Easton Corbin Gets No. 1 Birthday Gift

Easton Corbin had two big reasons to celebrate Monday at a party in Nashville: his birthday and his very first No. 1 single, 'A Little More Country Than That.'

Easton and songwriters Wynn Varble, Rory Lee Feek, and Don Poythress celebrated the success of the tune at BMI's Nashville office, where they enjoyed the beautiful spring afternoon with a rooftop party.

"I'm great, this really feels good," Eason told The Boot at the fete. "It's so surreal right now; I've been so busy, I just haven't been able to slow down. It's such a blessing. I'm so fortunate, as a new artist, to have my first single go No. 1. What are the odds of that? Not very good!"

The singer, whose vocals have been compared to those of George Strait, said he was asleep when his wife discovered that the song had gone to the top of the charts. "My wife looks at the charts more than I do these days," he explained. "She saw that it had gone No. 1 and she started hollering. It woke me out of a good sleep! But that was a pretty good thing to wake up to!"

The songwriters told The Boot that they had written 'A Little More Country Than That' about five years ago for another singer who declined to do it because he didn't wear a cowboy hat, referencing one of the lines in the tune. Don said, "We told him it could be a cap; it didn't have to be a cowboy hat, but he didn't cut it."

In remarks made at the party, Easton thanked the writers, telling the crowd of friends, family and industry VIPs that the song is all about who he is. The Florida native grew up in a small town where farming and living off the land was a way of life, and Merle Haggard and Keith Whitley were on the radio. It was there that Easton developed a love for traditional country music and a respect for those two men, whom he calls his two favorite country singers.

Each of the songwriters thanked Easton for interpreting their song so well. Rory, half of the duo Joey & Rory, noted that he had written the tune with two of his best friends. "Don and I had written together every Tuesday for about eight years and nothing happened," Wynn told the crowd. "Then all of a sudden, something happened!"