Music biographer Jake Brown has recently taken fans and readers behind the scenes to some of their favorite country songs with his new book, Behind The Boards: Nashville. With over 30 of Nashville’s top producers like Dann Huff, Shane McAnally, Michael Knox, Joey Moi, Buddy Cannon and more, the book takes you through the stories and creation of hit songs that span decades of music.
One of the producers interviewed happened to be Paul Worley who produced for bands such as Dixie Chicks, Lady A, and The Band Perry. In a video interview for the book, Worley opens up about how the hit song from The Band Perry “If I Die Young” almost didn’t happen.
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Worley explains how the sibling trio actually started out as a punk band, before they topped the country charts. While practicing in a rehearsal space, Kimberly Perry pulled out the song “If I Die Young“ and showed it to Worley. In the video he recalled,
“I looked at [Kimberly’s] mom and dad and said ‘That’s an important song, that song needs to be recorded, and if you want to be a country act, you need to throw everything else you’ve got away.’”
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The trio wasn’t fond of the idea but they listened to Worley’s advice and went full country with their music.
He then goes on to explain that they recorded it with minimal instruments which was the opposite of what a lot of artists were doing at the time. The song reached the top of the music charts and was awarded Song of the Year, and Single of the Year at the CMA’s.
Watch the video below for the entire story.