Story Behind The Song: Jessica Andrews "Who I Am"

The latest hit featured in Roughstock's exclusive "Story Behind the Song" series takes you back to 2001 when Jessica Andrews topped the charts with "Who I Am." We talked with Troy Verges about the day he and Brett James penned the very first No. 1 single of either writer's career.

The latest hit featured in Roughstock's exclusive "Story Behind the Song" series takes you back to 2001 when Jessica Andrews topped the charts with "Who I Am." We talked with Troy Verges about the day he and Brett James penned the very first No. 1 single of either writer's career.

 

"Brett was living in Oklahoma at the time, going to medical school," Verges recalls to Roughstock. "Neither one of us had any cuts or any singles that we could speak of, but we were writing stuff that we loved. I went out there four or five days at a time and wrote in-between Brett's classes. Then I would come back to Nashville and demo the songs. That song was one of the first or second trips. We wrote it in-between him going to classes. In that same day, we wrote another song called 'Telluride' that Tim McGraw cut and one more song that got cut in the same little week. 

"We were literally writing in his parents' kitchen," Verges continues with a grin. "He was going to study whatever he was studying -- emegency medicine -- right before and right after we wrote. Once we had our idea mapped out, the rest of the songs and lyrics just came pouring out of us that day.

"This song is real special to the both of us ... And I'm glad Brett is not a doctor," Verges adds with a laugh. "He is a much better songwriter than I think he would've been a doctor [laughs]!"

 

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