Stories Behind the Songs

In Episode 160 of Stories Behind the Songs, host Chris Blair sits down at The Listening Room in Nashville with Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Kent Blazy for a second conversation. Kent has played The Listening Room since day one, and he has seven No. 1 hits to his name, including Garth Brooks' first, "If Tomorrow Never Comes." Kent tells the story behind "Somewhere O...

In Episode 159 of Stories Behind the Songs, host Chris Blair sits down at The Listening Room in Nashville with Grammy-nominated songwriter Parker Welling. Parker is a writer behind billions of streams and multiple No. 1 hits, and her story is a lesson in patience. A song can feel like magic in the room and still take years to become a “sure thing.” Parker unpacks what actually happens between the...

A hit song can feel inevitable when you hear it on the radio, but the path to that moment is usually messy, slow, and full of near misses. I sit down with songwriter Summer Overstreet to unpack what it really takes to build a lasting career in Nashville songwriting, from the early days of trying to earn your seat in the room to the surreal calm that hits after your first No 1. Summer grew up aroun...

A country song debuts at number one and the writer’s first reaction is, “How is that possible?” That’s where we start with our good buddy Billy Montana as we return to Nashville for round two and unpack the story behind “More Than a Memory” the Garth Brooks comeback single that became the first-ever #1 debut in Billboard country chart history. We talk through what the rollout looked like from the...

A hit song can be obvious to listeners and still be one decision away from disappearing. We’re back in Nashville with legendary songwriter Billy Montana, and we trace the unlikely chain of moments that turned “Suds in the Bucket” into Sarah Evans’ chart-topping country anthem. Billy shares his road from upstate New York to a Warner Bros deal, the choice to protect his family from the risk of movin...

In this episode we get into the nuts and bolts of the songwriting process with Bobby Tomberlin and the business realities behind a hit. Bobby also shares what it feels like when a song flips your career overnight, from struggling for appointments to Grammy nominations, and how listeners’ letters and emails can hit harder than any award. Then the story turns heavier and more human. Bobby talks abou...

On this episode we sit down with songwriter and industry pro Joe Fox to unpack the story behind Jon Pardi’s hit “Last Night Lonely.” Joe walks us through the song’s origin — the initial idea, the co-writing session dynamics, and the moments in the room that turned a simple phrase into a radio-ready chorus. We dive into songwriting craft: melody choices, lyrical turns, and how the arrangement and p...

A hit song can start as a title scribbled in your notes app, a half-sung voice memo, or a joke on a tour bus that somehow turns into John Mayer actually playing on the record. In this episode we talk about Dallas Wilson's rare upbringing in a true Music City household, with a home studio, touring stories, and an early education from watching elite session musicians create parts in real time....

Join us for an intimate conversation with singer‑songwriter Seth Ennis as he recounts his transition from touring artist to full‑time songwriter. Seth discusses how he made the shift, how writing for other voices changed his creative process, and the range of artists and genres he’s collaborated with. He shares behind‑the‑scenes anecdotes about songs that took unexpected turns, how he tailors mate...

Join us for a special episode recapping CMA Fest 2026 with incredible interviews from Emmett Stevens Jr, Drew Baldridge, Taylor Austin Dye, Cassidy Daniels, Payton Smith, Brooke Lee, Erin Kinsey, Craig Campbell, and Melanie Dyer. We break down the standout festival moments, share backstage stories, and hear what each artist has been up to during CMA Fest. Plus, every guest reflects on their first...

A hit song can start with a flooded kitchen, a late co-writer, and a line tossed off as a joke. Sitting down with Phil Vassar, we follow the real road behind the radio: moving from Virginia to Nashville, getting told a piano player does not belong, and pushing through anyway until the first cuts finally land and the town starts listening. If you love songwriter stories, country music history, and...

A single “loss” can either break you or reroute you, and Terri Clark proves it can do both. Sitting down with me on Stories Behind the Songs, Terry tells the wild true story of a Canadian talent contest that left her and her mom crying on the drive home, only for her to learn ten years later that she actually won and was disqualified because she was underage at a Budweiser sponsored event. That on...

A country band doesn’t last 40 plus years by accident, and Diamond Rio doesn’t sound like Diamond Rio by accident either. We’re recording from a ship off Mexico, and Marty Roe and Dan Truman join me to tell the real stories behind the harmony stack, the brotherhood, and the grit it took to go from starving musicians to a band people can identify in seconds. We talk through the stepping stones that...

Time to close the books on a huge year and open the door to an even bigger one. We step back to celebrate what your support made possible at the Listening Room—862 shows, 150,000 guests, and a stack of songs that went from our stage to number one—while setting the stage for what’s next in 2026. We share why the Listening Room remains a passion project at its core and how community keeps pushing th...

A farm town kid with a tiny amp, a bandana from Stagecoach, and a promise to take one more swing at the dream—Tyler Rich sits down with us to unpack the road from Northern California to Nashville and what it costs to make something that truly feels like you. We trace the early wins and wipeouts: a record deal at nineteen, years of touring with homework due on a bus, an economics degree finished at...

A last-minute writing invite, a young artist with star power, and a chorus that had to carry the whole story—Ava Sapelsa walks us through how a room with Jamie Kenny, Trent Dabbs, and Max McNown turned into a multi-format hit climbing hot AC, pop, and country radio while living on the Billboard charts for months. We trace the journey from poetic verses to a clear “brown eyes” hook, why the melody...

A riff can change a room. That’s the spark Jerry Flowers chases as he walks us through the real stories behind hits for Sam Hunt, Ryan Hurd and Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Morgan Wallen, Keith Urban, and more—plus the hard turns only a long road can deliver. From the first glint of House Party’s pre-chorus to the soul-steeped simplicity of Chasing After You, Jerry shows how tempo, tone, and lived...

A hummingbird at a window. Santa Ana winds rattling the night. A promise to Vince Gill that forced the album to finally exist. Our conversation with Annie Bosco traces the real road behind California Cowgirl, a 19-song debut forged from writer’s rooms, wildfire skies, and the stubborn belief that the right song shows up when you keep showing up. We talk about the Malibu retreat that sparked a crea...

A porch write that wouldn’t quit, a chorus saved by one repeated word, and a ballad that made Madison Square Garden feel like home—this conversation with Grammy-nominated songwriter Jeff Cohen is a rare look at how hits actually happen. We go deep into the moments that shaped Postcard From Paris, Crazy For This Girl, Holy Water, and In Her Eyes, and trace how small creative choices turn into big c...

A modulation mistake that worked. A morning DJ who spun a ballad eight times in a row. A first-time co-write that became a TV theme and then went viral years later. Philip White joins us to share how a handful of honest songs leapt from small rooms to massive stages—and why some lines land like they were meant for the moment you hear them. We start with the whirlwind behind Rascal Flatts’ I’m Movi...

Warning: that AI demo might be quietly licensing your lyric and melody to the world. We sat down with songwriter and producer Justin Morgan to pull back the curtain on how AI music tools like Suno really work, why their terms matter, and when using them can put you at odds with your co-writers and publishers. It’s a candid, practical guide to creating faster without giving away the store. Justin w...

A fictional town can set a songwriter free. That’s the spark behind Jennyville, the creative sandbox where Jenny Tolman learned to ignore the lanes, chase characters, and write past the limits of “radio safe.” From that sandbox came a career shaped by range: the gut-punch of a military tribute that found its moment and the dance-floor joy of a Texas two-step anthem. We go deep on Lonely In The Lon...

What if your songwriting school was a sold-out room and your tuition was a bar shift? We sit down with Luke Stevens to trace a path from Oklahoma fields to Nashville stages, where classic 70s storytellers like James Taylor and Jackson Browne shaped a pen built for honest lines and clean hooks. Luke shares the spark behind Second Thoughts First, a title he caught in the wild and turned into a choru...

Some songs take the long way home. Jeff Middleton joins us to map that winding route—Jersey kid to Nashville lifer—through a Warner deal with The Dirt Drifters, a thousand-dollar RV that literally went up in flames, and the four-year journey of Drowns The Whiskey from a bus write to a multi-week No. 1 with Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert. It’s a story of grit, timing, and how a better demo can ch...

What if the song that changes your life starts with a brief, a laugh, and a note you weren’t sure you could sing? We sit down with songwriter Abram Dean and trace the unlikely trail from church costumes and a middle-school talent win to LA’s genre-blend grind, a Warner publishing deal, and a move to Nashville that felt less like strategy and more like calling. We unpack the room where “Gonna Love...