Universal Universal Music Group Nashville Pressroom

“We knew it was special when we cut it,” Kimberly Schlapman said. “The timing of it has been so great. We’re on the road with Rascal Flatts so everybody’s really beginning to hear it now because it’s getting played more and more. Every show is more fun because of it.”

Bandmate Phillip Sweet agreed. “I think the more people hear it, the more momentum it grows and builds,” Sweet said. “It’s one of those things you can’t write it out and say, ‘This is going to be a big ol’ smash.’ You just hope and we do our best at making a fun record that we are moved by and enjoy.”

Little Big Town shared their appreciation to the fans for initially showing an interest in the song.

“People want to have fun,” Fairchild said. “That’s the main thing: people want to have a good time. So if you’re making a playlist and you’re going out to the lake for the weekend or the beach, I think it just fits people’s lives right now.”

The band admits they initially gravitated to the song that Natalie Hemby, Luke Laird and Barry Dean wrote but never dreamed of its steady rise up the charts.

“Natalie sang the demo and we thought, ‘Man, that’s a song that you’ve never heard.’ First of all, who’s ever written a song about a pontoon? Never heard that. But having a chick sing it? I don’t know,” Fairchild confessed. “There’s something weird about the delivery when we heard Natalie sing it. And so we thought, ‘This song is cool. It sounds like something country fans will really love if they could get a chance to hear it.'”

A song they could relate to themselves having spent many hot summer days on pontoons, Little Big Town’s busy schedule keeps them off the water and on the road. In fact, the last time they were on a pontoon was at the CMT Awards in June.

“CMT let us have that pontoon and we couldn’t fit it into the storage space that we keep so we had to cut it into four pieces,” Fairchild confessed.

The group planned a trip to the lake on their day off in Detroit to rent pontoons but time slipped away from them.

CREDIT: BILLBOARD

“It’s something that I never dreamed of — having that many number one songs,” he said in an exclusive interview with Billboard. “It all feels like a blur. It feels like yesterday that I was writing ‘What Was I Thinkin’ in the Sony Tree Publishing firehouse — we used to write songs in this old converted firehouse. To even put out ten songs — let alone ten go to number one seems like a lot to fathom.” 

Bentley is proud of the fact that he has been able to mix it up musically since his first single, with his past two records being of great contrast to each other. “I’ve really been able to spread it around and do a lot of different kinds of music in my career, which has been a real blessing. I totally credit that to the fans for giving me that freedom – as well as country radio. ‘Home’ was a lot different than ‘5-1-5-0,’ but for me, it’s all about songs that take you on a journey. Certainly, I’m always thinking about the live show in the back of my head. I want to have material that encompasses a lot of ground – from partying and blowing off some steam and forgetting about our worries for a little while to a song like ‘Home’ that talks about the founding of this country and all our triumphs. So, there is a lot of stuff in there.” 

Bentley continues to stretch artistically, as he does with the August 21st release of Country and Cold Beer, which he says is quite different from what he has released in the past. “Just like with “Up On The Ridge,” this is a project that I have wanted to do that is a little different from the stuff I have out there, but I think the fans will love it. We went in and did about four songs, turned them into the label, and they flipped out over them, and wanted to do this EP thing. It all ties in to the end of summer, and kicking it with your friends. It’s about country music, beer, and having a good time. I think a lot of our college age fans will really dig it.”

Bentley will support the disc with a small tour of some college campuses in the south. “I’m looking forward to this little tour we’re doing to support it, at some schools in the SEC. We’re going to Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina, so it should be a fun tour.”

The next single from Home will be “Tip It On Back,” which represents a first for Bentley. “This is the first song we’ve released as a single that I didn’t write,” he says, as the track was penned by Tully Kennedy, Ross Copperman, and Jon Nite. I’ve been trying to find some good outside songs. That’s a fun process – trying to find a song that fits who you are and what you’re trying to say. It would make my day to present a number one hit to them on their very first cut. That would be very special to me.”