We’ve got Rocky Block with us for this week’s new episode of Stories Behind the Songs!

I have known Rocky for years because I was close friends with his father and it’s been so cool to watch his career take off, from playing bass on a cruise line to having several top 40 hits, all within just a few years.

It seems like Rocky has a writing credit on every hit single and #1 album lately. He’s collaborated with some of the biggest names in country music and has too many great cuts to list, but a few highlights include: “Can’t Help Myself” by Dean Brody, “Man Made a Bar” by Morgan Wallen and Eric Church, “Cowgirls” by Morgan Wallen and Ernest, “Broadway Girls” by Morgan and Lil Durk, “Whiskey Bent” by Cody Johnson and Jelly Roll and other cuts such as “Hammer to the Heart” with Teddy Swims who he says is not only a “generational talent” but also just a super nice guy.

In this episode, we also cover his collaborations with Larry Fleet and Ashley Gorley, signing with Big Loud Publishing, writing “Jupiter” with Georgia Webster, being a fan of the artists he’s in the writer’s rooms with, and finding inspiration with new co-writers.

He also gives us a quick performance of “Cowgirls”, and as always, we get to hear the story behind it - the idea for this one came from the TV show, Yellowstone!

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. We are passionate about sharing the Stories Behind the Songs and getting to know the songwriters behind the stories, and it’s because of listeners like YOU that we are able to continue doing it.

And thanks to our sponsors for all that you do for us! We appreciate you! More on our sponsors and other links below...

Podcast Show Notes:

Rocky's Instagram - @RockyBlock

Rocky's Apple Music Playlist - click here

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe

Our Sponsors:

Sennheiser - https://www.sennheiser.com/en-us

Imperfect Aesthetician - https://www.instagram.com/imperfectaesthetician/

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Emily Landis is here with us this week on Stories Behind the Songs! It was so good to have her onstage with us.

Emily is killing it right now after being in Nashville for 12 years - she has recent cuts with artists like Tiera Kennedy, Dylan Scott and Gabby Barrett. She got her first #1 hit with Gabby Barrett’s “The Good Ones” written back in 2018 which ended up getting multiple CMA noms for Song and Single of the Year. You’ll hear how this song started with just a title and was almost trashed - we’re very glad she didn't do that! We also go over “Stuck In My Ways” - one she wrote for Lauren Watkins who is the current opener for Morgan Wallen. This song’s writing process began similarly to “The Good Ones” and has an awesome story behind it.

While sitting together this week, we also discussed Emily losing her first pub deal with Big Machine which motivated her to make more contacts, play more rounds and get her name around Music Row. We cover the story behind “Chasin’ Tornados” - written with Jamie Moore and Lainey Wilson, and Emily answered the question - melody or lyric first when she's writing songs? And, as always, Emily performs a couple of her songs for us - “The Good Ones” and “Chasin’ Tornados.”

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. It is our mission to bring you the Stories Behind the Songs from the songwriters themselves and it's because of YOU that we get to keep going.

Let’s jump in - here’s Emily Landis.

Podcast Show Notes:

Emily's TikTok - @emily_landis

Emily's Instagram - @emily_landis

Emily's Apple Music Playlist - here

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe

And thanks to our sponsors! We couldn't do it without the support of Sennheiser, Imperfect Aesthetician & Alclair In-Ear Monitors

We’ve got Brice Long with us on the podcast this week. Brice has enjoyed a successful 25+ year music career. As a songwriter he has had over 100 of his songs cut with artists such as Garth Brooks, George Strait, Chris Stapleton, Hank Williams Jr, Randy Houser, Josh Turner, Reba McEntire, Gary Allan, Cody Johnson, Chris Young, Jon Pardi, Easton Corbin, Lainey Wilson, Casey James, Darryl Worley, Randy Travis, Gretchen Wilson, John Michael Montgomery, Porter Wagoner and many more.

Brice has tons of wisdom to share when it comes to getting a start in music city. This is a guy who started off struggling to pay his bills and has come full circle with several hits for major artists and his own foundation which he created to give back to the community.

This week, we focus on the stories behind "Nothing On But the Radio" by Gary Allan, "Heartache on the Dance Floor" by Jon Pardi, and "Like A Cowboy" by Randy Houser.

Brice had a record deal with RCA and got dropped, but secured a #1 with Gary Allen that same year. He talks about his collaboration with Jon Pardi on several songs, emphasizing hard work and the importance of jumping on a good opportunity. On this episode, we also cover his work with Randy Houser, including the CMA-nominated "Like A Cowboy," opening many doors and his foundation, "Back to Back," helping over 150 families in the community. Brice is extremely humble and throughout the episode, consistently credits God mixed with hard work for his success.

If you enjoyed this episode, give us a follow and check out our Stories Behind the Songs playlist to hear more of the songs Brice has written throughout his career.

We also want to shout-out our sponsors Sennhesier, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alclair In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of 10% off by placing an order at alclair.com/sbtsongs!

Alright, let’s get to it - here is Brice Long.

Podcast Show Notes:

Brice's Instagram - @BriceLongSongs

Brice's Website - BriceLongMusic.com

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe

Davis Loose joins us today and man I have loved getting to know him these past couple years. I met Davis when he was just 16 at the St Augustine’s songwriter’s festival. I host this festival every year out in Florida and the year I met Davis I was genuinely surprised by how talented he was. He is a fantastic songwriter and performer so when I heard he was thinking about making the move to Nashville, I told him he'd have a job at the Listening Room. Davis has been in town for just 2 years now and during that time he has - grown his network to writing with guys like Mark Irwin, went from serving tables here at the Listening Room to playing our main stage, writing a song that made its way to American Idol, and puts in the work writing 5 days a week. Davis has one single out so far titled - John Deere Tractor Beer and tells the story behind this one and plays a piece of it for us. Davis is young and fresh in Music City and has a lot of great work left to do. Right now, he has the opening slot on Randy Houser’s upcoming tour, is continuing to play songwriters festivals, and continues to write and build his camp with some iconic songwriters here in town. We had a lot of fun during this one and are so excited to introduce you to one of Nashville’s up-and-comers. You can find Davis on Instagram @davisloose and be sure to check out his recent release “John Deere Tractor Beer” anywhere you get your music. It's a great one. If you enjoyed this episode, give us a follow and click that notification button to stay up to date when new episodes are released. We also want to shout-out our sponsors Sennheiser, Imperfect Aesthetician, and Alclair In Ears – if you’re looking for a good set of in-ear monitor make sure to take advantage of 10% off by placing an order at alclair.com/sbtsongs! Alright, let’s go - here is Davis Loose! Podcast Show Notes: Davis' Instagram - @DavisLoose Davis' YouTube - @davisloose And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here: Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe

#SBTSongs

Well this week took a turn! As I was sitting down ready to interview Davis Loose (who I did end up interviewing and his episode comes out next week!) my staff had tricked me and he took over the interview! It was a surprise and I wasn't sure how it would go, but we had a lot of fun. So on this episode, you get to hear more about me...Chris Blair. You'll hear how I got into music, what moved me to Nashville and how I ended up starting The Listening Room. You'll hear the struggles I went through in the beginning and what I did to overcome those. It's a little of the story behind me and TLR - so I hope you enjoy it! As always, a big shoutout to our sponsors: Sennheiser Microphones, Imperfect Aesthetician and Alclair In-ears. We have a new discount for Alclair, so if you need a great set of in-ear monitors check out Alclair.com/sbtsongs. And follow us (and me), here: Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe #sbtsongs

Jordan Dozzi joins us this week on Stories Behind the Songs! Jordan landed his very first number one on the charts ~ just this week actually ~ with Morgan Wallen! “Man Made A Bar” - written by Jordan Dozzi, Larry Fleet, Rocky Block, and Brett Tyler - was originally meant to be released by Larry Fleet. In this episode, we learn how Morgan heard it, loved it, and RELEASED it himself - sending it up the charts to number 1. Jordan’s catalog of songs includes - “Things I Take For Granted” for Larry Fleet, “Get The Girl” for Seaforth, “Fine By Me” for Chase Matthews, “It Don't, He Won't, You Do” for Jake Owen, and a song for Nelly - which was his very first cut ever - CRAZY! We take a look at the stories behind all of these songs and as always - we get to hear Jordan play a couple of them.

Also discussed in this episode: Jordan’s upbringing in Australia, the logistics of pursuing music as an Australian citizen in the US, making music signed under Big Loud and the type of community that comes with that, and he came in with Ernests’s guitar because his girlfriend stole his. It was a Cole Clark and I definitely had to give it a play before he left…

If you liked this episode, make sure to share it with your friends and give us a follow. It is our mission to bring you the Stories Behind the Songs from the songwriters themselves and it's because of YOU that we get to keep going.

Let’s get to it - this is Jordan Dozzi.

Podcast Show Notes:

Jordan's Apple Playlist - here

Jordan's Instagram - @JordanDozzi

And follow us, Stories Behind the Songs, here:

Listen/Subscribe/Follow - HERE

SBTSongs TikTok - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs Instagram - @SBTSongs

SBTSongs YouTube - @SBTSongs

Chris Blair's Instagram - @ChrisBlairMusic

Chris Blair's Website - ChrisBlair.com

The Listening Room's Website - ListeningRoomCafe.com

TLR's Instagram - @ListeningRoomCafe

TLR’s TikTok - @ListeningRoomCafe

#SBTSongs

And thanks to our sponsors! Sennheiser Microphones, Imperfect Aesthetician & Alclair In-Ear Monitors! Check out Alclair.com/SBTSongs to get 10% off your order!