First No. 1 for Lindsay Ell
By Preshias Harris
Brantley Gilbert and Lindsay Ell got together with co-writers and members of Nashville’s music community to celebrate their Number One hit, “What Happens in a Small Town” on 08 January.
Number One parties are frequently held in one of Nashville’s many bars and honky tonks, but not this one. The celebration was held at Music City Indoor Karting, a go-kart track. There was a good reason for choosing this location. “I like to go fast. I like to go real fast!” said Gilbert with a grin. “December 18th was eight years without having a drink for me. I can still go to bars and it’s not a problem but it’s not quite as fun for me as it is for most. But this place, everyone can still drink and have a good time and I can run people into the wall!”
The story behind the song
At the media meeting before the award presentation, Brantley, Lindsay and co-writers Josh Dunne, Rhett Akins and Brock Berryhill, talked about how the song, “What Happens in a Small Town,” came about. Brantley said he had recorded and delivered to the label (Valory Music Co / Big Machine Label Group) what he thought was everything needed for the new album, Fire’t Up.
“Like so many times in the past, Scott Borchetta, our record label president, listened and he was on fire about it,” Brantley recalled. “He came back to me and said, ‘You know what? We have singles but I don’t feel like we have THE single yet.’ Of course, I was a little frustrated. But with Rhett and Brock, I knew we’d been productive together in the past and they were two guys that I trusted to call and say, ‘Hey, we need to go and write a Number One song this weekend!’ But these two guys are amazing,” Brantley said. “They dropped what they were doing and came out on the road with us.”
“I’ve been in Nashville now for ten years and it’s a town where you’ve just got to keep showing up and doing your thing. I have dreamed of celebrating this day since I was a little girl.” – Lindsay Ell
What happens on the bus…
They boarded Brantley’s tour bus in Nashville and drove to New York, reviewing ideas they had for the new song. There was a lot of pressure because Scott Borchetta had told them that as soon as they returned on Sunday, the studio was booked, Brantley would go in and record whatever song they’d written and it would be released as a single.
“Brock had a song that he and Josh had started and the minute we heard it, I felt like it was strong,” said Brantley. “It had muscle, it had soul. It had a vibe to it. We had discussed a duet, at some point in my career, but we had never done that. We’d done songs with people but I’d never done a guy-girl duet. And this song just felt like it had that vibe. So we wrote it in that direction. I wanted to call Scott before we finished it, like, ‘We got it! We finished it!’ We wrote a few good songs that weekend, but this song was definitely the one that raised its hand.”
The song they wrote was “What Happens in a Small Town.” When it was decided that it should be a duet, Borchetta suggested Lindsay Ell for the female part. “I saw her at the Opry one night and heard her play and I was just floored,” said Brantley. “So when Scott brought her name up it was just, that’s it! She went in the studio and, I mean, she just murdered it! She and producer Dann Huff made quick work of it. There were just no questions after that. That was going to be the one.”
“We need to do this,” said Lindsay
Lindsay talked about hearing the demo of the song after she’s been asked to be part of it. “I just heard Brantley’s version,” she said, “So it was just a guy’s [voice]. And they were like, ‘the girl puts in the second verse.’ And I remember, it took me thirty seconds listening to this song and I was like, ‘Well, that’s a hit.’ I remember calling my manager like, ‘Okay! We need to do this!’ My favorite collaborations are between artists that you wouldn’t normally put together because it’s something truly unique for that moment. Brantley and I are different artists but we both have this rock side to what we do so there was a cool way that our worlds came together and it just worked.”
“What Happens in a Small Town” took 48 weeks to climb to No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Lindsay recalled the moment she heard that the song had become her very first No. 1 hit.
“Number one! Number one!”
“We were playing a show,” said Lindsay. “I remember we were in Virginia somewhere. It was Saturday night and I remember walking to the Green Room and my whole band was like, ‘Number one! Number one!’ And I broke down crying. I’m so grateful, Brantley, to you, to you all, for writing the song, to Scott for calling up and asking us to be a part of it. I’ve been in Nashville now for ten years and it’s a town where you’ve just got to keep showing up and doing your thing. I have dreamed of celebrating this day since I was a little girl. Life never unfolds the way you think it is, the way you dream it to, but sometimes it’s so much better. This past year, I’ve gotten to celebrate so many cool things in my life. We got to go on tour together and the fact that we’re all together here today is pretty damn cool.”
Brantley nodded in agreement. “There are a lot of pretty faces in this genre, but Lindsay is not just that,” he said. “She’s a singer and this girl can play a guitar like nobody’s business. The way she plays makes me want to put my guitar in its case and never get it out again! That was another thing that drew us to her. She’s a unique artist. Incredibly talented. It was awesome!”
Nashville is a ten-year town
Turning to Rhett Akins, I reminded him we’ve known each other since around 1993. Nashville is often called a ‘ten year town,’ because it can take ten years of being here before finding success. This song was Brock Berryhill’s first No. 1 as a writer and Lindsay’s first No. 1 as an artist after ten years. I asked Rhett about writing with writers who were still on the rise or writing for emerging artists and what his approach was.
“I take every day seriously,” he answered. “Their entire life is dependent upon what this song is going to do. I really do stress about it. I walk around the house the night before like, ‘God, please give me an idea.’ I really do take seriously everybody that I write with, especially newcomers, because I can write with Luke [Bryan] or Blake [Shelton] or someone like that and if the song didn’t work, they’re probably fine. They’ll come out with another one. But when it’s a new artist, this might be it. Literally could be their only shot. So I appreciate it when I get called and really do try to write from the heart the best song that I can. It changes not only their career but it changes their family, it changes their crew’s, their band members’ lives, from the bus drivers on down or up. Their lives are dependent upon the song.”
As Brantley said, “Out of the five people we’ve got up here, we’ve got two first timers!”
Scroll down to read BABY NEWS: Rhett Akins and son Thomas Rhett both about to become new dads!
Idea clicked, walking to bus
“I’m super grateful for the whole thing,” said Brock, one of the ‘first timers.’ He recalled two of his favorite memories. “I was sitting in the Wal-Mart parking lot waiting for the bus and for Rhett to get there. I was like, ‘Man I’m open to do a duet,’ and it didn’t really even click until I was walking to the bus and I thought, ‘What was that thing I started writing with Josh? ‘What Happens in a Small Town stays in a small town.’ I remember it was really cool. And knowing now that this is where that got us to. The other cool thing was getting to work with Dann Huff and working on the song. We got off the bus on Sunday and Dann had me working with the band a little bit. Just watching the song come to life the first time we heard it and thinking, ‘Dang! This is frigging awesome!’ It was a great memory.”
Fire’t Up Tour starts off Jan 23
“What Happens in a Small Town” is the first single from Brantley Gilbert’s 2019 album Fire & Brimstone. “Fire’t Up,” the second single from the album, is now rising in the charts. Brantley is about to start out on his Fire’t Up Tour, with Chase Rice, Dylan Scott and Brandon Lay are on some dates. For a list of tour dates and a link to listen to Fire’t Up, visit Brantley’s website.
BABY NEWS: Before the presentations, I was catching up with Rhett Akins and his lovely wife Sonya. I asked them what the ‘due date’ will be for their baby. Rhett said their baby is due in March. Their new son will be named Brady. Then, with a smile, Rhett added that his son, Thomas Rhett, and wife Lauren are also expecting a baby, due in February. Rhett was explaining to me how the kinship worked out, and we laughed as it sounded like figuring out a Kentucky Family Tree! As Rhett pointed out, his son Thomas will be getting a new baby and a new sibling within a few weeks of each other!
Preshias Harris is a music journalist and music career development consultant with the emphasis on new and aspiring artists and songwriters. Her book, ‘The College of Songology 101: The Singer/Songwriter’s Need to Know Reference Handbook’ is available at www.collegeofsongology.com Follow her blog at www.nashvillemusicline.com