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Scotty McCreery Doubles Down on Songwriting, Storytelling on ‘Rise and Fall’: ‘We Wanted to Make Country Music’


Scotty McCreery doubles down on country songwriting on new album 'Rise and Fall.'

The North Carolina native brought some of his closest songwriting collaborators, including Brent Anderson, Monty Criswell, Derek George and writer-producer Frank Rogers, on a writing retreat some 500 miles away from Music City, to McCreery’s home outside of Raleigh. “No Country for Old Men” longs for the classic sounds of years gone by, and showcases McCreery sinking lower than ever into his deep bass register, while name-checking Conway Twitty’s “Tight Fittin’ Jeans,” Ernest Tubb’s “Walking the Floor,” and Merle Haggard’s “Swinging Doors.” He wrote it during the retreat with Anderson, George, Rogers and Criswell. In late April, two of McCreery’s heroes, Travis and Josh Turner, welcomed him as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry — with that induction ceremony representing three generations of renowned singers who have remained committed to preserving and furthering country music’s traditional sounds.

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