It’s probably not a huge surprise to most fans that the most impactful song of Luke Bryan‘s career was his radio-ready mega-hit from 2011, “Country Girl (Shake it For Me).”
But the singer himself admits that he thought another song of his might take that title.
Bryan was a recent guest on the BobbyCast podcast, where he named “Country Girl” as the song that’s done the most for his career. Because of its ability to be both a party song and tell a story, it became a song that sort of shifted the direction of country radio, and of course, it had a massive impact on his personal career as well.
However, it was a little bit of a shift from what Bryan thought would be the most important music of his career. He originally moved to Nashville to write songs, and he was one of the writers on “Country Girl.”
He also had some other, more serious songs that he thought would be the biggest part of his legacy, and maybe even win him some major awards.
“I think when I look at a “Drink A Beer” or “Most People Are Good,” those were my opportunities at songs that I thought would be up for Song of the Year, and I never got a Song of the Year,” Bryan recounts.
Read More: Country Music’s 50 Best Party Songs
“That’s when I was kind of like, ‘man, you know, I really thought those would at least get nominated for something,” the singer continues, “and they never did.'”
It was then that Bryan realized that the slow-tempo, more serious songs weren’t going to be the ones that defined his career: He was going to be known for bringing that party vibe that people crave.
The “One Margarita” singer continued, “At this point at my career, I just need to be free with what I do.” Bryan explained how his party songs seem to be more impactful than the slow stuff on his career and, at live shows, too.
He’s embraced that trend, and he plans to keep it coming. He revealed that “in the next year or two, I’d love to have a big ole fun summer anthem pop up, because that’s fun to have.”
Luke Bryan has been a force in country music pretty much since he arrived in Nashville in 2005. “All My Friends Say” started the fire for him as a solo artist — and the rest is history. Let’s take a walk through time with 34 pictures of Luke Bryan young.
Gallery Credit: Evan Paul
Luke Bryan and his wife Caroline are known for their wild pranks and great senses of humor, but what makes this marriage work is a connection that runs deep.
The couple have known each other since their college days at Georgia Southern University. Their love didn’t click immediately (at least, not for Caroline) and they eventually split. However, after a few years apart, the couple would eventually recognize what they had in each other after reconnecting years later.
Fast forward to today and the Bryans have been married for nearly two decades and share two sons, Bo and Tate. They also serve as guardians of their nieces Kris and Jordan, as well as their nephew Tilden.
The pair have shared a lot of life and laughter together over the years!