What a song.
Released by Luke Bryan in 2013, the song was actually written by the great Chris Stapleton, along with Jim Beavers. And while many writers and artists in the country music industry knew who Chris was back then, he was relatively unknown to the general public prior to his 2015 CMA Awards performance alongside Justin Timberlake.
But let’s get back to “Drink A Beer.”
Back in the Spring of 2013, Luke Bryan shared a new song he just recorded titled “Drink A Beer” and even brought Chris out to let those vocals rip in the background during a live performance in Morgantown, West Virginia.
It was admittedly an unrehearsed duet, but regardless, Luke and Chris killed it. You can see Chris following Luke in real time as they work through the song, taking hints and cues from each other, both just winging it.
And of course, when Chris really opened it up at the end, he put jaws on the floor.
But then, we started to hear solo versions from Chris, who started blowing up on the country music scene a few years later.
And while Luke’s “Drink A Beer” is still a great performance, especially given his personal connection to it (Luke tragically lost his brother, sister, and brother-in-law in three separate incidents), there’s just something about the solo Chris version that sends chills down your spine.
And to this day, I still don’t think we talk enough about it.
I know there’s always publishing issues and business side of the music industry that keeps cool things from happening, but I would love for Chris to record some of these old songs that he wrote for other artists. Songs like “Drink A Beer,” “Another Try,” “Never Wanted Nothing More” and the rest of his deep catalog.
If only…
