Christopher G. Tompkins (born
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the populati ...
) is an American songwriter based in
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
.
Since 2002 he has co-written songs for pop, rock, and
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
artists
Jimmy Buffett
James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...
,
Blake Shelton
Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single " Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...
,
Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...
,
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...
,
Jason Aldean
Jason Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams; February 28, 1977) is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group, Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 ...
, and
Nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta. It is composed of guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Daniel Adai ...
and has written charting singles for artists such as
Kenny Chesney
Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Coun ...
,
Florida Georgia Line
Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single " Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was ...
, and
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...
.
Tompkins has won two
Grammy Awards for Best Country Song, first for "
Before He Cheats
"Before He Cheats" is a song by American singer Carrie Underwood from her debut studio album, '' Some Hearts'' (2005). Written by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear, it was released as the fourth single from the album. The song tells the story of a wo ...
" sung by
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...
in 2007,
and also for Underwood's 2012 song "
Blown Away".
[ Tompkins has written 16 number one hits, and he won Songwriter of the Year by the ]Alabama Music Hall of Fame
The Alabama Music Hall of Fame, first conceived by the Muscle Shoals Music Association in the early 1980s, was created by the Alabama Music Hall of Fame Board, which then saw to its Phase One construction of a facility after a statewide referendu ...
in 2007.
Early life
Chris Tompkins was born and raised in Green Hill, Alabama and attended Rogers High School. As a teenager Tompkins started playing in a garage band with Jason Isbell
Michael Jason Isbell (; born February 1, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is known for his solo career, his work with the band The 400 Unit, and as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. Isbell h ...
.[
]
Music career
2002–2009: First hits
Tompkins signed his first publishing deal at age 22, moving to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
. In 2004 Tompkins had his first top 20 hit on the ''Billboard'' charts, co-writing " Me and Emily" by Rachel Proctor
Rachel Christine Proctor (born August 11, 1974) is an American country music artist. Before signing to a record deal, she co-wrote Martina McBride's 2002 single " Where Would You Be". By 2003, Proctor had signed to BNA Records, releasing her de ...
. He started working with Big Loud Shirt Industries during the summer of 2006 as a songwriter.
He and songwriter Josh Kear
Josh Kear is a Nashville-based songwriter signed to Sony/ATV Music Publishing.
In 2007, he cowrote Carrie Underwood’s hit "Before He Cheats" with Chris Tompkins. The song spent five weeks at the top of the charts. His song "Drinking Class", pe ...
wrote the multi-platinum seller "Before He Cheats
"Before He Cheats" is a song by American singer Carrie Underwood from her debut studio album, '' Some Hearts'' (2005). Written by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear, it was released as the fourth single from the album. The song tells the story of a wo ...
", sung by Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...
and released in 2007. It was named 2007 Single of the Year by the Country Music Association
The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...
. Tompkins won the 2007 ''MusicRow
''MusicRow'' is a Nashville music industry trade publication which has been providing reviews, breaking news, and in-depth coverage for 40 years. The publication delivers online content in addition to six annual print magazines including its InCha ...
'' "Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year" award and was honored as the Alabama Music Hall of Fame
The Alabama Music Hall of Fame, first conceived by the Muscle Shoals Music Association in the early 1980s, was created by the Alabama Music Hall of Fame Board, which then saw to its Phase One construction of a facility after a statewide referendu ...
songwriter of the year. The following year "Before He Cheats" won several categories at the 50th Grammy Awards
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonies ...
, including Country Song of the Year. While at the awards Tompkins befriended Tom Higgenson
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
of the indie rock group Plain White T's
Plain White T's are an American Rock music, rock band from Lombard, Illinois, formed in 1997 by high school friends Tom Higgenson, Dave Tirio, and Ken Fletcher, and joined a short time later by Steve Mast. The group had a mostly underground music, ...
. They soon began to collaborate, and Tompkins has since co-written several songs on their albums, including "Welcome To Mystery" featured in the motion picture ''Almost Alice
''Almost Alice: Music Inspired by the Motion Picture'' is a 2010 concept album of various artists' music inspired by Tim Burton's film, ''Alice in Wonderland''. The album is also notable for featuring songs that were inspired from quotes directly ...
'' starring Johnny Depp
John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...
.
2010–2012: Increased output
In 2010 he co-wrote the song "Ain't Back Yet
"Ain't Back Yet" is a song written by Craig Wiseman and Chris Tompkins and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Chesney. The song is included on a re-issue of Chesney's 2009 compilation album ''Greatest Hits II (Kenny Chesney album), G ...
" with Kenny Chesney
Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Coun ...
. The song reached No. 2 on the country charts, and also appeared in Chesney's movie ''Summertime in 3-D''. Also in 2010, He worked on a number of charting singles in 2011, including the Chris Young single " Voices." He co-wrote the duet "I Feel Like a Rockstar" in 2012, performed by Kenny Chesney
Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Coun ...
and Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...
and landed his first Jimmy Buffett
James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...
cut "Bama Breeze".
He collaborated with Underwood once again on her 2012 album '' Blown Away'', notably on the second single of the same name. The single was co-written with his frequent collaborator Josh Kear
Josh Kear is a Nashville-based songwriter signed to Sony/ATV Music Publishing.
In 2007, he cowrote Carrie Underwood’s hit "Before He Cheats" with Chris Tompkins. The song spent five weeks at the top of the charts. His song "Drinking Class", pe ...
, and as noted by interviewer Kurt Wolff, "the melody and overall sound of the song also stand out as something fresh and very different."[ Tompkins explained to Wolff that "Blown Away" was an "attempt at 'melodic pop' that was 'unique' yet still 'country.'"][ Tompkins also commented that "Blown Away" is "It's a completely different type of song for Carrie. She's got a lot of pop elements, and I listen to a lot of pop, but I listen to everything from ]Randy Newman
Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...
to Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
to Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...
to Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...
. I think all that stuff shows up in my music, and I think it showed up in 'Blown Away.'" The single peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
chart and No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay
Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990.
This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...
chart and won a Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for Best Country Song in 2013.
2013–2017: Recent Projects
In 2013, Tompkins penned five songs including the number one hits "Round Here
Round or rounds may refer to:
Mathematics and science
* The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere
* Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...
" and " Get Your Shine On" on Florida Georgia Line
Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single " Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was ...
's debut album '' Here's to Good Times.'' Following the album's massive success, Tompkins collaborated again with Florida Georgia Line on number one hits like "Dirt" and "Anything Goes", contributing a total of eleven cuts to the band.
Released in April 2014, He also co-wrote the song "Drunk on a Plane
"Drunk on a Plane" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Dierks Bentley. It was released in April 2014 as the third single from his seventh studio album '' Riser''. The song has been certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA. ...
", recorded by Dierks Bentley
Frederick Dierks Bentley (; born November 20, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to Capitol Nashville and released his eponymous debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's ''Modern Day Drifter'', ar ...
which peaked in the top 3 on Billboard's
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
and number one on the Country Airplay
Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990.
This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...
chart. The song later went on to be certified 3x Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Platinu ...
by the RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
.
Awards and nominations
Discography
References
External links
Chris Tompkins at Big Loud Shirt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tompkins, Chris
American country singer-songwriters
Singer-songwriters from Tennessee
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
People from Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Country musicians from Tennessee
Country musicians from Alabama
Singer-songwriters from Alabama