country singer/songwriter
Shawn Camp spent his early years on a farm outside of Perryville, AK. His father was an ironworker and his mother a beautician. Both sang and played guitar, infusing their child with a love of music; he began playing guitar himself at five. At the age of 20 in January 1987, he moved to Nashville to become a professional musician. He first found a berth as a fiddle player for
the Osborne Brothers, and subsequently moved on to the backing bands for
Jerry Reed,
Alan Jackson, Suzy Boggus,
Shelby Lynne, and
Trisha Yearwood. In 1991, he left
Yearwood to become a solo performer. He was signed to the Reprise division of Warner Bros. Records, which released his debut single, "Fallin' Never Felt So Good," in 1993. It entered the
country charts that July and peaked in the Top 40 in October. That month, Reprise released
Camp's first album, Shawn Camp, which spent several weeks in the
country charts. A second single, "Confessin' My Love," peaked in the
country Top 40 in January 1994.
Camp recorded a second album for Reprise, but the label rejected it and dropped him. He turned to working as a session musician, appearing on albums by
John Prine,
Garth Brooks,
Nanci Griffith, and
Guy Clark, among others, over the rest of the decade. At the same time, he co-wrote songs that were covered by many artists, including
Diamond Rio,
Tracy Byrd,
Kenny Chesney,
John Anderson, and
Randy Travis. "Two Pina Coladas," which he co-wrote for
Garth Brooks, appeared on
Brooks' Sevens album and hit number one on the
country charts in May 1998, and "How Long Gone," which he co-wrote for
Brooks & Dunn, hit number one on the
country charts in September 1998.
Camp self-released his second album, Lucky Silver Dollar, in July 2001. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
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The Bluegrass Elvises, Vol. 1
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