Earlier this year, Riley Green released his Way Out Here EP. The seven-song collection was a hit among his fans. However, one song stood out from the rest. Released shortly before the EP, the sultry single “Worst Way” has become one of his most popular tracks. Currently, it sits among his most-streamed songs with nearly 30 million plays.
“Worst Way” is one of three songs on the EP that Green wrote solo. Recently, he appeared on The Kelleigh Bannen Show on Apple Music Country. While there, he revealed the writing process behind the sexy single. While doing so, he revealed the two songs that inspired him to write it.
Videos by American Songwriter
[RELATED: Behind the Meaning of “You Look Like You Love Me” by Ella Langley and Riley Green]
Riley Green on the Inspiration Behind “Worst Way”
Riley Green revealed that Eric Church’s song “Like a Wrecking Ball” was a major inspiration behind “Worst Way.” However, this wasn’t the first time he drew inspiration from that song. “I wrote a song years ago and it was called ‘When She Comes Home Tonight’ and it’s that type of sexy love songs thing, which I don’t tend to do a lot,” Green said. “I wrote that song because I was covering ‘Like a Wrecking Ball’ by Erich Church.”
Green went on to say that when he started touring in a higher capacity, he wanted to replace the cover with an original that had the same feel. Then, he repeated that magic with “Worst Way.” However, he didn’t just look to Church’s hard-loving track. He also pulled inspiration from a less likely source outside of the country music world.
“When I wrote ‘Worst Way’ that was kind of in that vein and I had a vision of songs that give me that type of feeling over the years. ‘Slow Dancing in a Burning Room’ John Mayer, that vibe,” he explained. “Something about that was so cool to make it country and make it my own. I would’ve never thought that song would be as big as it has been, but it’s had a whole moment,” he added.
Featured Image by ADAM DAVIS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Most Popular
Comments / 0