Story Behind the Song: Craig Morgan, ‘Wake Up Lovin’ You’

Craig Morgan took "Wake Up Lovin' You" to the Top 20 on Billboard's Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts, but two members of up-and-coming band Old Dominion are the writers behind the hit. Matthew Ramsey and Trevor Rosen, along with songwriter Josh Osborne, penned the song, which Morgan recorded and released in July 2013 as the first single from his The Journey (Livin' Hits) album. Below, Ramsey tells The Boot the story behind the song.

That song, for a long time, was our kind of our flag in the ground of who Old Dominion was and, you know, that was definitely the one that got the most attention there for a long time and opened a lot of doors for us. So when the opportunity for Craig to cut it came along, it was a big decision point and really hard to decide what we should do. Ultimately, when an artist like that decides that they want to cut your song, you kind of have to let them.

And it helps, you know? It definitely helps get your name out there. We can still play that song. We play it every night, we close our shows with it every night, and people know the words to it, and so in the end, it definitely helps ... For me, personally, as a writer, that song was [the song] that got me a publishing deal. It played a big part in me getting the publishing deal I had at the time because of that song and the attention that it was getting from other artists.

It had been cut by some other artists too -- I think Keith Anderson cut it. It was on hold for every other artist in town that for whatever reason ended up passing on it, so it had a lot of activity. But, on the other end also, at our live shows, when we played it, it was definitely the standout for us, and it got a lot of attention for us as a band, too.

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