Billy Ray Cyrus Tells Untold Story Of How “Old Town Road” Remix Happened

The number 1 song on the Billboard charts for the last 15 weeks has been "Old Town Road" with Lil Naz X and Billy Ray Cyrus. We had Billy Ray Cyrus himself join The Bobby Bones Show in studio to share an exclusive story on how this song came to be what it is. Cyrus told Bobby Bones that it all started last October when he recorded his new single "Chevys and Fords" with Johnny McGuire. The song was meant as a celebration getting back to his country roots after spending so much time and energy making his latest album "SnakeDoctor Circus." Since the album wasn't going to be released until May he had some time off in California. He woke up one morning, he had just poured a cup of coffee when he received an email from Columbia Records with a request from Lil Naz X to see if Cyrus would join him on his song "Old Town Road."

Cyrus joked how his initial thought was "Who is Lil Naz X and what in the world is this song?" But he ended up listening to the song and instantly fell in love. Although Cyrus said he recalls thinking that there wasn't anything else he could add to it, the song was already a hit, he booked a studio for the following day to see what they would produce. Cyrus drove to a studio on Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles, California to meet with a few songwriters and producers. Fun fact: it was then brought to Cyrus' attention that Lil Naz X had originally tweeted back in December "Does anyone know how I can get this song in front of Billy Ray Cyrus?" So walking in the studio a few months later felt special; as if this was meant to be.

After messing around with ideas and lyrics, Cyrus and a few songwriters were able to write up his verse in about 10 minutes. Cyrus figured he was done and that's all he had to do for the song. But, a few days later the record label reached out again to ask if he could come in and sing the entire song, adding the verse off the top, and adding in his whistling. Cyrus said he truly thought the song didn't need all of this "because it was already a number 1 hit," but he was happy to join in.

A few weeks later once Cyrus and Lil Naz X met for the first time, the two shot the music video, and the song was released the following day. Cyrus said he was beyond excited to get the song out into the world. The very next morning once the song was released Cyrus' daughter, Miley Cyrus came running to his front door pounding and screaming "You're number two on the charts, the only people ahead of you are the Jonas Brothers!" Cyrus said he was slowly getting out of bed and by the time he was up he heard a huge roar and lots of cheering come from his living room and Miley screaming "Dad you're now number one!" Fifteen weeks later the song is still number one and Cyrus credits this song to putting life back into his career. He said his ticket sales have been higher, his shows are selling out like crazy, and he's been traveling all over the world performing at festivals and with artists he never thought he would. Cyrus gives a huge thank you to Bones for being one of the only people and shows in the industry to believe in the song, especially as a country tune, and he thinks that Bones had a major impact on the success of the song.

Aside from all the success "Old Town Road" has brought, Cyrus released a brand new single today with Johnny McGuire called "Chevy's and Fords". This song brings Cyrus back to his country roots where he said he's just a boy from Flatwoods, Kentucky who loves a good country song. Once he heard this song he knew he needed to record it, however, he wasn't expecting "Old Town Road" to take off the way it did. So now Cyrus has the time to release this song he's been sitting on for many months now!

Listen to the full interview to hear more about Cyrus' new music and why he told Bones joining "Dancing With The Stars" was one of the biggest mistakes of his life!


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