David Lee Murphy ‘Just Had a Feeling’ About ACM-Nominated Kenny Chesney Duet
On Sunday (April 7), countless country music fans will tune in to the 2019 ACM Awards to see who will take home the trophy for Music Event of the Year. If nominees Kenny Chesney and David Lee Murphy end up the winners, they won't be accepting the trophy on the ACMs stage; in fact, they're already booked up that night.
"We are playing a show that night," Murphy tells Taste of Country about the pair's Song for the Saints Tour stop in Michigan that night. "I guess if we win, well, I don’t know what we will do. I guess we will have to celebrate onstage."
Nevertheless, Murphy says that his and Chesney's 2019 ACM nomination, for the song "Everything’s Gonna Be Alright," further cements the importance of the track, which has stood out since the day he wrote it.
"I just had a feeling about that song," says Murphy, who co-wrote the song alongside Jimmy Yeary and Chris Stevens. "When we made the record, I just lived with that song, and lived with it and listened to it, and I kept thinking, 'Man, I just don’t get tired of listening to this song.' It just had a vibe to it that kept going. I had a feeling that if we could get it out there and get it heard, we had a shot."
"Everything's Gonna Be Alright" has been on quite a journey thus far, having already snagged a win for Musical Event of the Year at last year' CMA Awards.
"I didn’t expect it to win that one," Murphy recalls. "I mean, things change after a few months go by, and a lot of times, it seems like the industry are just always onto the next thing. But Kenny texted me the morning we won the CMA award, and that was a pretty cool way to find out."
And nearly 18 months after its initial release, Murphy says he continues to hear about the effect that the song has had on so many lives.
"That’s like one of the best things for a songwriter to hear," says Murphy, who is currently out with his new single, "No Zip Code." "It's cool to have a song that connects with people. I get all of these texts and emails from people saying that they were going through something in their life, or their kids were sick or they locked their keys in their car. Some of the stories I’ve gotten makes you feel good that you were part of a song that had an impact."
And while the acclaimed songwriter of Jason Aldean's "Big Green Tractor”"and Thompson Square’s Grammy-nominated "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not" has had a long list of hits under his belt, he knows it's not easy.
"It's hard getting a song to be a hit," Murphy says. "There might be a handful of people that’s its easy for, but whoever is hot at that time and that constantly changes. Its all good. I’m just happy we got ours in there."
The 2019 ACM Awards are set to air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7, at 8PM ET on CBS.
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