Country music fans are getting an all-access pass to Riley Green’s world this week as he joins Backstage Country alongside Elaina Smith. Throughout the week, the Alabama native is sharing the stories, inspirations, and happy accidents behind some of his biggest hits.  

Riley Green Hits  ‘Change My Mind’  

Green recently performed “Change My Mind” at the ACMs, with American Songwriter calling it the best performance of the night. “That was news to me,” the Alabama native admitted. “What an awesome thing to hear. There’s so many great performers and great songs at that award show, and I just think it’s so cool that a song that’s been around for that long could still have life.” Green released the track earlier this year as the third single from his album, Don’t Mind If I Do.  

He added, “It’s one of those songs that really kind of snuck up on me and really grew on me. And probably the biggest transition from when I wrote a song to what it became in the studio. You know, that intro lick was such a… Like, you know it as soon as it comes on. And this was so great about having new music out. When you’re playing on the road and on tours, you get to see what songs fans really love, and that was one of them that just kind of hung around. So excited that I got to perform it and excited that it’s, you know, become a big old hit for me.”  

Riley Green – Change My Mind (Lyric Video)‘Think As You Drunk’  

Smith asked the Marshals actor if “Think As You Drunk” is ushering in a new era for him and how he came up with the Toby Keith nod at the end. “Well, I’ve always been a huge Toby Keith fan, and even more so when I found out that he wrote so many songs by himself,” Green said. “You know, that’s such a cool thing. And as a songwriter, that meant so much to me. And, you know, I’ve tried to follow his footsteps in a lot of ways in my career. I know he played a lot of shows overseas for the troops, and we’ve scheduled some of those to try to go and do the same thing.”  

He added, “And when I wrote this song, I remember when we got done, I said, ‘Man, that sounds like something Toby Keith would have wrote.’ It was cool to be able to throw a little nod towards him at the end, and it certainly fit the song, and it’s just such a fun song, and I’m glad I can finally talk about it.”  

Riley Green – Think As You Drunk (Lyric Video)

For more of Riley Green’s songs, visit his YouTube page here.