Jon Pardi’s Co-Writer Shares Stories Behind “Heartache On The Dance Floor”, “What I Can’t Put Down”

Just tryin’ to get you amped up for Country in the Park!

By kncitom on May 8, 2019

Brice Long has been writing hit songs for country artists since the early 2000s. Among his most well-known songs are Nothin’ On But The Radio for Gary Allan, Like a Cowboy for Randy Houser, and Jon Pardi’s #1 hit, Heartache On The Dance Floor, which Brice said came about in 2014 after Long heard Jon singing to himself what would become the song’s hook while out on the road together.

Jon jumped on the bus that night singin’ ‘where she at, where she at, where she at tonight’ and he was playin’ that little riff and he said man, I don’t know what this is but we could make somethin’ outta this. And I was like ‘oh my gosh if we don’t mess this up we’re gonna write a hit song’“.

That same night, Long said on the January edition of my podcast “Write You a Song”, they wrote a second song that would find it’s way onto Jon’s California Sunrise album, All Time High. Long’s also co-written another favorite among Jon Pardi fans, What I Can’t Put Down, which, he said, was initially intended for Gary Allan. 

That was a title (co-writer) Bart Butler had and … he wanted to write that song with me because he wanted a Gary Allan cut.”

Long explains that he and Gary had worked together before and Allan was about to start recording a new record. So they sat down and start to write. But…

…it had a different melody and the whole deal.” 

Long says Butler was friends with Jon and told him about the song.

“...and (Jon) freaked out about the title and some of the lyrics and stuff and … took it upon himself to come up with that melody because he wanted to be on that song so bad…and he came in with that and wanted Bart to ask me if we could finish it together because he loved it and I said, ‘sure man’, you know, whatever…so Jon came in and kinda played the melody and what he was hearing and then we went and finished the song.”

How’s that for a story?! Jon loved the song so much he had to have it for his own.

Hear what else Brice Long has to say about Jon (including why, from the first time he saw him, he knew Jon Pardi would be a star) by clicking below and giving the podcast a listen. The Jon Pardi stuff starts at about the 22 minute mark, but Brice also talks about the craft of songwriting and shares other stories behind songs, if that sort of thing interests you. 

 

 

 

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