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Country singer Lee Brice: They love him like crazy
By John Benson
Lee Brice isn’t on top of the country-music world yet, but he’s sure on his way.
More than likely you recognize the South Carolina native for his massive 2009 hit “Love Like Crazy,” which not only holds the record for longest chart run in the history of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart but also was named Billboard’s Most Played Song of 2010.
“Accolades are cool, and we’ve had a couple of cool things happen, but really my dream is to be playing music for a living and writing songs and producing records,” said Brice, calling from the Music City. “That’s what I’m doing. I couldn’t be happier. We started out and had a few top-30 singles, and then the last two years it really changed. In my world, radio knows I’m not going anywhere anymore.”
It’s been quite a journey for the talented athlete who played football for the Clemson Tigers before moving to Nashville to chase his dream. In fact, the former center and long-snapper said the pigskin game actually helped him prepare for the cutthroat industry that is country music these days.
Thouogh it was roughly a decade ago when Brice landed in Nashville, it would take nearly five years before he started to make inroads as a songwriter. His credits include co-writing Garth Brooks’ No. 1 comeback single “More Than A Memory,” as well as writing Adam Gregory’s “Crazy Days” and “What it Takes,” as well as Tim McGraw’s “Still” and Jason Aldean’s “Not Every Man Lives.”
This success led to his 2009 debut effort, “Love Like Crazy.” Now Brice is hard at work at his sophomore effort, which is due out in March.
“I’m so excited about this record because it’s all about who I am now,” Brice said. “There’s a lot of stuff I’m trying to do musically that hasn’t been done in a long time. Literally, on two or three of these tracks, I was singing while the band was playing. The live vocals make it feel like there’s this realness coming from the music that hadn’t been done in a long time. I’m just excited to see how it turns out.”
Fans who want a peek at his next album don’t have to look further than his current single, “A Woman Like You,” which already has broke into the top 40. Brice said he’ll be playing the tune when he returns to Northeast Ohio for a Saturday show at the Dusty Armadillo. Opening the show will be Sarah Turner, Youngstown’s budding country singer.
Brice actually has an affinity for the Youngstown area with his girlfriend and son currently calling it home. However, they’ll soon be moving to Nashville into Brice’s new house.
So considering he now has family ties to Ohio, does that mean he’ll be rooting for the Buckeyes?
“I have acceptance for the Buckeyes,” Brice said, laughing. “It’s not the ACC, so I’m good.”