Riley Green has just released his third studio album called Don't Mind If I Do. To promote it, he sat down with Apple Music in an interview where, among other things, he talked about the many musical influences he had at a young age. Among them, Merle Haggard, the country music icon, stood up as one of the artists he connected with early on in his life.
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"I can remember one of the first songs I ever heard that made me really feel something from the lyrics was 'Sing Me Back Home' by Merle Haggard," said Green. "It was talking about the guy in prison, wanting to hear one last song. Something about that, something I could never comprehend, but that was what the song did. It took me to a place I had never mentally been before."
"My dad loved The Band, still one of my favorite groups. Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Marshall Tucker Band," continued Green. "My grandaddy, Bufford, that was really where my big music passion came from. Like Roy Acuff, Merle Haggard, and George Jones. So I listened to a lot of different music."
A Bit Of Everything
Merle Haggard was perhaps the main influence for Riley Green, but it certainly wasn't the only one. Green also talks about how his house sounded back in the days of the "CD era". He remembers her sister listening to artists such as Weezer, Sublime, and even Matchbox Twenty. Her mother was more of a classic and folk-rock enthusiast, who listened to bands such as The Mamas and The Papas and Fleetwood Mac.
Riley Green elaborated on his influences and mentioned the grunge band, Pearl Jam. More specifically, he talked about the band's version of Last Kiss, a song they recorded for a charity album in 1999. He also mentioned Eric Clapton and how he played his guitar as well as hearing artists play their songs acoustically as a sort of "test" they needed to undergo.
Riley Green released Don't Mind If I Do on October 18 and has been well-received by critics. It features 18 tracks, with two collaborations with Luke Bryan and Ella Langley in Reel Problems and Don't Mind If I Do.
"It feels fitting that this album is out on my birthday because this project feels very true to who I am, where I come from, and what I've learned along the way," said Green. "I learned to play guitar to my granddaddy's favorite country songs from back in the day and this new album is a throwback to the era when I first became a fan."
