October 1994 they had selected Greg Trostle as his replacement. 19941996: Paradise and disbanding Later in 1994, the band began recording new songs with Stroud. They signed with Giant Records in late 1994 and released their first single and video for the label by year's end. Titled "You Could Do Better", the song failed to chart and did not appear on an album. The band's next single release for Giant was "Paradise" in 1995. A review in Billboard described the song's lyrics as "simplistic" but praised McCorvey's singing. This would serve as the title track to their only Giant album, Paradise. By this point, Trostle had left the band as well, and session musician Paul Franklin played steel guitar on the album. Other contributing musicians included guitarist Dann Huff, pianist Johnny Neel, and backing vocalists John Wesley Ryles and Curtis Wright. David Malloy produced the album, collaborating with Stroud on seven of the ten tracks. The album's closing track was a live rendition of "Feed Jake". Shawn Ryan of New Country magazine praised the album for its "upbeat romps" and "songs with a keen eye for detailing the heart of blue-collar life with respect and affection". Writing for The Ottawa Citizen, Susan Beyer praised the "everyday attitudes" of the lyrics, also calling McCorvey's singing voice "capable of great tenderness and power". John Anderson released the title track as a single in early 1996 for an album also titled Paradise on which Stroud was also a producer. Pirates of the Mississippi disbanded in 1996 due to the band members tiring of their constant touring schedule. They held a farewell tour which lasted most of the year, with their last show being at the county fair in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. McCorvey did a number of shows that same year in Montgomery, Alabama, with a new set of musicians called the Bill McCorvey Band. Most of these shows were charity concerts for the American Cancer Society. After the band broke up, both McCorvey and Alves continued to work as songwriters in Nashville. McCorvey co-wrote Montgomery Gentry's 1999 hit "Lonely and Gone", while Alves had some of his songs recorded by Rascal Flatts. Pat Severs became a session musician in addition to joining the house band on Nashville Star, a singing competition which aired on both USA Network and NBC at the beginning of the 21st century. Meanwhile, Trostle continued to work