Exclusive: Kane Brown Talks ‘Fiddle’ and ‘Backseat,’ Shares Stories Behind the Songs

Kane Brown dropped his fourth studio album, The High Road, in January, and he said it’s his most personal to date – even the songs he didn’t write.

“With this one, I feel like I had to dig personal because I wasn’t really out talking to anybody,” Brown said. “I don’t party. I don’t get out, so I don’t get all these conversations and stories to write other music. I really had to think about what was around me at the time.”

That process started at the beginning of the album-making process with “Fiddle In The Band” and “Backseat Driver.”

Brown co-wrote “Fiddle In The Band” with Jordan Walker, Gabe Foust, and Russell Sutton. They started the song with Brown dedicated to the idea of making a stone-cold country album. The notion didn’t last very long. The singer said he remembered who he was.

“We were trying to do the Charlie Daniels thing and I was like, ‘No, screw it. I have fiddle, but I’m all these things. Let’s talk about it.’”

Videos by American Songwriter

Kane Brown: “We Were Trying to Do the Charlie Daniels Thing”

Brown said the fiddle-driven up-tempo rocker “came out so fun” and that he feels like it was “very overlooked” when he released it as a single.

“I’m really excited for it to be on the album,” he said. “Every time we play it live, everybody’s bobbing their heads, and I know there’s something there.”

Both songs fell into Brown’s lap on the same day. While he co-wrote “Fiddle In the Band,” his name isn’t on “Backseat Driver.” Walker co-wrote the song with Jacob Davis and told Brown about it the day they wrote “Fiddle In the Band.” The song was four or five years old, and no one had recorded it.

Brown said he felt like the universe just gave it to him. When he heard “Backseat Driver,” he felt like he wrote it.

“A lot of people listen to it and think that I wrote this song,” he said, explaining the fact he isn’t listed as a co-writer points to his character.

“A lot of people, I don’t feel like they realize (songwriters) ask (an artist) to jump (into co-writing) a song just so because they want you to cut it,” Brown explained. “A lot of artists are going to take that opportunity. But I felt the song was so perfect, I didn’t want to change one word. I felt like it was my story, and I felt like they deserved every bit of credit that they got for it.”

Kane Brown Wants To Ensure Writers Get Credit for “Backseat Driver”

Brown is the dad of two young daughters and an infant son, so the lyrics about a child asking various random questions from the backseat rang true to his heart.

 “I feel like the song’s beautiful, and so I didn’t want to take any credit from them for it,” he said.

While Brown had his daughters Kingsley,5, and Kodi,3, in mind when he recorded the song, they have no idea it is about them.

“Maybe one day they’ll understand,” Brown said.

Brown will launch his High Road Tour on March 13 in San Diego, California. The tour will twist through 23 cities, including two shows at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on April 11 and 12, then conclude with concerts shows in Gilford, New Hampshire, on May 24 and 25. Scotty McCreery, Mitchell Tenpenny, Ashley Cooke, and Dasha serve as tour support.

Photo by Dennis Leupold