Get To Know Riley Green

From February 17 to 21, new Backstage Country host Elaina Smith will be joined by none other than Riley Green! The country crooner will take over the airwaves, play good country music, and talk about his past collaborations and connecting with fans. 

Smith mentioned Green’s incredible collaborations in the past but what she wanted to know is how his collaboration with Thomas Rhett worked. Green said, “Well, me and Thomas really got to know each other after the BMI awards. He asked me to take him duck hunting. He'd never been before. So, we went down to Arkansas and I took him hunting."

He added, "We sat around and tried to write some songs. I think that was kind of eye-opening for me, too, because you think about me, an artist early in his career, and a guy like Thomas Rhett with all these hits and all the success wants to do a song with me.”  

He chuckled, “I should have just picked anything that he gave me. But we were a little stingy about it. We kind of waited for the right song. As soon as I heard [“Half Of Me”], it's such a fun song. You just knew it was going to be a big hit. And it really fits both of our personalities, too. I mean, we're both kind of goofy and it's a really lighthearted song. I was very fortunate he asked me to be a part of it.” 

Smith shared how she remembered a time when Green sang “I Wish Grandpas Never Died” and how he was commanding a stadium full of people, and how he connected with fans. Green said, “Well, any time you play a song, and the crowd reacts like that, and you feel that connection, it means a lot."

He continued, "But when it's a song like this, it's so personal. I mean, I wrote 'I Wish Grandpas Never Died' right down the road here in my first condo in Nashville after my granddaddy passed away. I didn't have any visions of it being a hit or really even playing it for anybody. I just kind of wrote it for myself and as a tribute to them.” 

He added, “Those kinds of songs always mean the most, whether they're hits or not. But when it becomes a triple platinum record, it makes it that much more special. Going on tour with Luke Combs and doing the stadiums that year, it was crazy. I mean, doing stadiums. And you're talking about 50 or 60,000 people singing that song and people crying. It's pretty cool. It just goes to show that country music is special in that way. People can take those stories and relate to them, make it about their own life.”