Dierks Bentley treated Music Row to lunch Thursday (Dec. 5) at Nashville’s trendy new Superica restaurant to celebrate the writers of his latest hit single, “Living.”
Bentley co-wrote the upbeat song with Ross Copperman, Ashley Gorley and Jon Nite, all of whom were on hand to share in the adulation — as was Bentley’s son, Knox, who co-stars with his dad in the “Living” music video.
The event was jointly sponsored by ASCAP and BMI, the performance rights organizations,
While the singer, writers, publishers and record label support team lined up for publicity pictures, the throng of celebrants flocked to the restaurant’s room-long bar or grazed along both sides of the food tables to indulge in guacamole tostadas, Morita braised chicken enchiladas, beef picadillo tacos, Mexican rice, black beans and grilled vegetables, all helpfully labeled as “dairy, nut and gluten free.”
“Living” is the third and final single to be plucked from Bentley’s 2018 album, The Mountain.
“This is it. This is the end of The Mountain. It was a journey that started during a trip to Colorado with incredible songwriters where we unplugged for days and just had so much fun,” Bentley said. “To have three songs off this album go No. 1 that are so meaningful to me is something special. If I were to do a writer’s night tomorrow I would play all three of those songs…these songs guided me to where my life is now.”
ASCAP’s Beth Brinker summoned Bentley and his co-writers to the stage to open the ceremonies. She announced that “Living” was Nite’s 12th No. 1 and Gorley’s 43rd. Recently chosen for the seventh time as ASCAP’s country songwriter of the year, Gorley is a veritable hit factory. Brinker pointed out that since “Living” went No. 1, Gorley has scored two more — pushing his total of chart-toppers to 45.
BMI’s Josh Tomlinson reminded the crowd that Copperman was a three-time winner of BMI’s songwriter of the year trophy. As an artist, Bentley has 18 No. 1s to his credit.
The theme of “Living” is to savor each bright moment of life. In a sly slap at country music’s frothier “bro” hits, Bentley’s label chief Mike Dungan sparked laughs from the crowd when he observed, “It’s wonderfully rewarding when you take a fully grown-up song to No. 1.”
Photo L-R: Ross Copperman (BMI/Rezonant Music Publishing), Ashley Gorley (ASCAP/Combustion Music/Round Hill), Dierks Bentley, Knox Bentley, Jon Nite (ASCAP/Endurance Music Group), Producer Arturo Buenahora. Photo credit: Ed Rode