Whatever Comes First is the debut album of the 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...

 band Sons of the Desert

Sons of the Desert (band)

Sons of the Desert was an American country music band founded in 1989 in Waco, Texas by brothers Drew Womack and Tim Womack , along with Scott Saunders , Doug Virden and Brian Westrum...

. The album was released in 1997 (see 1997 in country music

1997 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1997.-Events:* July 12 — The song, "It's Your Love," by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill becomes the first song in 20 years to spend six weeks atop Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. The last song to do so...

) on Epic Records

Epic Records

Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

. It produced three singles for them 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 singles charts: the Top Ten "Whatever Comes First", as well as "Leaving October" and "Hand of Fate".

Content

"Drive Away" was co-written by Phil Vassar

Phil Vassar

Phil Vassar is an American country music artist. Vassar made his debut on the country music scene in the late 1990s, co-writing singles for several country artists, including Tim McGraw , Jo Dee Messina , Collin Raye , and Alan Jackson Phil Vassar (born May 28, 1964 in Lynchburg, Virginia) is an...

, who would later record the song for his self-titled debut album

Phil Vassar (Album)

Phil Vassar is the self-titled 2000 debut album from American country music artist Phil Vassar. It features the singles "Carlene", "Just Another Day in Paradise", "Rose Bouquet", "Six-Pack Summer" and "That's When I Love You". All of these, except "Rose Bouquet", charted in the Top Ten on the...

. Additionally, lead singer Drew Womack later re-recorded "Leaving October" on his 2004 self-titled debut.

Track listing

1. "Hand of Fate" (Michael Lunn, Michael Noble) - 3:47
2. "Whatever Comes First
   Whatever Comes First (song)
   "Whatever Comes First" is the debut single by American country music group Sons of the Desert. It was released in February 1997 as the first single and title track from the album Whatever Comes First. The song reached #10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart...
   
   " (Walt Aldridge
   Walt Aldridge
   Walt Aldridge is an American musician, singer, songwriter, engineer and record producer.Aldridge is known primarily as a Nashville songwriter...
   
   , Brad Crisler, Drew Womack) - 3:02
3. "Leaving October" (Womack, Tom Douglas
   Tom Douglas (songwriter)
   Thomas Stevenson "Tom" Douglas is an American country music songwriter. Active since the early 1990s, he has written Top Ten hits for John Michael Montgomery, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Collin Raye and others....
   
   ) - 4:28
4. "Bring On the Angel" (Womack, Jack Blades, Vinx) - 4:05
5. "You Can Come Cryin' to Me" (Radney Foster
   Radney Foster
   Radney Foster is an American Texas Country artist. Initially a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, Foster made his debut in 1986 alongside Bill Lloyd in the duo Foster & Lloyd...
   
   ) - 4:04
6. "Colorado" (Womack) - 4:54
7. "When It's Right" (Womack, Steve Pippin, Chris Lindsey) - 3:16
8. "Promises" (Steve Pippin, Womack, Pat MacDonald) - 3:34
9. "Drive Away" (Phil Vassar
   Phil Vassar
   Phil Vassar is an American country music artist. Vassar made his debut on the country music scene in the late 1990s, co-writing singles for several country artists, including Tim McGraw , Jo Dee Messina , Collin Raye , and Alan Jackson Phil Vassar (born May 28, 1964 in Lynchburg, Virginia) is an...
   
   , Charlie F. Black) - 3:26
10. "Devil on Both Shoulders" (Womack) - 4:08
11. "Burned in My Mind" (Womack) - 4:57

Sons of the Desert

• Scott Saunders - 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...
  
  
• Doug Virden - bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , background vocals
• Brian Westrum - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Drew Womack - acoustic guitar
  Acoustic guitar
  An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
  
  , lead vocals
• Tim Womack - electric guitar
  Electric guitar
  An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
  
  , background vocals

Additional musicians

• Bob Mason - cello
  Cello
  The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
  
   on "Colorado"
• Brent Mason
  Brent Mason
  Brent Mason is an American session guitarist and occasional songwriter. He is known primarily for his work in the field of country music. In addition to releasing two instrumental studio albums, he holds several credits as a songwriter...
  
   - electric guitar on "Hand of Fate"
• Tom Roady - percussion
  Percussion instrument
  A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
  
   on "Drive Away," "Hand of Fate," "Promises"
• Matt Rollings
  Matt Rollings
  Matt Rollings is an American composer, musician and record producer. He plays piano, organ, and keyboards.Known mainly for playing in Lyle Lovett's Large Band, he has worked with many artists, not all country...
  
  - keyboard on "Leaving October"
• Billy Joe Walker, Jr. - acoustic guitar on "Promises"
• John Willis - "eclectic guru instruments"

Chart performance

Chart (1997)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums	38
U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers	25