Riley Green Jokes About The Respect His Mustache Earns Him
A newcomer to the ranks of famous men known for the prominent hair on their upper lip, such as Sam Elliott and Burt Reynolds, is country star Riley Green.
“Every year, in the summer, I shave,” Riley explained on the Big D & Bubba radio show on Monday, June 9, noting, “I like to get a little sun on my face.”
On May 20, Riley, the country artist who sings opposite Ella Langley on “you look like you love me,” shaved off his famous mustache and learned a valuable — and humorous — lesson.
Posting a photo of his clean-shaven face to his Instagram story, the image was captioned with: “Never let em know your next move…” and the hashtag “#shegone.”
On air, Riley confessed, “I didn’t realize that, this year, I was the mustache guy. It was a big deal.”
“The Mustache Guy”
When asked by Big D if he didn’t know he was “the mustache guy,” Riley replied to laughter, “Well, I knew I had one, you know?”
Riley then illustrated the difference between himself with and without the mustache, saying:
“A constant reminder is the respect I get on a daily basis… When you have a mustache like this, I always describe it, you know when you pull up to a four-way stop, with four stop signs, and you and another car get there at the same time? You always go first if you have a mustache like I had.”
The past tense “had” was said somberly by Riley, who, as of this June 9 interview, is still recovering from his May 20 shaving decision.
Continuing with his four-way stop analogy, Riley quipped, “I’ve seen guys put it in park and get out of their car — take the keys out, like, ‘Hey, I’m not going.'”
Bubba chimed in, “After you, sir.”
Watch Riley’s comments on his mustache, and see his shaved look, here:
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Related: People Are Obsessed With Sam Elliott’s Mustache—But the ‘1883’ Star Doesn’t Get It
Ella Langley Takes Credit For Riley’s Mustache
Riley’s mustache has recently had some multimedia moments.
Paying homage to Smokey and the Bandit (1977), starring a mustachioed Burt Reynolds, Riley advertised his Damn Country Music tour with a video of himself seated in a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.
Using old school rear-projection techniques, it looks and feels like the beloved film, while still being totally Riley Green.
See the advertisement for his tour, here:
Seated beside him in that tour promotional video is Ella Langley, who had featured Riley in the music video for their song “you look like you love me,” which was shot in the style of a Western film.
Again, Riley’s mustache sells the part.
Speaking on her collaborator’s mustache, Ella told the radio station 100.7 The Tiger in May of 2025, “Everyone’s excited about Riley’s mustache. You can thank me for Riley’s mustache, other than God, I guess.”
To meet the expectation of a cowboy having a mustache for her music video, Ella recalled, “I told Riley that he could not shave his mustache off, at least for the music video, and so, here we are, still, a year later, and I don’t think he can get rid of the ‘stache. We’re stuck this way.”
Watch the music video here:
