On this day (July 13) in 1965, Neil Thrasher was born in Birmingham, Alabama. In the 1990s, he was half of the duo Thrasher Shiver, with his writing partner Kelly Shiver. After the duo split, he spent a short time recording his original material. Then, other artists began cutting his songs. He signed a publishing deal in 2011 and has since co-written No. 1 singles for a long list of country artists, including Jason Aldean, Randy Houser, Kenny Chesney, and Rascal Flatts.
Thrasher grew up in a musical family. His father and uncles were in a Grammy-winning gospel group aptly named the Thrasher Brothers. Initially, he didn’t plan to follow in his father’s footsteps. Instead, he had his eyes set on playing football. Then, he met his wife, Lana, who was the head of Major Bob Publishing. This put Thrasher in contact with Garth Brooks. He later sang backing vocals on Brooks’ 1990 album No Fences. His association with the publishing company also led him to form Thrasher Shiver with fellow singer/songwriter Kelly Shiver. They released one album and four singles, but saw little chart success.
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Neil Thrasher Hones His Songwriting Skills
Neil Thrasher’s songwriting started to ramp up in the late 1990s. Reba McEntire released “What Do You Say” in 1999. It was a top five hit. However, it wasn’t until the mid-2000s that he started to find consistent success as a writer.
Rascal Flatts recorded several of his songs. They took “Fast Cars and Freedom” and “Take Me There” to the top of the country chart. Kenny Chesney also found success with Thrasher’s work, taking “There Goes My Life” to the top of the chart.
Thrasher wrote several successful singles for Jason Aldean. “Tattoos on This Town,” “Fly Over States,” “Night Train,” “Rearview Town,” and “Try That in a Small Town” are among the hits he co-penned for the “Big Green Tractor” singer.
Many of his hits, including “How Country Feels,” which was a No. 1 single for Randy Houser and became the ASCAP Country Song of the Year in 2013, came after signing a publishing deal with Peermusic.
Other artists who recorded his songs include Carry Underwood, Trace Adkins, Diamond Rio, Martina McBride, and Billy Ray Cyrus.
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