Scotty McCreery has just released a new song titled “Bottle Rockets,” and it’s poised to become one of the biggest country songs of the summer of 2025.

But while the song is a carefree summertime jam, the writing process involved a raging case of the flu, six inches of snow and a “bear attack” near-miss, according to one of the songwriters.

The “Bottle Rockets” lyrics borrow the chorus from Hootie & the Blowfish’s smash debut single from 1994, “Hold My Hand,” but as famed Nashville songwriter Monty Criswell tells Taste of Country, nobody involved had any idea it would turn out that way when they got together to work on the song.

“We went to a writer retreat in January of this year up in North Carolina,” Criswell recalls. “Scotty’s got a place up there. Back several years ago, [producer] Frank Rogers and Scotty and I wrote ‘Five More Minutes,’ and since then, he’s always kind of found a way to include me in that process when he starts working on albums.”

Brent Anderson, Derek George, Jeremy Bussey and Bobby Hamrick were also part of the retreat, but Bussey had to cancel at the last minute when he was felled by a serious case of the flu.

However, not wanting to leave their friend and colleague out, the others opted to dial him into the writing session over his laptop.

“He felt horrible the whole time, but man, he pile-drived through,” Criswell shares. “When we were done, we all said, ‘Bussey, your work is done here … go to bed!'”

McCreery’s label was asking him for a summer-themed EP, so although it was the dead of winter and there were six inches of snow on the ground, the group set about working on a summer song.

McCreery is from North Carolina, and he had an idea to do a North Carolina/South Carolina collaboration with his friend Darius Rucker.

Not only are they friends, but Rogers has also produced Rucker, as well as Hootie & the Blowfish.

“So we started out with the thought that this might be an interpolation; it might go into another song, but we didn’t know which one it was gonna be,” Criswell shares.

They eventually landed on the idea of writing a nostalgic song that would build into the post-chorus by the narrator recalling “the smile on her face when she’d make me break out my guitar and play …”

But they still didn’t know which song that would lead into until the moment Rogers spontaneously broke into “Hold My Hand” at the end of the chorus, which fit seamlessly.

That turned into another “happy accident” — as Criswell terms it — at the end of the song, when it turned out they could layer the existing chorus and the chorus to “Hold My Hand” into a round to end the song.

They were building the track as they went along, recording a demo with McCreery singing lead and the others providing harmony vocals.

“It was the one time I got to be a Blowfish,” Criswell quips.

In addition to the winter weather and Bussey’s illness, there was one more potential challenge in front of the songwriters as they gathered at McCreery’s property.

“Late that night when we get there, Scotty says, ‘I gotta tell y’all, I have a bear,'” Criswell recounts, laughing.

“I said, ‘You bought a bear, or you’ve got a bear here roaming around?’ He said, ‘I’ve got one roaming around, I’ve got a trail cam set up.'”

Trail cam footage revealed a very large bear, but the bear didn’t show up during the day, preferring to roam at night for the most part.

Rogers decided to have a little fun with the others.

“The night before Brent and I left, Frank kept saying, ‘Nine hours.’ I was like, ‘Nine hours to what?’ And he goes, ‘Nine hours until the bear attack,'” Criswell relates with a laugh.

“He kept counting down: ‘Seven hours,'” he adds. “Before we all went to bed, we were all convinced that Brent and I would be involved in a bear attack in the morning.”

They got up before 5AM to head out the following morning, and when Criswell went to start the car, he noticed bear tracks all around the vehicle, though the bear was not present.

They left without incident, drove to the Charlotte airport and flew to Orlando for a songwriters’ show, and by the time they got there, McCreery had texted them, saying, “Your buddy was here this morning.”

He included pictures of the bear out by the rental car that Criswell had loaded that morning, with the time stamp of 4:55AM — a mere five minutes before Criswell walked out with his luggage.

“He said, ‘What do you think of that?’ And I said, ‘Dude, I’ve been telling you for years that five more minutes will make all the difference in the world!'” Criswell finishes with a hearty laugh.

In the end, not only Rucker, but the other members of Hootie & the Blowfish became involved with the actual track for “Bottle Rockets.” Rucker sang some leads, while Mark Bryan, Dean Felber and Jim Sonefeld re-recorded their signature group harmonies from “Hold My Hand” remotely to add to the track.

They’re also credited as songwriters on the finished track, bringing the number of writers on “Bottle Rockets” to 12.

“Bottle Rockets” was an instance success at country radio, opening at No. 30 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart and giving McCreery his 18th placement in the Top 40 on that chart.

The song is still climbing, and it’s likely to continue a streak of Top 5 singles for McCreery as we head into summer.

Though Criswell has had a 30-year career and counting, he’s still appreciative of each new opportunity, he tells us.

“I don’t take any of that stuff for granted. I just feel fortunate,” he reflects. “I’ve seen the other side of it, too; I know what that looks like. I’m just grateful and thankful to be a part of some of that stuff.”