“Trouble With a Heartbreak” is one of a whopping 16 songs John Morgan has written for Jason Aldean. That’s a whole album!
During a recent stop by Taste of Country Nights, host Evan Paul asked Morgan about his songwriting success, and more bluntly, what did Aldean give him as a thanks? Is it typical that a songwriter receives a present from an artist when a song goes No. 1 — if not a car, at least a watch or something?
“Uh, I haven’t got a watch yet, I’ll make sure he knows that that’s on the list,” Morgan says, laughing. “He gave me this hat, that was pretty cool.”
Morgan was wearing a Night Train Ranch trucker hat on this day — that’s Aldean’s brand that pulls its name from his Night Train album and hit song (Morgan didn’t write that one).
“He’s been cool to me, man,” the songwriter admits, even though he hasn’t gotten a free car. “He gave me a little bonus when I signed [to his label], so I’m milking that still.”
A gift better than any watch? Aldean has taken Morgan under his wing — he was even the first artist signed to the star’s Night Train Records label. Morgan has been to Aldean’s house, too, and sometimes hangs out with the family.
In country music, it’s an unspoken rule that opening acts get a pretty cool end-of-tour gift from their headliner. But when it comes to writing No. 1 songs for artists, presents aren’t expected … yet.
Jason Aldean exploded onto the country music scene in 2005 with his first hit “Hicktown,” which shot to No. 10 on the country charts. Since then, the megastar has released 11 studio albums and has had 27 songs reach No. 1. Let’s take a look back at a young Jason Aldean, when he was just getting started.
Gallery Credit: Evan Paul
Taste of Country asked readers for input and did a deep dive into Aldeans’ full catalog of songs to identify those worthy of this top songs list, and those that simply aren’t. Spoiler alert: A few radio singles are missing, and several album tracks rank inside the Top 20. Sales and chart success helped us round out the Top 50. Do you agree with No. 1?