Driving the freeways in LA takes a bit of concentration so when the voice came on, I didn’t realize until halfway through the first verse that it was Dolly Parton singing my song on the radio and LA California. My mind was on something else and the intro played, I remember thinking, that’s cool. I had been listening for it on the radio for days without hearing it. Michael Settle (“But You Know I Love You,” Dolly Parton): I was on Interstate 405 in Los Angeles, headed toward the San Fernando Valley. Wade’s record made the biggest impression on me, because I’d first seen Wade in a club here in Nashville, and I was involved with his career from the beginning. It was a real surreal experience, but a great wake-up call.

It was a good feeling to hear that song on the radio.Ĭhick Rains (“Old Enough To Know Better,” Wake Hayes): I had the radio on because somebody had told me they were playing it on this station, and I was actually asleep when I first hear it and couldn’t figure out what was going on. I was in England when I heard it, and even though I had already had a lot of records over there, it was a nice feeling being in a completely different country and hearing a song that we had written, virtually from nothing, in a studio behind a curtain in my house in Los Angeles. But it still might not be the same as someone might feel who doesn’t know how a radio station operates because we kind of know, oh it’s going in rotation, cool, we should be hearing it in about an hour. We work for radio stations and just thinking about it, yeah it was cool. That was a good feeling! I remember hearing that song but, you know, I don’t think it was as big of a feeling for us as for the other people. Richard “Humpty” Vission and Pete Lorimer (“Energy,” Devone): The first song we actually had out on the radio in rotation was the single “Energy” by Devone. I opened my window and screamed out my window and said, “Finally.” The feeling I had was, “why does it have to be playing now when I’m late.” I shouted. So I started my car up again and drove around the neighborhood because I wanted to hear it while driving. I had a writing appointment and I was running late, and as I parked the car it came on. It was already in the teens on the charts. I kept turning the dials on my car radio, and it would never come on. My first cut and my first single and my first number one song was “For My Broken Heart,” by Reba McEntire. Liz Hengber (“For My Broken Heart,” Reba McEntire): I was completely green as a songwriter when I first moved to Nashville, and I didn’t know it. As with song ideas, the responses were all different, but the emotions and reactions were all heartfelt. We decided to ask a few songwriters where they were and how they felt when they experienced hearing their song on radio the very first time. Whether you’ve called the radio station to find out when they will be playing your song, or whether you’re riding down the road and the first few notes of the next song sound familiar, it’s a real rush to hear that song for the first time. The thrill of hearing your song on the radio for the first time is one that most songwriters will tell you is unbeatable. Whether you’ve called the radio station to find out when they will be playing your song, or whether you’re riding down the road and the first few notes of the next song sound familiar, it’s a real rush to hear that song for the first time

Down for the thrill lyrics