Riley Green: Who Shaped His Life And Music

Riley Green gave a special concert last night (10/12) in Nashville at the Walk of Fame Park just outside of the Bridgestone Arena. Fans and music industry folks got a preview of his new album Ain't My Last Rodeo, which is out today (10/13). Green sang all the songs from the album and some fan favorites for the packed lawn of people gathered in downtown Nashville.

His new album has a song directly inspired by a big influence in his life: his grandparents. I asked Riley earlier this week about the song "They Don't Make 'em Like That No More" and about his grandparents, who are no longer with us. Green said, "'They Don't Make 'em Like That No More.' I wrote probably a year and a half ago, and it was right after my grandmother Nancy passed away. Obviously, my family ties and my Grandaddy comes out in a lot of my songs. This one was really kind of geared toward that way of life and the values they had and how things were back then and even just me as a kid running around with them."

He added, "They had a huge influence on me musically and also just as a person. So, it's cool to be able to write songs about them and hear people sing them back to me and make them about their own lives and their own family members."

Green's grandparents played a big part in shaping him musically and personally. He told me, "I give a lot of credit to my grandparents for how I turned out and my music career and my success here. My grandaddy Buford was a really witty guy and wrote poems, and I think I would have really made a great songwriter. He really gave me the passion for country music, especially the traditional story-telling country music."

He concluded, "I probably at the time didn't realize that they were teaching me lessons to use down the road in life."

Riley Green recently announced he is releasing a new album, Ain't My Last Rodeo, on October 13 on BMLG Records. The 12-track project is named after a song on the album, "My Last Rodeo," which the singer wrote following one of the final conversations he had with his late Grandaddy Buford while in the hospital.

Riley attributes his Grandaddy Buford for his musical appreciation, education, and inspiration. He said in a statement, "I was fortunate enough to grow up within about three miles of my grandparents, so they were a huge part of my growing up and who I am—and this album is a lot of who I am. This is really the first time I was able to really take my time, write, and record songs that really felt like a cohesive album."

He added, "I'm really proud of it and want to thank the fans for all of their encouragement—I hope y'all enjoy it."

Green recently dropped a new song from the project called "They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore" that he co-wrote. The chorus of the new song includes the lyrics, "'Cause they don't make 'em like that no more / Some things you can't find in the discount store / There's just something 'bout bein' handmade / And bought with cash on a firm handshake / Like old Zebcos and pocket knives / Shotguns, rifles, four-wheel drives / And this worn-out pair of boots that my daddy wore / Well, they don't make 'em like that no more."

Riley also has a song with Jelly Roll on the project and a cover of Tim McGraw's "Damn Country Music."

The new album includes his current single, "Different 'Round Here," which features Luke Combs.

Green posted to Instagram, "My new album "Ain't My Last Rodeo" will be out October 13. The album preorder and a new song will be out this Friday. #newmusic #aintmylastrodeo #countrymusic #weouthere."

As we celebrated the upcoming release of his new album, we gathered some information that his peeps shared with us about the country hunk that we found interesting.