Phillip was was raised on a farm in Northwest Tennessee in a community called Rives just outside Martin. Spending hours upon hours on a tractor that his dad was smart enough to attach a radio to the fender knowing it would keep Phillip in the fields longer.He moved to Nashville in August of 95 to pursue a career in songwriting.
He signed a publishing deal in May of 97, soon after that he was getting his songs recorded by such acts as JoDee Messina, Kenny Chesney and Linda Davis.
Several years went by before he got lucky landing a song on Ronnie Dunn’s solo project, Cost of Livin’ was the single that got Coleman and Dunn nominated for a Grammy for country song of the year.
He enjoyed later success when Miranda Lambert recorded and released All Kinds of Kinds.