Braving Nashville’s sweltering heat, a large crowd gathered at The Sutler saloon Tuesday afternoon (July 16) to celebrate the chart success of Riley Green’s “There Was This Girl,” which he co-wrote with Erik Dylan.
Jointly sponsored by BMI and Big Machine Label Group, the party began with Green and Dylan performing the song being spotlighted.
The crowd broke into applause throughout the performance. Then Dylan and the backup musicians left the stage. Green told the partygoers he wanted to do a second song, one he had written on his own and which he planned to release soon. It was called “I Wish Grandpas Would Never Die.”
“I wrote it about my two grandpas and the values they instilled in me,” Green explained before launching into the song. The lyrics consist of a list of wishes the singer has about an ideal world in which “everybody knew the words to ‘Mama Tried’” and “country music still played on country radio.”
BMI’s David Preston praised Dylan for citing the late Guy Clark as his songwriting “hero.” He noted that Dylan, who joined BMI in 2010, has had songs recorded by Eli Young Band, Justin Moore, Kip Moore and Eric Paslay, among others.
Preston was equally laudatory toward Green, who, he said, has been with BMI since 2012 and boasts a catalog of more than 100 songs.
Speaking of the success of “There Was This Girl,” BMLG CEO Scott Borchetta called it “one of the biggest wins we ever had,” and Jimmy Harnen, BMLG Records chief, boasted that the song has “more hooks than a tackle box.”
Green responded modestly to the deluge of compliments. “I accidentally made a lot of choices and wound up with good people,” he said. “I’ve honestly been spoiled by the support I got.”
Photo 2: PICTURED (Back Row: L-R) – Red Light Management’s Zach Sutton, Producer Dann Huff, BMLG’s Scott Borchetta, Warner Chappell’s Ryan Beuschel, Peer Music’s Michael Knox, BMI’s David’s Preston, Fusion Music’s Daniel Miller (Front Row L-R): BMLG Records’ Jimmy Harnen, Riley Green, Erik Dylan. Photo by Steve Lowry
Photo 3: PICTURED (Back Row: L-R) – BMLG Records’ Cherylynne Nader, Michelle Kammerer, Andi Brooks, Andrew Thoen, Madeline Farr (Front Row: L-R) – BMLG Records’ Liz Santana, BMLG’s Scott Borchetta, Riley Green, Erik Dylan, BMLG Records’ Jimmy Harnen, Matthew Hargis. Photo by Steve Lowry
