Nashville singer-songwriter Phil Vassar, famed for his signature piano-driven country ballads, is celebrating a major milestone in his career just two years after surviving a near-fatal heart attack and stroke.
Vassar, 62, has embarked on his “25 Years of Paradise” tour, a nod to his enduring breakout hit “Just Another Day in Paradise,” from his self-titled debut album, “Phil Vassar,” which was released in February 2000.
“It seems like it was five years ago,” the award-winning musician told The Epoch Times in a recent interview. “It went by so fast, it’s unimaginable really.”
After performing in Franklin, Kentucky, on March 15, Vassar will head to Minnesota later this month for a show with the vocal quartet The Oak Ridge Boys. Additional tour dates are slated throughout the Midwest this summer as he prepares to entertain audiences from coast to coast.
“It’s exciting to be able to get back out and play new songs,” the singer said. “I’m in the studio now recording, so it never stops, no matter whether you’re 20 or 60. As artists, that’s just what we do.”
The tour comes after Vassar experienced back-to-back medical emergencies in early 2023.
The Virginia native suffered a heart attack at his home in Nashville, causing his heart to stop for about 30 minutes. He was rushed to the nearby Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he had a stroke three days later.
Vassar was subsequently transported to a medical facility in Atlanta, spending several grueling months in rehabilitation learning to walk again. He said the harrowing experience has given him a newfound appreciation for his life.
“I’m not a partier, I’m not a drinker, I worked out every day until that, I ate right—I did all the right things. And apparently, it doesn’t make any difference,” he explained. “My doctor said it doesn’t matter what you do if you have bad genetics, which I did and didn’t realize.
“I'd had a stroke, and I didn’t move for a while. But everything did come back eventually. I’m very blessed,” he continued.
25 Years of Paradise
Vassar moved to Nashville in the late 1980s, launching his music career as a songwriter before signing his first record deal.The musician penned hits for a variety of country music artists, including Alan Jackson (“Right on the Money”), Tim McGraw (“My Next Thirty Years”), and Collin Raye (“Little Red Rodeo”), earning two ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year awards in 1999 and 2001 for his work.
“I was such a fan of all these songwriters—Kris Kristofferson, Willie [Nelson], and Waylon [Jennings]—when I was a kid. I just really had a lot of respect for those guys and what they did,” Vassar shared, calling his own success as a songwriter a “full circle” moment.
“I still get to do it now, so all these years later, I’m just happy,” he said. “I love it. I even love it more now than I did back then.”
After debuting his first album, which also featured his hit songs “Carlene,” “That’s When I Love You,” and “Six-Pack Summer,” Vassar released “American Child” (2002), “Shaken Not Stirred” (2004), “Prayer of a Common Man” (2008), “Traveling Circus” (2009), and “Stripped Down” (2020), among other albums.
“Every day, there’s something to write a song about,” the singer noted. “You just never know where it’s going to come from, inspiration. There’s so many things to draw from; you just have to be smart enough to catch it when it happens.”
Reflecting on his more than two decades of hitmaking, Vassar said he enjoys putting out music that people can relate to.
“I love writing songs and putting them out there and saying something,” he explained. “It’s when you find that kind of song that talks about just everyday things people go through, I think that’s pretty special.”
This is one piece of wisdom Vassar said he often shares when mentoring aspiring artists and songwriters.
“It’s all about the craft of songwriting and writing songs that mean something to people. If you can write a song that captures an emotion and makes people feel something, then you’ve succeeded,” he said.
“As I look back on some of my songs, some of my bigger songs, I always think it was something everybody could sort of grab onto and take it along with them through life, and that’s a good feeling.”
