CURRENT SINGLE: “Half of Me” featuring Riley Green
Thomas Rhett co-wrote his latest song, “Half of Me,” with Will Bundy, Josh Thompson and his dad, Rhett Akins. It wasn’t until he was about 18 or 19 that Thomas really started writing songs with his dad, and he’s just so thankful that their writing relationship has only grown stronger and gotten better over the last 13 or 14 years. And Thomas reveals that technically, he and his dad have been writing songs together for over 25 years.
Thomas Rhett – writing with dad :56
“We wrote a song when I was six years old called, ‘A Piece of Wood,’ and it was about building a guitar. And that song has never been recorded. It probably never will be, but I do remember that vividly. My dad still has the little tape of us singing that song together in the kitchen. But I remember being in college and my dad was just getting out of being an artist and just transitioning into doing the songwriter thing, and I always thought it was so intriguing. What do you do for a living? Oh, I write songs. Really? You can do that for a living? And so, when I was in college, I used to go tag along with my dad during co-writes, and I think it would’ve been normal to have written some songs with dad early on but then maybe not write with him a lot. And somehow, someway, he is one of my favorite co-writers. His perspective on the music industry, the history that he’s had in the business – not only is he a great friend and co-writer, but just a great advice giver, and he can actually speak from personal experience. And so, it’s been really special. it’s just amazing that we still can do that together and also have success with it. It’s a big blessing to be able to have that relationship with my dad.”