They’re maybe an unlikely duo, but Chris Stapleton actually wrote one of Luke Bryan’s biggest hits.
Bryan just released his new album Signs, which features a duet with Luke Combs, and he celebrated the release with a huge show in Nashville last week called “Luke Bryan & Friends,” which took place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. He performed with tons of country stars in Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Dierks Bentley and of course, the aforementioned Chris Stapleton.
Stapleton was a co-writer on Bryan’s hit “Drink A Beer,” which he wrote with Jim Beavers. It was released in 2013 as the third single from his fourth studio album, Crash My Party, and ultimately became his seventh number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Bryan has talked a lot about how personal it was to him because of the loss of his own family tragedies in losing both his brother, Chris, and sister, Kelly, and I’ve always thought it was one of his best songs.
And during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night, Luke talked about his big Bridgestone concert and told the audience about how Stapleton had written “Drink A Beer,” long before he was the Chris Stapleton we all know and love today. Because Stapleton’s career blew up not long after the song was released and the two of them are both very busy, they haven’t performed it together much over the years, but Chris actually sang background vocals on the album cut and sang with Bryan during a 2013 CMA Awards performance of the song.
Bryan says they finally got to have a “real intimate moment” performing together last week:
“So what people may not know is, it was an amazing night, but Chris Stapleton actually wrote one of my songs ‘Drink a Beer.’ That was one of really, historically, one of my most emotional songs.
And this was before Chris became Chris, and he actually performed it with me at CMA Awards and he is the background singer on the actual record. So he and I finally got to really do a real intimate moment.”
He also said Chris is his “number one on Mount Rushmore” in terms of his all-time favorite singers (respect), and revealed something intersting he learned while performing with him in that Chris “really stares at you” while he’s singing and watches your lips.
Bryan called it “intimidating,” but also joked that he was “kinda falling in love,” and it’s something I’ve never heard any of Stapleton’s duet partners say before but it’s hilarious:
“Well, the interesting thing that I didn’t know about Stapleton is when… he’s such an amazing singer, I have him as my number one on Mount Rushmore, by the way, he’s my favorite singer. Well then I’m staring at, and he really stares at you while he’s singing at you.
Because he’s watching your lips, and then as he’s watching your lips, it’s very intimidating. And then the whole time, I’m kinda falling in love… He’s looking at you, he’s a Kentucky guy, bluegrass guy, man, they watch you sing.”
Nothing wrong with a little bromance…
It clearly works for him, too… you won’t find a great live performer alive on this earth than Chris Stapleton.
@katlindley those harmonies 🤌🏼 #fyp #lukebryan #chrisstapleton #countrymusic #nashville ♬ original sound – katelyn
Whether you like Bryan’s music or not, he always comes across as so funny and down-to-earth (and actually country, not fake country like so many artists today), and this is another really funny interview which you can check out in full here:
