{"id":1310251,"date":"2019-05-13T23:00:46","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T05:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1806619"},"modified":"2019-05-13T23:00:46","modified_gmt":"2019-05-14T05:00:46","slug":"dustin-lynch-rides-the-road-to-chart-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/music-news\/dustin-lynch-rides-the-road-to-chart-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Dustin Lynch Rides the Road to Chart Success"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

by Edward Morris<\/a><\/span> 43m ago<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

The road is central to country music. It\u2019s an avenue of escape from soul-killing pain and provincialism \u2014 as in Jason Aldean\u2019s \u201cRearview Town\u201d and Sweethearts of the Rodeo\u2019s \u201cMidnight Girl in a Sunset Town.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or it\u2019s the welcoming way back to one\u2019s heart\u2019s desire \u2014 as in John Denver\u2019s \u201cCountry Roads\u201d or Porter Wagoner\u2019s \u201cHighway Headin\u2019 South.\u201d Sometimes, it\u2019s the trail to a triumphant homecoming \u2014 as chronicled in Johnny Carver\u2019s \u201cYellow Ribbon,\u201d or a trail of tears to a sad return \u2014 as in Elvis Presley\u2019s \u201cLong Black Limousine.\u201d<\/p>\n

The road looms large in the hit songs of Dustin Lynch<\/a>, too, who\u2019s observing his 34th birthday today (May 14). But it doesn\u2019t fit into any of the categories above. As Lynch sings about it, the road becomes the gateway to frisky romances.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look back at the roads he\u2019s traveled so far:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
    \n

    \u201cCowboys and Angels\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    No. 2, 2012<\/p>\n

    Writers: Dustin Lynch, Tim Nichols, Josh Leo<\/p>\n

    In this, the gentlest of Lynch\u2019s singles, the road is more figurative than literal. \u201cI\u2019m hell on wheels, and she\u2019s heavenly,\u201d he croons. Later he says, \u201cWe ride side by side \/ A cloud of dust and a ray of light\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m not sure why her path crossed mine \/ Accident or grand design.\u201d Throughout, there\u2019s the implication of a romance going somewhere. And the accompanying music video drives the point home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n
    \n

    \u201cShe Cranks My Tractor\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    No. 16, 2012<\/p>\n

    Writers: Lynch, Nichols, Brett Beavers<\/p>\n

    One can only assume it\u2019s a series of high-speed vehicles \u2014 the singer chief among them \u2014 that the lady is cranking. \u201cWe\u2019re a cloud of dust \/ Once I get her buckled in my pickup truck,\u201d he crows, and continues with \u201cI go fast, she hollers faster\u201d and \u201cBurning the back roads\/sucking jet fuel from the radio\/Cows and cornfield flying by.\u201d Do you sense a certain eagerness to get to the main business at hand?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n
    \n

    \u201cWild in Your Smile\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    No. 23; 2013<\/p>\n

    Writers: Rhett Akins, Ben Hayslip, Marv Green<\/p>\n

    Not one for subtleties, the singer begins with this direct pitch: \u201cHop in, let\u2019s ride, take it down this road.\u201d He later elaborates confidently, \u201cSomething tells me you don\u2019t care\/You\u2019re up for goin\u2019 anywhere\/A long as that wind\u2019s blowin\u2019 through your hair.\u201d Eros in the fast lane.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n
    \n

    \u201cWhere It\u2019s At\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    No. 1, 2014<\/p>\n

    Writers: Cary Barlow, Zach Crowell, Matt Jenkins<\/p>\n

    More emotions in motion. \u201cOn a plane or a train or way back in the sticks \/ I swear if she\u2019s there, that\u2019s where \/ Yep, yep, that\u2019s where it\u2019s at.\u201d However, he adds, \u201cIt ain\u2019t in a souped-up shiny red new truck \/ If she ain\u2019t to my right.\u201d Well, at least there are limits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

  5. \n
    \n

    \u201cHell of a Night\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    No. 1, 2014<\/p>\n

    Writers: Crowell, Adam Sanders, Jaron Boyer<\/p>\n

    The road is downright hazardous when the guy in this song gets the girl into his truck. \u201cFoot heavy on the floorboard, everywhere we go \/ I\u2019m talking once in a lifetime, blowing your mind \/ Burning down these back roads.\u201d But wait, there\u2019s more: \u201cOoh, baby you and me, just a-running down crazy \/ Flying high, living careless, on the edge of wild and reckless \/ Hold on tight, I\u2019m \u2019bout to show you one hell of a night.\u201d And he seemed to be such a nice boy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

  6. \n
    \n

    \u201cMind Reader\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    No. 1, 2015<\/p>\n

    Writers: Akins, Hayslip<\/p>\n

    OK, so he sets the scene, \u201cAnd right here in this car \/ It\u2019s like you knew that smile was gonna melt me down.\u201d If she really is \u201ca little mind reader,\u201d as he flatters her, she\u2019s already concluded there\u2019s no bachelor pad or hotel with room service in her immediate future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

  7. \n
    \n

    \u201cSeein\u2019 Red\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    No. 1, 2016<\/p>\n

    Kurt Allison, Steve Bogard, Tully Kennedy and Jason Sever<\/p>\n

    On the road again \u2014 he just can\u2019t wait to get on the road again. \u201cAnd I just can\u2019t wait to get you out tonight \/ Yeah, you know how bad I want it \/ Ride this Chevy like a Cadillac with that one stoplight \/ No lookin\u2019 back \/ Wherever we\u2019re going gotta get there fast.\u201d Are you sensing a pattern?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

  8. \n
    \n

    \u201cSmall Town Boy\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    No. 1, 2017<\/p>\n

    Writers: Akins, Hayslip, Kyle Fishman<\/p>\n

    Lynch sings, \u201cShe\u2019s my cool, she\u2019s my crazy \/ She\u2019s my laid back in the front seat.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

  9. \n
    \n

    \u201cI\u2019d Be Jealous Too\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    No. 34, 2017<\/p>\n

    Writers: Lynch, Ross Copperman, Jon Nite<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

  10. \n
    \n

    \u201cGood Girl\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    No. 1, 2018<\/p>\n

    Writers: Lynch, Justin Ebach, Andy Albert<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

  11. \n
    \n

    \u201cRidin\u2019 Roads\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    Writers: Lynch, Crowell, Ashley Gorley<\/p>\n

    In his current single, the mobile romance references are rampant, perhaps best summarized by, \u201cJust ridin\u2019 roads on a night like this \/ Ridin\u2019 roads \/ I got one hand on the wheel \/ And I got the other tryna cross the line, line, line.\u201d And he\u2019s not talking about that broken yellow line because he\u2019s not passing on this one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    On his way to becoming a country music star, Lynch earned a degree in biology, no easy achievement and one to remember.<\/p>\n

    \n
    Edward Morris is a veteran of country music journalism. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a frequent contributor to CMT.com.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    via:: CMT News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    by Edward Morris 43m ago The road is central to country music. It\u2019s an avenue of escape from soul-killing pain and provincialism \u2014 as in Jason Aldean\u2019s \u201cRearview Town\u201d and Sweethearts of the Rodeo\u2019s \u201cMidnight Girl in a Sunset Town.\u201d Or it\u2019s the welcoming way back to one\u2019s heart\u2019s desire \u2014 as in John Denver\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1310251","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-12 12:58:43","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1310251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310251\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1310251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1310251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1310251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}