Troy Verges grew up in Louisiana, and when he got his first guitar at age 10, his first impulse wasn’t to learn other people’s songs but to make up his own. He played in bands from age 14 and listened to everything from 1960s folk to punk rock to traditional Cajun music. After high school, he was able to satisfy both his parents and a desire to pursue a music career by aiming for a music business degree. With no such program available in Louisiana, he moved to Murfreesboro to attend Middle Tennessee State University and then to Nashville to finish out his degree at Belmont. It was during those college years that Verges first encountered professional songwriters. When he was learning the craft of songwriting, Verges instinctively knew how important it was to listen. While still in college at Belmont University’s school of music business, Verges secured an internship at Patrick Joseph Music, one of Music Row’s strongest independent publishers. His favorite job was working in the tape library listening to every song that came in including hits from Matraca Berg, Tim Mensy, Kim Carnes and Gary Harrison. His internship led to a few single-song deals and finally a publishing contract a few weeks before he graduated. Those early years weren’t easy, especially for somebody who won his first publishing deal before college graduation, but Verges stuck to his own vision. While the 36-year-old paid hard dues, landing only a handful of cuts in his first three years, he’s now as in demand as any writer in Nashville. After he placed “Love Is A Sweet Thing” on Faith Hill’s “Breathe” album, a line formed to be the first to listen to his songs. Verges emerged as one of UMPG Nashville’s greatest success stories. Within a year of the Faith Hill record, he scored #1 songs on Jessica Andrews’ “Who I Am” and Martina McBride’s “Blessed” from her Greatest Hits collection. In 2002 Verges was named BMI Country Songwriter of the Year and the NSAI Songwriter of the Year. He was also name Music Row magazine’s “Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year.” More recent successes were Carrie Underwood’s hit “Wasted,” which held the top spot for three weeks, Kenny Chesney’s Top 5 smash “You Save Me” and Kellie Pickler’s “Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You.” His songs have been cut by Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Faith Hill, Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes and many more. Other diverse recordings include such artists as Celine Dion, Il Divo, Backstreet Boys, and Paulina Rubio. As Troy says, “I love the fact that you can take a song and make it sound so many different ways. It’s really a very simple relationship. I love sound.” And his successes are evidence of that love. *For more information on Troy Verges contact Whitney Williams at UMPG Nashville.