's MySpace lists his date of birth as 1960. Furthermore, the 2004 Deseret News article cited in this article indicates the singer as...
– "Quitters" - Thrasher Shiver – "Going Going Gone"
- Scotty McCreery - "Dirty Dishes"