“No Heartbeat At All”: Phil Vassar Opens Up About Health Struggles

Phil Vassar has been honing his songwriting skills in Nashville since the late ’90s. In addition to his own catalog, the 62-year-old Virginia native is responsible for ’90s country staples like Jo Dee Messina’s “I’m All Right” and Tim McGraw’s “For a Little While.” Last year, the Shaken Not Stirred singer’s career took a backseat as he battled some terrifying health struggles. Now, he is opening up about the moment he “saw his life flash before his eyes.”

Country Star Says He Died Twice After Heart Attack

Phil Vassar was out performing a Christmas tour with Deana Carter right before the health scare that nearly killed him. In a recent interview with Taste of Country, the “Just Another Day in Paradise” singer revealed just how bleak his prognosis was.

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“I dropped dead,” he said. “I was dead for 30 minutes a couple times. No heartbeat. No heartbeat at all.”

Despite abstaining from alcohol and exercising regularly, Vassar said he couldn’t outrun genetics. The singer suffered a heart attack in early 2023, followed by a stroke three days later.

“You know, I kept feeling bad, so I kept really concentrating on my health and trying to — I never ate anything fried or anything like that,” he said. “Never did. It just caught up with me, you know, the genes.”

First responders had to shock the country star 11 times to save his life, cracking some ribs in the process. “But they did a heck of a job getting me back, you know?” he said.

Phil Vassar Is Back To Touring Again

Fortunately, the worst seems behind Phil Vassar for now, health-wise. In June, he and longtime friend Jeffrey Steele teamed up for their first-ever collaboration, “Hillbillies in Hollywood.”

“When you go through something as life-changing as a heart attack, you become more introspective and sentimental,” Vassar told People. “I want to put out music that reflects that.”

And the 1999 ASCAP Songwriter of the Year is even back on the road again.

“I’m not pounding it like I used to,” he admitted to Taste of Country. “I think I did 100 shows that one year — the year I croaked. But I mean, I feel great. I mean, I love singing. I appreciate it more, I can tell you that.”

Featured image by Daniel DeSlover/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock