It looked like a Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearsal Monday afternoon (Aug. 19) as the five songwriters of Kane Brown’s “Good as You” assembled for photos on the BMI stage in Nashville, along with their publishers, managers, promoters and various family members to celebrate the song’s reaching No. 1 in Billboard.
The writers being honored for the feat were Brown, Will Weatherly, Shy Carter, Brock Berryhill and Taylor Phillips.
While waiting for the picture-taking to conclude, the crowd of Music Row strivers and heavyweights circulated from the bar to the tables laden with Mexican food and brought each other up to date on their achievements, dreams and disappointments.
BMI’s Josh Tomlinson hosted the event, offering a brief background sketch of each writer. For Brown, it was his fourth No. 1 single and his third as a writer. For Weatherly and Phillips, “Good as You” was their second chart-topper and for Berryhill, his first.
Carter, who twice brought his babe-in-arms daughter to the stage to join in the festivities, also co-wrote Brown’s “Heaven” and Billy Currington’s No. 1 “It Don’t Hurt.”
As BMI tradition dictated, Tomlinson awarded Berryhill an acoustic guitar for racking up his first No. 1. A representative from Pinnacle Bank, which co-sponsors BMI’s No. 1 parties, told the songwriters that the bank had made a contribution to the Boys & Girls Club in their names.
Dennis Reese, from RCA, Brown’s label, came forward to tell Kane that he was “changing the landscape of what country music will become globally,” emphasizing that country was no longer just an American phenomenon.
Quoting legendary songwriter Tom T. Hall, Universal Music Publishing Group’s Troy Tomlinson told the honorees, “Every generation of songwriters should write for their own generation and everything will be all right.” Turning to Brown, he added, “A lot of artists make music, but few make a difference.”
Lede photo: BMI songwriters Brock Berryhill, Will Weatherly, Kane Brown, Shy Carter and Taylor Phillips
Bottom photo: Top Row (L-R): BMI’s Josh Tomlinson, BMG’s Chris Oglesby, Universal’s Troy Tomlinson, Warner Chappell’s Will Overton, RCA Nashville Dennis Reese and Taperoom’s Kelly Bolton and Ashley Gorley
