Thom Shepherd is a songwriter and amazing performer from Nashville, Tennessee. He’s had over sixty songs recorded, including cuts by Colt Ford, Bucky Covington, George Jones, Trailer Choir, Montgomery Gentry, Buddy Jewell, and Cledus T. Judd. He is the writer of Kevin Fowler’s three week #1 single “Beer Season,” as well as Fowler’s Top 5 Texas Music Chart single, “Cheaper To Keep Her.” His song “Bad Luck” was featured on American Idol, and he wrote the title track of Tracy Lawrence’s Grammy nominated album “The Rock.” He is the writer of two #1 hit singles, “Redneck Yacht Club,” recorded by Craig Morgan, and David Ball’s “Riding with Private Malone.” Thom even got to be in the video, playing the title role. The song also opened the door for Thom to perform for our troops overseas – he has been on eight tours for Armed Forces Entertainment, bringing his music to servicemen and women in fourteen different countries. "As songwriters, we have no idea how our songs are going to affect people," says Thom, "I met a soldier in Qatar who was on leave from Baghdad, and he told me he joined the military because of Private Malone. He asked me how that made me felt and I said Responsible! Then when we went to get our picture taken, he showed me the shattered LCD screen of his digital camera - shattered because it was in his shirt pocket behind his flack jacket when he took a round from an AK47. That camera saved his life. That is powerful stuff." He was born in St. Louis, Missouri and spent his high school and college years in Stephens City, Virginia. He is a graduate of George Mason University and moved to Nashville in 1993. He is a two-time cancer survivor, father of two, and a full time songwriter and performer. He is co-owner of a publishing venture called The Bourbon Street Music Company, and co-president of RedneckYachtClub.com, a website that sells merchandise relating to the song and the boating lifestyle. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.