Jeffrey Steele

Jeffrey LeVasseur (born August 27, 1961), known as Jeffrey Steele, is an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with recording his own material, Steele has become a prolific Nashville songwriter, having co-written more than 60 hit songs for such artists as Montgomery Gentry, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, Rascal Flatts, Billy Ray Cyrus, and others.

Between 1990 and 1996, Steele was the lead singer and bass guitarist in the country music band Boy Howdy, which recorded two albums and an EP on Curb Records, in addition to charting seven singles on the Billboard country music charts. After Boy Howdy disbanded, Steele embarked on a solo career, recording seven studio albums (one of which was not released). He also charted four singles as a solo artist, with the highest-peaking ("Somethin' in the Water") reaching No. 33 on the country charts in 2001. Jeffrey LeVasseur was born in Burbank, California to a musical family. His mother was a singer, and his father had aspirations to become a country music songwriter. He first gained his own interest in music at age eight, when he sang Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World" at a church function. This rendition earned him a standing ovation, so he sang the song an additional seven times. Later, he shifted his focus to songwriting. By age 17, he was performing with local groups, and playing keyboards at various gigs on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. In 1987, after the death of his father, LeVasseur changed his last name to Steele as a tribute to his father, who processed steel for a living.