Dec. 11/Jan. 12—On the Cover: The Peach Pickers

Country music songwriting trio The Peach Pickers, comprised of Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip, have penned a long list of hits including Frankie Ballard’s “A Buncha Girls,” Blake Shelton’s “All About Tonight,” Josh Turner’s “All Over Me,” Joe Nichols’ “Gimmie that Girl” and “The Shape I’m In,” Luke Bryan’s “I Don’t Want This Night To End,” Craig Morgan’s “This Ole Boy,” Jack Ingram’s “Barefoot and Crazy” and more. The three members have also been honored with awards such as 2011 ASCAP & BMI Songwriters of The Year and Billboard Top 5 Country Songwriters.

 

Rhett Akins

Publisher: EMI Music/Rhettneck
Recent Singles: Rodney Atkins’ “Take A Back Road,” Justin Moore’s “Bait A Hook,” Blake Shelton’s “Honey Bee” (along with Hayslip) and Rodney Atkins’ “Farmer’s Daughter” (along with Hayslip)
Hometown: Valdosta, GA
Birthday: Oct. 13
Outside Interests: Hunting of all kinds but mainly deer and turkey. I also like history, classic literature and biographies such as Civil War, world history and classics from Homer to Charles Dickens.
Musical Influences: Hank Williams, Hank, Jr., George Strait, The Rolling Stones, The Allman Brothers, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Bill Monroe, KISS, ‘80s hair bands, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, George Jones, Conway Twitty, Lynyrd Skynyrd, John Cougar Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Run DMC
Favorite Records: Hank Jr.’s Greatest Hits, George Strait Greatest Hits, KISS Alive 1 and 2, Van Halen 1, Rolling Stones (every one), Led Zep 1 thru 4, Allman Bros. Eat A Peach and Live at Fillmore East, Woodstock Soundtrack

Dallas Davidson

Publisher: EMI Music/String Stretcher
Recent Singles: Luke Bryan’s “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” and “Rain Is A Good Thing,” Justin Moore’s “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away,” Lady Antebellum’s “Just A Kiss” and “We Owned the Night,” Joe Nichols’ “Take It Off,” and Billy Currington’s “That’s How Country Boys Roll”
Hometown: Albany, GA
Birthday: March 14
Interesting Facts: I sold farmland after college. Picked up the guitar at age 24 and never thought about moving to Nashville until then.
Outside Interests: Fishing, hunting, golf and Georgia football.
Musical Influences: Otis Redding, Hank Williams Jr, Waylon Jennings, George Strait, Allman Brothers Band
Favorite Records: Clint Black’s Killing Time and Otis Redding’s The Essentials

Ben Hayslip

Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music and THIS Music
Recent Hits: Martina McBride’s “I’m Gonna Love You Through It,” Blake Shelton’s “I’ll Just Hold On,” Blake Shelton’s “Honey Bee” (along with Akins) and Rodney Atkins’ “Farmer’s Daughter” (along with Akins)
Hometown: Evans, GA
Birthday: March 11
Interesting Fact: I wrote my first song with childhood best friend and fellow Peach Picker Rhett Akins at age 14. Growing up I dreamed of being an NFL quarterback, a Major League baseball player or a professional songwriter. One out of three ain’t bad.
Outside Interests: My main interest is spending time with my family. I coach all three of my boys in baseball, football and basketball. We also spend as much time as possible on our small farm in Wilson County, Tennessee riding four wheelers, sitting around bon fires and deer hunting.
Musical Influences: Elvis Presley, Percy Sledge and Otis Redding to  Hank Williams Jr., Garth, Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, and Run DMC
Favorite Records: Randy Travis’ Storms of Life and You and You Alone, Hank Williams Jr.’s Habits Old & New and Greatest Hits, Alan Jackson’s Here In The Real World