Thomas tells Lon the success of the song is a surprise to him. “This song wasn’t even supposed to be a single, and now it’s becoming a hit.”
That led Lon to ask what happened: “Morgan & I wrote this song in 2020 on Zoom. Halfway through the session, Morgan got a call from his grandmother. After that, we decided to write a song about our grandmothers. The fact that we can write a song about our grandmothers and it could be a #1 is pretty awesome.”
Meanwhile, Morgan has another song in the Top 10: “Which is why I thought my song didn’t have a chance. Maybe there were too many collaborations. But it seems there can’t be too many collaborations. Not with Morgan.”
Lon asked Thomas what his plan had been for 2024: “We toured so hard in 2023, I was like what would it look like to take some time off between tours. So I’ve spent the last 8 months making a record, and this is the first time I’ve had time to make a record.”
Lon then asked about the new music: “You can tell it was made with a lot more freedom. The theme of this record is joy. I wanted to make a record that my kids and my wife felt joy, made them want to dance. It’ll be ready soon.”
That means you’ve been home more this year: “I feel like we’re coming up for air after 8 years of having babies. My kids are starting to be able to do things by themselves. So for the first time, I will be able to hang out. We’re getting a piece of our life back.
Lon pointed out that free time may lead to Baby #5: “That’s what a lot of people are saying. There’s a lot of conversation around that.”
Thomas also has great stories this week about Russell Dickerson, Bailey Zimmerman, Nate Smith, Lainey Wilson, Hardy, and the late Toby Keith.
NEXT WEEK: Chris Young
]]>When he came in the studio, Lon noticed Hardy had shorter hair. Hardy explained, ”I chopped it off. I just released a video for Rockstar, and the last character I played was Freddie Mercury. I thought, let’s dig into the bit, so I had my stylist cut my hair. I had time, let’s cut it off, and it’ll grow back.”
Hardy has a second song in the countdown. He wrote Take Her Home for Kenny Chesney: ”I heard Kenny was looking for songs, so I sent him Take Her Home, and he cut it. This song went from getting written to on the radio in six weeks.”
Lon asked if Kenny explained what he liked about the song: ”Not really, not into the specifics of the song. I remember he said. ‘I love this, and I’m gonna cut it.’ That was good enough for me.”
Hardy’s most unique songwriting experience: “I’ve written with Carrie Underwood, and I learned that she’s a metal head. I wore a Limp Bizkit shirt, and we sang Limp Bizkit lyrics back & forth. It’s not what I expected.”
Hardy broke a little news that he’s been working on some new music: “My next record will be, sadly for some, a rock & roll record. That doesn’t mean I have given up on country music. I will always make country music. I’m just saying my next record will be rock. Sonically, that’s it. That’s what the next record will be.”
Hardy also has great stories this week about Tyler Hubbard, Lainey Wilson, Bailey Zimmerman, Morgan Wallen, and the late Toby Keith.
NEXT WEEK: Thomas Rhett
]]>Kane & his wife Katelyn have announced they’re expecting a baby boy later this year. Kane told Lon: ”Yeah, first son, last son. We’re done. We were done with two. This one just popped up on us. It was God’s plan. But yeah, we’re excited.”
Lon asked if he had a ‘K’ name picked out for a boy yet: ”We got a couple. I’m not gonna say yet, but it’s gonna be a K name. We thought about Kane Jr, but that would be difficult.”
Lon asked if he has any more duets to do with Katelyn: ”Yeah, we’ve got like four together now. Don’t know how we’re gonna release them. We haven’t talked about a plan. We don’t know yet. I feel like our voices go so well together. God put us together for a reason.”
Kane’s friend Jon Pardi is also expecting a baby: ”We knew before everybody else did. They were over at our house, and we got to talking about it. We were hoping they were gonna have a boy like us, but instead they’ve got two girls, so we’re excited for them.”
Lon asked Kane if he’s heard the country song by Beyonce: ”I just did. It’s Beyonce. She can do whatever she wants. I’m excited for country music to get as broad as it is. I feel country music gets overlooked at these awards shows. I feel people are starting to open their eyes a little more.”
Kane also has great stories this week about Tyler Hubbard, Parmalee, Dustin Lynch, Bailey Zimmerman, and Lainey Wilson.
NEXT WEEK: Hardy
]]>Through the years Lon caught up with Toby around the country, from his 2002 Fan Club party aboard the General Jackson riverboat in Nashville, to the Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn Michigan. Toby also did the show while on the road in Louisville, Philadelphia, and Salt Lake City.
Along the way, we’ll play Toby’s Top 5 biggest songs according to Mediabase, with his own stories about those songs.
We include tributes to Toby from Carrie Underwood, Garth Brooks, Keith Urban, Old Dominion, and Eric Church.
We’ll also hear past stories from Toby about Blake Shelton, Chris Janson, Thomas Rhett, Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, and the legendary actor Burt Reynolds.
NEXT WEEK: Kane Brown
]]>Their current hit features Megan Moroney: ”’Her voice is unique, she’s managed to set herself apart. She seems to be very much herself, and that’s tough to do, and awesome to watch.”
Their latest album includes a song they co-wrote with Jordan Davis: ”We wrote that at Brad’s house. Yep, smoked a couple cigars out there. We were on tour with Kenny Chesney at that time. Every night you see these big anthemic songs in stadiums, so that’s what we were after.”
The band played Red Rocks Amphitheater last year, and Peyton Manning was a surprise guest on stage: “He said he’d come out and sing. He joined us for Mellencamp’s Pink Houses. He was singing softly. He blended in nicely with everyone.”
The guys have gotten to know Jelly Roll: “We met him backstage at a Dave Chapelle show in Nashville. He rolling in with this huge entourage, and we wondered who he was. He was so sweet and so genuine. He is so authentic about what he’s doing. When you have that and have great songs, that’s when the magic sauce kicks in, and that’s what he has right now.”
The group’s Matt Ramsey wanted to talk about Toby Keith: “He was a true pioneer. He did what we all aspire to do, which is do it his way. That’s difficult to do, but Toby made it look easy. It’s a devastating loss.”
Old Dominion also has great stories this week about Thomas Rhett, Scotty McCreery, Carly Pearce, Luke Bryan, and Hardy.
NEXT WEEK: Remembering Toby Keith
]]>Cody says “The Painter is the first song for this album when I heard it, I said that’s me. It took me to that place where I met my wife where every wall I built, she saw a canvas.”
Cody said this about his wife Brandi: “She quit college, worked two jobs, I went on the road playing music, five nights a week for $500 a night. She stood behind me, never left, she was the soft place to land, she was always there.”
Lon asked Cody about his dramatic CMA performance: “My wife didn’t know anything about it. Total surprise, she doesn’t like being in the spotlight.” So Lon asked what did she say when he returned to his seat? “She said, ‘I love you.’ And when the cameras left, she said, ‘You SOB!’ Because everyone knows who she is now.”
Cody talked about his friendship with Jelly Roll: “We are kindred spirits. We look like we represent the opposite, but we represent the same thing. He’s unapologetically himself. I always say his face tattoos are like my cowboy hat. You can’t take ’em off.”
Cody confirmed that he has recorded a duet with Carrie Underwood: “We did record a song, it will be on the deluxe edition of Leather. I don’t know when it’ll come out. We have to work around a big schedule. She’s a global artist who’s not confined to country music. We’re in no hurry. When you have something as special as what we have, you can’t put a date on it.”
Lon & Cody co-hosted the Countdown from backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, where Cody was going to perform. The next night, he headlined a sold out show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena: “It’s the place that people said I’d never make it. It means so much, to sell out every seat, and we could have done two nights. Then I got to call to do the Opry the night before. I listened to it as a kid. I’m doing this for fun.”
Cody also has great stories this week about Morgan Wallen, Parker McCollum, Jordan Davis, Luke Combs, and Dan + Shay.
NEXT WEEK: Old Dominion
]]>Riley was a co-writer on Different Round Here. “This was one of those songs that was about how I grew up, the values I had growing up in a small town in Alabama. I’ve been fortunate to see people grew up that way all over the country.”
Riley’s current hit features Luke Combs. “The song meant a lot to me, but it hadn’t been released to radio, so it didn’t have that life. Getting the offer to tour with Luke, it seemed like the perfect time to ask Luke to be on it. I’m glad he did, it worked out great that he did. Now country radio is playing it, and it’s getting a second life.”
Last summer, Riley & Luke played stadiums together, and Riley says it was like a reunion: “It was a full circle moment to go on tour with him. I was a fan of him & his music, but it was great to see him get to that level. It was helpful for me to learn how to fill that big stage. I got in front of a lot of new fans.”
Riley just appeared on a CMT special saluting Alabama. ”Growing up in Alabama, it don’t get bigger than that. It turned out I went to the same college as Randy Owen. So that’s how he & I became buddies. To honor them, and 40 #1s, they had so many hits, and it was an honor to tip that cap to that bunch.”
Riley was part of the All For The Hall benefit. ”That was an awesome show to be a part of, to get that call was exciting. One of my favorite things was I was able to tell people I had Vince Gill & Keith Urban sing backup vocals and play guitar on Grandpas Never Died with me.”
Riley’s latest album includes a duet with Jelly Roll: ”When I wrote Copenhagen In a Cadillac, it was a light-hearted song. I didn’t think of it for a record. But when Jelly popped in my head, we’d become good buddies, and he said he thought it was written about him. I thought it was a unique feature, something people didnt see coming.”
Riley also has great stories this week about Luke Bryan, Jackson Dean, Brian Kelley, Thomas Rhett, and Lainey Wilson.
NEXT WEEK: Cody Johnson
]]>Chris also said it’s coming very soon: “We’re right in the middle of recording it right now. Sometimes, you have to take different directions in a good way, and this is big time. Very much aligned with where I am on all fronts.”
Lon asked if Chris wrote it with Tyler: “No, he sent it to me first. I’ve always been the writer on my songs. There may be some things we’ll rework some stuff. I don’t know. If so, it will be a true rework, but overall, I’m giving him full credit, because without him, this idea would not have come to fruition.”
Lon said, You just put out a new album in May, and this song isn’t on it. But you’re putting this out next? “I’m tying this in with my album, and this is all breaking fresh news. You’re the first person I’ve told this to. My label president brought this to me. He asked me what I thought, and I said it was a smash. So you will hear this in March. I never felt so much positivity in my life. We have exciting things coming. This will blow the doors off. I’m speaking here first. If it weren’t for Tyler Hubbard, it would not have happened.”
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