In the case of "Carlene," Phil Vassar was watching a TV program about Cindy Crawford and learned that she was the validictorian of her high school class. The thought stuck with him through the next day when he sat down to write with Charlie Black, who a girlfriend in high school named "Carlene." They put the two ideas together, the song was born.

The first time Phil heard "Carlene" was in his hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia where he was playing a show. "My alarm went off in the hotel room, and it was on. It was like, whoa, this is odd! But it's kinda cool."¹

The video for Carlene is now playing on CMT and GAC. Help it make the Top 12 Countdown by casting your vote! Haven't seen the whole video yet? It's currently a featured video on Twangthis.com!

As of the end of December, "Carlene" has cracked the Top 40! Congrats Phil!
Keep an eye on the charts..."Carlene" is burning up the Radio and Records chart!

¹Nashville Tennessean