In his decade-and-a-half-long career, Dierks Bentley has become one of country music's most consistent hitmakers ... and earned a reputation as one of the genre's nicest guys. Below, the country star recalls where he was when he heard himself on the radio for the very first time.

I was driving down I-65 in Nashville, going to drop my dogs off at a friend's house before I went out on the road that weekend. I heard "What Was I Thinkin'?" and pulled over the side of the road, as I always do, and sat there and listened to it.

Radio is what got me into country music, so just to hear yourself on the radio just blows your mind! I'll still go and scan the dials when I'm back in Nashville to see if my songs are on there, and if it comes on, I'll crank it up.

It's not just because I want to hear myself on the radio, but I love the way it sounds. Hearing a song go from writing [it] to the studio to the album and hearing it on the radio -- everything sounds different on the radio. It always sounds better, I think. I still [like to] listen to my stuff on the radio.

This story was originally written by Pat Gallagher, and revised by Angela Stefano.

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