No. 1 Party: Rascal Flatts’ “Banjo”
(L-R) songwriters Tony Martin and Wendell Mobley; Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus, Joe Don Rooney and Gary LeVox; songwriter Neil Thrasher; Big Machine's Scott Borchetta and producer Dann Huff. Photo: Ed Rode.
Big Machine Records’ Rascal Flatts and songwriters Tony Martin, Wendell Mobley and Neil Thrasher celebrated their recent No. 1 hit “Banjo,” produced by Dann Huff, at Puckett’s in downtown Nashville on Monday (6/12).
BMLG head Scott Borchetta welcomed the guests at celebration proclaiming, “This is our third number one together already, and man, we’re just getting started.”
Presentations were made by ASCAP’s Marc Driskill, peermusic’s Kim Wiggins, BMG Rights’ Dann Huff, (marking his 32nd No. 1 song as a producer), BMI’s Jody Williams, Sony/ATV’s Troy Tomlinson, Warner/Chappell’s BJ Hill, CRB’s Bill Mayne, and MusicRow’s Sherod Robertson.
The down-home, country vibe of Puckett’s provided a relaxed environment for the festivities complete with camaraderie, great food and iced tea. The celebration even had its own “hecklers” in the audience (aka Flatts members Gary, Joe Don, and Jay) which turned the festive party into full-fledged entertainment.
Tony Martin admitted he broke all the rules when he “ghermed the living crap” out of Gary LeVox on the golf course. “Will you sign this golf ball for me?” heckled one of the Flatts guys, bringing a chorus of laughter from the audience.
Wendell Mobley came up and kept it short and sweet by saying, “If you had anything to do with this record, thank you. And if you didn’t, thanks for coming to help us celebrate.” That earned Mobley his own bullyragging, “…very heartfelt!,” from the heckling table and even more laughs.
Before he even spoke, Neil Thrasher got a “thanks for dressing up for us” taunt from the hecklers. Thrasher gave a shout out to his parents sitting in the audience and thanked everyone, admitting when he first heard the song, he sent a text to Huff, “This is the most awesome sounding record you’ve ever made.”
After a fun time of celebrating, Rascal Flatts took the stage and gave a sincere and heartfelt thanks to everyone, including the songwriters, producer, country radio and the Big Machine Label Group staff.
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