Mark Nesler

Mark Nesler (born January 5, 1961, in Beaumont, Texas) is an American country music artist. Signed to Elektra Records as a recording artist in 1998, Nesler charted three singles on the U.S. Billboard country charts. In addition, he has written several singles for other country music artists, including Tim McGraw's "Just to See You Smile", a song which Billboard ranked as the number one country single of 1998.

Mark Nesler
Born	(1961-01-05) January 5, 1961 (age 63)
Origin	Buna, Texas, U.S.[1]
Genres	Country
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar, banjo
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Asylum, Compendia
Spouse	Jennifer Hanson ​ ​ (m. 2000; div. 2011)​

Biography

Nesler played guitar at an early age. Inspired by the bluegrass music his father listened to, he soon learned to play banjo as well. After graduating high school, he played in a band called the Two Dollar Pistols.^[2] In 1994, he was signed to a songwriting deal with MCA Publishing, and soon joined Tracy Byrd's touring band.^[2] Byrd also recorded and released "Heaven in My Woman's Eyes", which Nesler wrote, as a single in 1996.

In 1998, Nesler scored his first number one as a songwriter, when Tim McGraw spent six weeks at Number One on the Billboard country music charts with "Just to See You Smile".^[3] The same year, Nesler's first album was released on Asylum Records. Its leadoff single, "Used to the Pain", peaked at No. 47 on the country charts. The album also produced his highest-charting single in "Slow Down" at No. 46, followed by "Baby Ain't Rockin' Me Right" at No. 62. He also co-wrote Aaron Tippin's late-1998 single "For You I Will".

Although he exited Elektra in 1999, Nesler continued to write for Byrd, who released "Take Me with You When You Go" and "Just Let Me Be in Love" in 2000 and 2002 respectively. George Strait recorded two of his songs: "Go On"; and "Living and Living Well" which was a No. 1 single. In 2005, Tracy Lawrence reached No. 35 on the country charts with a cover of "Used to the Pain". Nesler co-wrote Bucky Covington's 2007 debut single "A Different World", while Nesler's other credits included "Why, Why, Why" and “Let Me Down Easy” by Billy Currington and another number one with Keith Urban's 2008 single "You Look Good in My Shirt", along with Josh Turner’s “Time Is Love”, Billboard’s 2012 most played song of the year.

Nesler is an ex-husband of singer-songwriter Jennifer Hanson.^[4]

Discography

Albums

Title	Album details	Peak positions
		US Country [5]
I'm Just That Way	Release date: June 23, 1998 Label: Asylum Records	70
Up All Night	Release date: October 14, 2003 Label: Compendia	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions		Album
		US Country [6]	CAN Country [7]
1998	"Used to the Pain"	47	43	I'm Just That Way
	"Slow Down"	46	45
1999	"Baby Ain't Rockin' Me Right"	62	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
1998	"Used to the Pain"[8]	Jim Hershleder
	"Slow Down"	Trey Fanjoy

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 296. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
2. allmusic ((( Mark Nesler > Biography )))
3. Tim McGraw Discography at About.com
4. "5 Days Built a Songwriting Career - Songtown". March 23, 2017.
5. "Mark Nesler Album & Song Chart History – Country Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
6. "Mark Nesler Album & Song Chart History – Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
7. "Results – RPM – Library and Archives Canada – Country Singles". RPM. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
8. "CMT : Videos : Mark Nesler : Used To The Pain". Country Music Television. Retrieved October 14, 2011.^{[dead link‍]}