Sharing the stories behind the songs
Long before Phillip White ever heard one of his songs on the radio — before Reba McEntire turned one into an anthem, or Rascal Flatts carried another to the top of the charts — he was just a kid in north Alabama with a guitar and a feeling he couldn’t quite shake.
“I think I wrote my first song when I was in the seventh or eighth grade,” White said. “After I wrote my first one, I was hooked. That’s all I ever wanted to do.”
That early spark became a lifelong pursuit. Today, White is one of the most respected songwriters in Nashville, Tennessee, with credits that include “I’m a Survivor,” “I’m Movin’ On,” and “He Gets That from Me.” Each are songs that have become part of the emotional backbone of modern country music, but at heart, he’s still the same songwriter chasing the next great line.
White’s journey began in Rogersville with deep ties to the Muscle Shoals music legacy just across the river.
“When I was in the 11th grade, I won second place in the Lauderdale County High School talent show,” White recalled the moment he felt his dream gaining some traction.
A judge for that talent show later connected White with legendary keyboardist Spooner Oldham.
“You know, Spooner was a distant cousin of mine, and he became a mentor,” White said. “He and Donnie Fritts were my mentors. They taught me everything I know about being a professional songwriter.”
Even with that guidance, success didn’t come overnight. Like many Nashville hopefuls, White learned his craft song by song.
“There’s a saying in the business,” he said with a laugh. “The pros will tell you to go home and write a hundred songs. When you’re done, throw them away and start over. It probably took me about a hundred songs to get comfortable enough to play my stuff for people.”
In 1993, White made the move to Nashville, determined to make a living as a songwriter. His aspirations weren’t necessarily to perform. He’d rather remain known as the man behind the music.
That distinction shaped his life in unexpected ways. While he briefly performed in a band early on, White ultimately found his place in the writing room, crafting songs tailored to other voices.
“I have enjoyed it this way. You know, you don’t have to go out on the road,” he said. “You can be with your family and watch your kids grow up. It’s been a great experience, getting in the room and trying to create something for somebody else’s sound.”
That ability to craft a song for iconic country stars like Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton has likely been the key to White’s success. Often, though, his biggest songs weren’t written without any specific artist in mind.
“Most of my hits, I was just writing a song,” he said. “Then they found a home.”
One of those songs, “I’m a Survivor,” found a home in the spotlight far beyond what White could have imagined. Written in a single afternoon with collaborator Shelby Kennedy, the song was inspired by a conversation about everyday resilience.
“We were talking about the TV show ‘Survivor,’” White said. “But the real survivors are single moms, people who survive cancer — people going through real life.”
The song struck a chord almost immediately. Within days, Reba McEntire had heard the demo and personally called White with plans to record it — both for a greatest hits album and as the theme for her upcoming television show.
“I couldn’t believe it was her on the other end of the phone,” he said. “I just couldn’t believe the life it took.”
That sense of unpredictability still defines the craft. Over the course of his career, White estimates he’s written more than 10,000 songs, but only a fraction have been picked up by performing artists.
“Some of my favorite songs I wrote never got recorded,” he said. “They seem to find a home when they’re supposed to. I’ve got a song, ‘Loose Strings,’ on Gavin Adcock’s new album. That song is probably 15 years old. I don’t even know how he heard it, but he did. Then he put it out.”
Even decades into his career, White remains as curious and creatively restless as ever. In recent years, he’s expanded beyond country into blues, roots, and Southern rock — collaborating with artists like Kenny Wayne Shepherd and working on new projects that reconnect him with the music he loved growing up.
“Stretching the boundaries has been really cool,” he said. “That’s another thing that keeps me motivated.”
Inspiration, he says, can come from anywhere — people-watching, films, podcasts, or simply the challenge of facing a blank page.
That spirit of creation is something audiences will experience firsthand when White returns to north Alabama for an intimate songwriters’ round. Unlike a full-scale concert, the format strips songs down to their core.
“It’s a totally different event,” White said. “You get the people who wrote the songs telling the story behind them — where they came from — and then performing them with a different voice than what you’re used to hearing. The songs on new life and new meaning when it comes from the guy who created it.”
