Before they became stadium anthems and radio staples, many of Luke Bryan‘s biggest country music hits started as deeply personal moments or just fun times with friends. From songs rooted in small-town memories to tracks shaped by the summer sound, the “American Idol” judge recently co-hosted the “Backstage Country” radio show with Elaina Smith where he shared the stories behind some of his fan-favorite songs.
‘Country Song Came On’
Bryan described his song, “Country Song Came On” as a tribute to the honky tonk era of country music. “I grew up learning guitar and building my band, my first band back in high school and college, listening to 90s honky tonk music.”
He added, “So when I heard it, it just felt like an environment that was so comfortable to me, an environment that I spent a lot of time [in]. I have spent some time and honky tonks on stage and out on the dance floor. And I love the fact that this guy was trying to have a simple night, but boy, the right country song came on and everything kind of changed.”
“It just spoke to me,” Bryan continued. “It was the style of song that I haven’t done in a minute. I think in some of my early albums, I had some heavy steel guitar sound and stuff. But I was like, ‘Hey, this is a part of me, a part [of] my music and what I love. So, I was glad to be able to put it out and watch the fans sing. It has been pretty special.”
‘Rain Is a Good Thing’
Radio show host Smith asked Bryan if he considers his song “Rain Is a Good Thing” as his first number one song, noting some of the technicalities with the charts.
“Well, I was number one in one chart, and I guess ‘Rain Is a Good Thing’ probably was number one in both charts. So, I kind of consider it my first one,” Bryan replied. “But, you know, ‘Rain Is a Good Thing’ is really special because I wrote it with just me and one of my best friends, Dallas Davidson. He and I wrote from a saying that we grew up hearing down in Georgia. The saying was, ‘Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey.'”
He continued, “A lot of guys would, when you had a whiskey drink, you’d be like, ‘Here’s to the…’ it was like a little ‘Cheers.’ So, the fact [that] we were able to take that little thought and build a fun, up-tempo, high-energy song around it that still, to this day, when I play it and you kick off the guitar lick and the energy of it. That part of my career, I was really trying to find out who I was really as an artist, still then.”
‘One Margarita’
“The first time I heard ‘One Margarita’ and saw the vibe that it created with people dancing and holding up shots and having fun, it struck a chord with me. So yeah, I mean when we’re at ‘Crash My Playa’ and we kick into it, it’s almost like we ought to do a special ‘Crash My Playa’ edition of ‘One Margarita.'”
Bryan concluded, “So, that’s the thing. I think Kenny Chesney has so many fun summer anthems, and I think ‘One Margarita’ falls in line with those Kenny Chesney summer anthems. I hope people are on their boats listening to Kenny, me, Tim McGraw, and all these classic summer hits through the years. ‘One Margarita’ feels like it’s one that people jam on their boats while they’re at the lake, certainly on Fourth of July weekend.”
