Brantley Gilbert had a No. 1 hit in 2019 with “What Happens In A Small Town,” his duet with Lindsay Ell. While collaborations are often orchestrated by record labels or management teams, Gilbert reveals it was his idea to ask Ell to join him on the song, after hearing her sing at the Grand Ole Opry.
“One of the first times I heard her, my mother-in-law wanted to go to the Opry, ’cause she’d never been,” Gilbert tells BMLG. “So, I was like, ‘Hmm. I’m gonna make this happen. I’m taking the mother-in-law to the Opry.’ So, I took [my wife] Amber and her mom and her little brother to the Opry, and that night Lindsay was playing, And Grayson, my youngest brother-in-law, just fell in love. I mean head over heels. So her name never got too far away, ’cause he was all the time talking about, ‘Hey man, can you introduce me?’”
Although Gilbert declined to introduce Ell to his brother-in-law, he did develop a fascination for Ell and her talent after seeing her at the Opry, something that only grew the more he learned about her.
“I heard her then, and really kind of kept up with her and how hard she works and how hard she grinds,” Gilbert shares. “And for somebody that’s grinding like that, you can’t help but wish good things for them.”
Gilbert is back at radio with another collaboration, this time “Heaven By Then,” featuring both Blake Shelton and Vince Gill.
“I’ve been a big fan of [Blake’s] for a long time,” Gilbert revealed on Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen. “Blake’s one of those that he’s always been nothing but kind and cool to me. When I came on the scene, especially back when I was drinking, I was a little different. I looked a little different, acted a little different than a lot of these cats up here. And it never bothered him a bit. He’s just always treated me the same and been kind to me, and I’ve always appreciated that …If I had a bucket list, he’d be on it.”
After Shelton agreed to join Gilbert on “Heaven By Then,” the father of two still felt like something was missing on the song — something only Gill could deliver.
“There’s an undeniable high part, the high harmony that needs to be there, but I wasn’t getting there,” Gilbert recalls. “I mean, it was almost immediate. You just know when you hear that part, it’s like, ‘Dude, if Vince Gill did this, it would be unreal.’ What are the chances of getting two legends, in my opinion, on the same song? And he signed off on it and did it, and it came back and it sounded like… It was just a pinch-yourself moment. I’ll never be able to tell those guys, but even for a songwriter, it’s hard to find words to thank somebody for that.”
Gilbert spent part of 2022 on tour with Five Finger Death Punch. He will return to the rock world when he serves as the opening act for Nickelback on their Get Rollin’ Tour, which begins on June 12 in Quebec, Canada. Find music and tour dates at BrantleyGilbert.com.