Lee Brice Celebrated His First Times on the Radio With Drinks in Pools
In 2007, Lee Brice celebrated two big career milestones: He released his first single, "She Ain't Right," which became a Top 30 hit on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, and "More Than a Memory," a song he co-wrote for Garth Brooks, became a massive hit. Below, the singer-songwriter recalls where he was when he heard those tunes on the radio for the very first time.
[When hearing "She Ain't Right" on the radio for the first time,] I was in a hot tub about two in the morning, because I knew it was going to be coming out at some point, and we were just out celebrating. I happened to be at home in a hot tub; I had a couple of my friends with me ... my girlfriend at the time and another couple, we were just hanging out. It was on a tiny little radio outside. I just couldn't believe my ears ... My friends and I just had a ball: We had a drink on the house. [Laughs] We were just sitting there, looking up at the sky and saying how we couldn't believe what was going on. I took it all in.
[When I heard "More Than a Memory" on the radio for the first time,] I was in Kansas City. I had done a show the night before, and they told me the song would be coming out the next day. The DJ called me and said, "Alright, turn your radio on, here we go," and they started playing "More Than a Memory" every hour on the hour that day. I was in the pool drinking a margarita. [Laughs] That was amazing! My manager and a lot of people were there celebrating with me. It was a really cool day.
This story was originally written by Pat Gallagher, and revised by Angela Stefano.