Rhett Akins, smash country songwriter and father to Thomas Rhett, once told his son that one of the songs he’d recorded was “not a good idea” to release as a single — but he turned out to be very wrong.
Rhett was a guest on Taste of Country Nights, where host Evan Paul asked him if there has ever been a song that he wanted to release that his songwriter father thought was awful, but then went on to be a No. 1 hit.
Rhett immediately answered, “I think ‘Crash and Burn’ might have been the first one that my dad was like, ‘I just think that’s not a good idea.'”
The singer continued, noting that it wasn’t just his dad who thought “Crash and Burn” was a bad idea.
“There was a lot of people that I trusted a lot that told me that was a terrible idea,” he admitted.
Rhett Akins had a hit country career of his own in the ’90s with songs including “That Ain’t My Truck,” and he’s gone on to a second career as one of the most successful songwriters in Nashville, so his son values his advice both personally and professionally.
But Rhett stuck to his guns and decided to go against everything that his father and others in his circle were telling him and release the song. Written by a pre-fame Chris Stapleton and Jesse Frasure, “Crash and Burn” overlays sad, heartbroken lyrics onto an upbeat, fun instrumental track.
He’s glad that he did, because “that song did something really big for me. I think it kind of separated me from a lot of folks. But there were a lot of people that were like, ‘Hey, this could be career destruction for you.”
Rhett giggled as he looked back on the release of “Crash and Burn,” noting that he’s glad that he decided to go against the advice of his dad and others and release the song.
“Crash and Burn” scored Rhett his fourth No. 1 song in a string of six No. 1 hits in a row, from 2013 to 2016.
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Gallery Credit: Evan Paul
