Jeffery David Stevens (born June 15, 1959) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer, songwriter and record producer. He recorded two albums on Atlantic America Records with his brother Warren Stevens and Terry Dotson as Jeff Stevens and the Bullets, and later as a solo artist on the Atlantic label. Since the early 1990s, Stevens has largely worked as a songwriter and producer for other artists.

Biography

Stevens was born in

Alum Creek, West Virginia Alum Creek is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kanawha and Lincoln counties along the Coal River in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It includes the unincorporated communities of Alum Creek, Forks of Coal, and Priestley. The CDP had a populat ...

. At age nine, he and his brother Warren entered a talent contest and won first place. Eventually, they and cousin Terry Dotson formed a band called Jeff Stevens and the Bullets, with Jeff on lead vocals and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, Warren on

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, Dotson on

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, and Jim Mayo on

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

and

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

. The band recorded ''Bolt out of the Blue'' for Atlantic America Records in 1986, which accounted for the

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

Darlington County Darlington County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 62,905. Its county seat is Darlington. Hartsville is the largest city in the county. Darlington County is home to the Darlington Race ...

" (a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of the

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

song), "You're in Love Alone" and "Geronimo's Cadillac." A fourth chart single, "Johnny Lucky and Suzi 66," led off a second self-titled album. In the mid-1980s, Jeff Stevens and Dotson co-wrote

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

's singles "

Atlanta Burned Again Last Night "Atlanta Burned Again Last Night" is a song recorded by American country music group Atlanta. It was released in May 1983 as their debut single and the first from their debut album ''Pictures''. The song reached No. 9 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot ...

" and "

Sweet Country Music "Sweet Country Music" is a song recorded by American country music group Atlanta (band), Atlanta. It was released in February 1984 as the third single from the band's first album, ''Pictures (Atlanta album), Pictures''. It was their highest chartin ...

." The Bullets broke up in 1990 and Stevens remained on Atlantic as a solo artist, working with record producer Keith Stegall for a solo debut album which was never released. From there, Stevens found work as a songwriter, writing a string of hits including the singles " I Fell in the Water" by

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

, " Down in Flames" by

Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus uru ...

, the number one hit " Reckless" for

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, and "

Big Love ''Big Love'' is an American drama television series that aired on HBO from March 12, 2006 to March 20, 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family in contemporary Utah that practices polygamy, with Jeanne Tri ...

" and "

I Wanna Feel That Way Again "I Wanna Feel That Way Again" is a song written by Danni Leigh, Jeff Stevens and Steve Bogard, and recorded by American country music artist Tracy Byrd. It was released in June 1998 as the second and final single from the album '' I'm from the Co ...

" for

Tracy Byrd Tracy Lynn Byrd (born December 17, 1966) is an American country music artist. Signed to Universal Music Group Nashville, MCA Nashville Records in 1992, Byrd broke through on the country music scene that year with his 1993 single "Holdin' Heaven" ...

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

also recorded Stevens' " Carried Away," "

Carrying Your Love with Me ''Carrying Your Love with Me'' is the seventeenth studio album by the American country music artist George Strait, released in 1997. It was released by MCA Nashville and it produced four singles for Strait on the '' Billboard'' country charts. "O ...

" and "

True True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

," the first two of which went to number one as well. Stevens had another number one in 2004 with

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 ...

's "

Back When "Back When" is a song written by Stan Lynch, Stephony Smith, and Jeff Stevens and recorded by American country music singer Tim McGraw. It was released in August 2004 as the second single from McGraw's 2004 album ''Live Like You Were Dying ''Li ...

." In 1999, Stevens began work as a

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, co-producing Jerry Kilgore's debut album ''Love Trip''. Among other acts Stevens produces Luke Bryan, and co-wrote Bryan's singles "

All My Friends Say "All My Friends Say" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Luke Bryan. It originally appeared on his 2006 self-titled EP, and was released in January 2007 as his debut single and the first for his 2007 debut album '' I' ...

", "

Someone Else Calling You Baby "Someone Else Calling You Baby" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Luke Bryan. It was released in August 2010 as the third and final single from his 2009 album '' Doin' My Thing''. The song became Bryan's second num ...

" (which went to number one in early 2011), and " Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye", also a number one hit for Bryan in late 2012.

Jeff Stevens and the Bullets discography

Albums

Singles

Notes: *^A "Boomtown" and "Roseanne" did not chart on Hot Country Songs, but both peaked at No. 6 on Hot Country Radio Breakouts.

Music videos

References

External links

Jeff Stevens Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Jeff 1959 births American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Atlantic Records artists Living people People from Alum Creek, West Virginia American country record producers Singer-songwriters from West Virginia