Jeffrey Steele
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey LeVasseur is an American country music
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, more commonly known by the name Jeffrey Steele. Along with recording his own material, Steele has become a prolific Nashville songwriter, having co-written more than sixty hit songs for such artists as 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,...

, Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...

, Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...

, LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes is an American country/pop singer. She is known for her rich vocals and her rise to fame as an eight-year-old champion on the original Ed McMahon version of Star Search, followed by the release of the Patsy Cline-intended single "Blue" when Rimes was only age 13, resulting in her...

, 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...

, Billy Ray Cyrus
Billy Ray Cyrus
William "Billy" Ray Cyrus is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist, who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon...

, and others.

Between 1990 and 1996, Steele was the lead singer and bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

ist in the country music band Boy Howdy
Boy Howdy
Boy Howdy was an American country music band. It was founded in 1990 in Los Angeles, California, United States by Jeffrey Steele , Hugh Wright , and brothers Cary and Larry Park...

, which recorded two albums and an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 on Curb Records
Curb Records
Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963...

, in addition to charting seven 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 music charts. After Boy Howdy disbanded, Steele embarked on a solo career, recording seven studio albums (one of which was not released). He also charted four singles as a solo artist, with the highest-peaking ("Somethin' in the Water") reaching #33 on the country charts in 2001.

Biography

Jeffrey LeVasseur was born in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....

 to a musical family. His mother was a singer, and his father had aspirations to become a country music songwriter. He first gained his own interest in music at age eight, when he sang Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...

's "Joy to the World
Joy to the World (Hoyt Axton song)
"Joy to the World" is a song written by Hoyt Axton, and made famous by the band Three Dog Night. The song is also popularly known by its opening words, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog"...

" at a church function. This rendition earned him a standing ovation, so he sang the song an additional seven times. Later, he shifted his focus to songwriting; by age seventeen, he was performing with local groups, and playing keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

 at various gigs on the Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with Hollywood at Harper Avenue, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive...

 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. In 1987, after the death of his father, LeVasseur changed his last name to Steele as a tribute to his father, who processed steel for a living.

Boy Howdy

In 1990, Steele and three other California musicians — Hugh Wright, along with brothers Cary and Larry Park — formed the band Boy Howdy
Boy Howdy
Boy Howdy was an American country music band. It was founded in 1990 in Los Angeles, California, United States by Jeffrey Steele , Hugh Wright , and brothers Cary and Larry Park...

, in which he served as lead vocalist and bass guitarist. Jeffrey Steele wrote a song, 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' about the returning veterans from the Gulf war , Curb signed Boy Howdy but made them change their group name to 'New Frontier' they went to appear on 'Nashville Now' hosted by Ralph Emery who liked the band name Boy Howdy this helped convince Curb records to let them keep the Boy Howdy name. The war ended so soon that the single was never released.Boy Howdy signed to Curb Records
Curb Records
Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963...

 in 1992, recording three albums and an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 for the label, in addition to charting seven singles on the country music charts. While in Boy Howdy, Steele was named Best Bassist and Best Male Vocalist by the California Country Music Association. As the band's primary songwriter, he also earned BMI
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...

 awards for co-writing their highest-charting singles, "She'd Give Anything
She'd Give Anything (song)
"She'd Give Anything" is the title of a song recorded by American country music group Boy Howdy. It was released in October 1993 as the first single from their EP, She'd Give Anything. The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in January 1994.-Chart performance:...

" and "They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore
They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore
"They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore" is the title of a song written by Chris Farren and Jeffrey Steele and recorded by American country music group Boy Howdy. It was released in March 1994, it was the second single from their EP, She'd Give Anything...

".

Solo career and success as songwriter

Steele re-located to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

 in 1994, two years before Boy Howdy disbanded. In 1996, he released three solo singles, as well as a self-titled solo album which was never shipped. Steele was eventually signed to a songwriting contract, however, and he began writing singles for other artists. Among his first hits as a songwriter were "If You Love Somebody
If You Love Somebody
"If You Love Somebody" is the title of a song written by Chris Farren and Jeffrey Steele, and recorded by American country music artist Kevin Sharp. It was released in 1997 as the third single from his debut album, Measure of a Man...

" by Kevin Sharp, "Unbelievable
Unbelievable (Diamond Rio song)
"Unbelievable" is the title of a single, released in late 1998, by American country music band Diamond Rio. It was the second single from their fifth studio album, also titled Unbelievable....

" by 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 "Big Deal
Big Deal (song)
"Big Deal" is the title of a song recorded by LeAnn Rimes, released as the first single from her album, LeAnn Rimes , on September 28, 1999. The song charted at #6 on the US country charts and #23 on the US Hot 100 chart...

" by LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes is an American country/pop singer. She is known for her rich vocals and her rise to fame as an eight-year-old champion on the original Ed McMahon version of Star Search, followed by the release of the Patsy Cline-intended single "Blue" when Rimes was only age 13, resulting in her...

, all three of which earned him additional BMI awards. He also sang backing vocals on Sharp's first two albums.

In 2001, Steele was signed to his second solo recording contract, this time with Monument Records
Monument Records
Monument Records was an American record label, Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958, by Fred Foster and Buddy Deane . Buddy Deane soon left the company, and in the early 60's bought KOTN in Pine Bluff, Arkansas where he retired to until his death...

. His solo debut album, Somethin' in the Water, was issued late that year. In addition to producing the album, Steele wrote or co-wrote every song on it. The album's title cut reached a peak of #33 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, becoming Steele's only Top 40 hit as a solo artist.

Meanwhile, he continued to write songs for other artists, with Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...

, Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...

, Trace Adkins
Trace Adkins
Tracy Darrell "Trace" Adkins is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1996 with the album Dreamin' Out Loud, released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since then, Adkins has released seven more studio albums and two Greatest Hits compilations...

, 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,...

 all recording songs he had co-written. Steele earned his first Number One song with Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...

's "The Cowboy in Me
The Cowboy in Me
"The Cowboy in Me" is a song performed by American country music artist Tim McGraw. Released in December 2001, it was the third single from McGraw's Set This Circus Down album. The song reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts...

" in 2002. In addition, 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...

 reached Number One on the country charts in late 2002 with "These Days
These Days (Rascal Flatts song)
"These Days" is the title of a song written by Jeffrey Steele, Steve Robson, and Danny Wells, and recorded by American country music group Rascal Flatts on their 2002 album Melt...

", their first Number One single. Steele also continued to record studio albums even while writing hits for other artists; his albums Gold, Platinum, Chrome and Steele and You Gotta Start Somewhere were both released in 2003, the same year that he was named Songwriter of the Year by both BMI and the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI). 2004 saw the release of his fourth studio album, Outlaw, on the Lofton Creek Records
Lofton Creek Records
Lofton Creek Records is an United States country music record label launched in 2002 by Harold and Vicky Shafer, along with Mike and Martha Borchetta. The label is based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2003, they also distributed the Big Al label, which was founded by country singer J...

 label. By 2005, more than sixty of his songs had become chart hits for other artists; that same year, he received a second Songwriter of the Year award from the NSAI.

His most successful single as a songwriter is "What Hurts the Most
What Hurts the Most
"What Hurts the Most" is the title of a song written by American songwriter Jeffrey Steele and English songwriter Steve Robson. Initially recorded by country music artist Mark Wills in 2003 on his album And the Crowd Goes Wild, it was covered by Bellefire a year later...

," a Number One single on both the Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

 and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...

 charts for 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...

 in 2006, which was also a chart single for Cascada
Cascada
Cascada is a German Eurodance act most famous for their hit singles "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts the Most", and "Evacuate the Dancefloor"...

. Another one of Steele's compositions, Steve Holy
Steve Holy
Steve Holy is an American country music artist. Signed to Curb Records since 1999, he has released three studio albums: 2000's Blue Moon 2006's Brand New Girlfriend and 2011's Love Don't Run...

's Number One single "Brand New Girlfriend
Brand New Girlfriend (song)
"Brand New Girlfriend" is the title of a song recorded by American country music singer Steve Holy. The song, which took 36 weeks to reach #1, set a record for the slowest climb to #1 by a country single since Billboard started using Nielsen SoundScan data in 1990. The record has since been broken...

", earned him yet another BMI award in 2006, as well as the Rascal Flatts hit "My Wish
My Wish
"My Wish" is a song written by Jeffrey Steele and Steve Robson, and recorded by American country music group Rascal Flatts. It was released in August 2006 as the third single from their album, Me and My Gang. It reached number one on the U.S. country charts in December 2006 and also peaked at #28...

" just as Steele released his album, Hell on Wheels. "What Hurts the Most" would later earn him the Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year awards from BMI, as well as the Songwriter of the Year award from Music Row magazine. Steele has since released two other albums, his second greatest hits record "Gold, Platinum, No Chrome, and More Steele" was released in 2007 and his country classics tribute album "Countrypolitan" which was released in 2008. Steele also produced Keith Anderson
Keith Anderson
Keith Anderson is an American country music artist. Before signing to a record deal, Anderson was one of several co-writers on "Beer Run ", a duet by Garth Brooks and George Jones, released in late 2001. Anderson was signed as a recording artist to Arista Nashville in 2004...

's two studio albums: 2005's Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll
Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll
-Album:-Singles:-Certifications:-Personnel:*Keith Anderson – lead vocals, background vocals*Brian Barnett – piano, drums*Tom Bukovac – electric guitar*Chad Cromwell – drums*Eric Darken – percussion, lap steel guitar*Tom Hambridge – background vocals...

and 2008's C'mon!
C'mon!
C'mon! is the second album by American country music artist Keith Anderson. The album was released by Columbia Records on August 5, 2008. It features the singles "Sunday Morning in America" and "I Still Miss You," the latter of which reached the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in...

, as well as Montgomery Gentry's 2004 album You Do Your Thing
You Do Your Thing
You Do Your Thing is the fourth album by American country music duo Montgomery Gentry. It was released in 2004 and has been certified platinum by the RIAA...

and 2006 album Some People Change
Some People Change
Some People Change is an album released in 2006 by American country music duo Montgomery Gentry. Certified gold in the United States, the album produced three singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts: the title track , "Lucky Man", and "What Do Ya Think About That"...



In April 2008, Steele joined Jewel and John Rich
John Rich (musician)
John Rich is an American country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country music band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist...

 of Big & Rich
Big & Rich
Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich. Both members alternate as lead vocalists and play rhythm guitar...

 as judges on the talent show Nashville Star
Nashville Star
Nashville Star is an American reality television program. It was transmitted during mid-2008 on NBC, following five seasons on USA Network. It premiered on March 8, 2003, and its five seasons on USA made it the longest-running competition series on cable television. In Canada, the show aired on CMT...

. Steele has also guest hosted for Bob Kingsley
Bob Kingsley
Bob Kingsley is an American country music radio personality and host of the nationally syndicated programs "Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40" and "Bob Kingsley with Today's Hit Makers."...

 twice on the radio show Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40
Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40
Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 is an American country music radio countdown show hosted by former American Country Countdown host Bob Kingsley. The show is produced by Kingsley's KCCS Productions and distributed by Dial Global. It uses the Mediabase Country Singles chart as its source...

, a weekly radio countdown show based on the Mediabase
Mediabase
Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytical tools for radio and record industry professionals...

country charts: for the weeks of September 13–14, 2008 and October 3–4, 2009.

In September 2008 The Country Music Hall of Fame honored Steele as a Poet & Prophet in the Hall of Fame's quarterly series.

Steele signed a deal with Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...

 to release 3 of his albums November 18, 2008: "Hell On Wheels", "Gold, Platinum, No Chrome, and More Steele: Greatest Hits Vol. II", and "Countrypolitan"

Jeffrey Steele and Miley Cyrus also co-wrote the main track I Thought I Lost You for the 2008 Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...

 animated film Bolt.

Discography

The following is a table of all albums and singles released by Jeffrey Steele as a recording artist.

Albums

Title Album details
Somethin' in the Water
  • Release date: October 30, 2001
  • Label: Monument Records
    Monument Records
    Monument Records was an American record label, Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958, by Fred Foster and Buddy Deane . Buddy Deane soon left the company, and in the early 60's bought KOTN in Pine Bluff, Arkansas where he retired to until his death...

Gold, Platinum, Chrome, and Steele
  • Release date: 2003
  • Label: 3 Ring Circus/Lofton Creek Records
    Lofton Creek Records
    Lofton Creek Records is an United States country music record label launched in 2002 by Harold and Vicky Shafer, along with Mike and Martha Borchetta. The label is based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2003, they also distributed the Big Al label, which was founded by country singer J...

  • You Gotta Start Somewhere
  • Release date: 2003
  • Label: 3 Ring Circus/Lofton Creek Records
  • Outlaw
  • Release date: September 21, 2004
  • Label: 3 Ring Circus/Lofton Creek Records
  • Hell on Wheels
  • Release date: February 28, 2006
  • Label: 3 Ring Circus/Lofton Creek Records
  • Gold, Platinum, No Chrome,
    and More Steele
  • Release date: 2007
  • Label: 3 Ring Circus/Lofton Creek Records
  • Countrypolitan
  • Release date: November 18, 2008
  • Label: 3 Ring Circus

  • Singles

    Year Single Peak positions Album
    US Country
    Hot Country Songs
    Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

    1996 "Roots of Country" Jeffrey Steele (unreleased)
    1997 "A Girl Like You" 60
    "My Greatest Love"[A]
    2001 "Somethin' in the Water" 33 Somethin' in the Water
    2002 "I Can Give You Love Like That"
    "Good to Go" 49 Gold, Platinum, Chrome and Steele
    2004 "Good Year for the Outlaw" 54 Outlaw
    "Twenty Years Ago"
    "Once a Cowboy"
    2005 "Just the Way We Do It"
    "She Must Be So Happy"
    "—" denotes releases that did not chart


    ^ "My Greatest Love" peaked at number 90 on the RPM
    RPM (magazine)
    RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...

    Country Tracks chart in Canada.

    Music videos

    Year Video Director
    2001 "Somethin' in the Water" Paul Holahan
    Paul Holahan
    Paul Holahan is an American film/television director, cinematographer, producer, and photographer.He has directed episodes of Witchblade, Numb3rs, Las Vegas, Shark, Ugly Betty, Burn Notice, The Mentalist, and Fringe. As well as producing and directing episodes of Without a Trace, The Ex List and...

    2004 "Once a Cowboy"

    External links

    The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
     
    x
    OK