Vickery's most successful hit as a writer was co-writing "The Fireman" with Wayne Kemp, recorded by George Strait, which reached number 5 in 1985.

Jerry Lee Lewis recorded a number of Vickery's songs, including "Rockin' My Life Away", "Meat Man" (described as "two minutes and forty seconds of sexual boasts, delivered furiously and convincingly")[2] and "Ivory Tears".

[This quote needs a citation] Waylon Jennings recorded "The Eagle" which was written by Vickery along with Hank Cochran and Red Lane.

[citation needed] He reached the charts as a singer (under the name "Atlanta James") for the first time in 1974 with "That Kind of Fool" (also recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis) and again in 1977 with "Ishabilly" and "Here's to the Horses".

Vickery was also friends with legendary Nashville disc jockey Ralph Emery and made numerous appearances on his early morning WSM television show.