Russell Dickerson & Crew Celebrate Three No. 1 Hits

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Pictured (L-R): Laura Hostelley (Triple Tigers), Dave Collins (Triple Tigers), Diane Lockner (Triple Tigers), Casey Brown (SESAC), Hope Garrison (Triple Tigers), Julianna Vaughn (Triple Tigers), Russell Dickerson (BMI), Annie Ortmeier (Triple Tigers), Parker Welling (BMI), Kevin Herring (Triple Tigers), Raffaella Braun (Triple Tigers), Mackenzie Cooper (Triple Tigers). Photo: Thomas Heney

BMI brought Russell Dickerson and his team together on Monday afternoon (Feb. 26) to celebrate three chart-toppers “Every Little Thing,” “Love You Like I Used To” and “God Gave Me A Girl,” the latter marking the artist’s fifth and most recent No. 1 track.

Excitement and admiration filled the lobby of The Electric Jane as industry members eagerly awaited the celebration they had been anticipating since 2019 when “Every Little Thing” topped the charts. To kick things off, BMI’s Mason Hunter took the stage to welcome the crowd and share a few words about Dickerson’s impressive feat.

“When you’re busy and a rockstar and you rock with good people, you don’t celebrate one No. 1, you don’t celebrate two No. 1s, you celebrate three No. 1s,” he said, igniting a wave of applause among the crowd.

Hunter invited Dickerson, along with songwriters Casey Brown and Parker Welling, to the stage to commemorate the first two songs of the afternoon: “Every Little Thing” and “Love You Like I Used To,” produced by Brown and Dan Huff, respectively.

Pictured (L-R): Georgi Couri (Triple Tigers), Mackenzie Cooper (Triple Tigers), Annie Ortmeier (Triple Tigers), Blake Nixon (Triple Tigers), Ashley Gorley (ASCAP), Dave Collins (Triple Tigers), Raffaella Braun (Triple Tigers), Russell Dickerson (BMI), Kevin Herring (Triple Tigers), Chase McGill (BMI), Diane Lockner (Triple Tigers), Hope Garrison (Triple Tigers), Julianna Vaughn (Triple Tigers), Laura Hostelley (Triple Tigers). Photo: Thomas Heney

SESAC’s Lydia Schultz Cahill was the first ushered on stage to speak about the songwriters. Following Schultz were 3 Ring Circus’ Casey Le’Vasseur, Warner Chappell’s Spencer Nohe, Anthem’s Chandler Thurston, Home Team’s father-son duo Rhett Akins and Thomas Rhett, BMG’s Chris Oglesby and Concord’s Brad Kennard and Courtney Allen.

Welling’s husband and publisher, Nohe, expressed the full-circle moment that the party was commemorating. “I don’t take this for granted at all. It is always a miracle to have a No. 1 song, let alone to have three. To get to stand up here today to celebrate these three hits with my best friends and my wife–I am extremely grateful.”

Next, it was time for the songwriters to speak. Brown took the mic first saying, “I’m so grateful to be a part of these songs with some of my best friends. Thank you to my team, my publishers and my wife…none of this would have happened without her.”

Welling echoed Brown’s sentiment, “[Brown and Dickerson] are like brothers to me. I feel like we have grown up in this industry together, and it has been so fun. You guys, separately and together, are the safest room for me. Thank you for trusting me with your ideas.”

Lastly, Dickerson touted the songwriters, “It is so relaxing and safe to come in off the road after three shows in a row. Sometimes I have nothing left, but these guys take out their shovels and they help me dig deep inside of me when I am completely exhausted time after time again.”

Hunter took the stage once again to invite up the songwriters of the final track, “God Gave Me A Girl,” Ashley Gorley, Chase McGill and Zach Crowell, who was unable to attend. Hunter was also the first to speak about the songwriters, expressing his admiration for McGill’s work ethic and commitment to his family.

Pictured (L-R): LB Cantrell (MusicRow), Ashley Gorley, Russell Dickerson, Chase McGill, John Nix Arledge (MusicRow). Photo: Thomas Heney

ASCAP’s Mike Sistad was up next to boast Gorley’s many accolades. “Ashley Gorley, with 74 No. 1 songs, was NSAI’s Songwriter of the Decade, ACM’s Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year recipient, NMPA’s Songwriter Icon and ASCAP Songwriter of the Year for 10 years,” he said, prompting a chorus of impressed gasps and applause from the crowd.

Following Sistad, Tape Room’s Kelly Bolton, UMPG Nashville’s Troy Tomlinson, Round Hill’s Lindsay Will, Sony Music Publishing’s Rusty Gaston, Studio Bank’s Kari Barnhart and Triple Tigers’ Kevin Harring and Annie Ortmeier offered their congratulations to the artist, songwriters and their teams.

Gorley was the first songwriter to speak. He thanked his team and the wives of the group saying, “To be able to be married to amazing women definitely contributed to this song. I wanted to thank them for their contribution to the [writing] room that day.”

McGill then took the mic and joked saying he would make it quick as he and his wife got a babysitter, and they had a steak dinner in their future. He then sincerely thanked his team, his fellow songwriters and the label who he described as, “mad scientists,” at getting songs up the charts.

Lastly, Dickerson closed out the event with a beaming smile by once again thanking the songwriters, his family and Triple Tigers. “This journey has been amazing,” he said. “Without your ‘mad scientist brains’ this would not have been possible. You guys guided me every step of the way. I want to honor every single person in the Triple Tigers family for taking these three songs to the top and making history.”

John Nix Arledge
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