Alone in his house, surrounded by friends.
That’s the contradictory state presented in John Morgan’s first radio single, a collaboration with Jason Aldean titled “Friends Like That.” The two singers are pals at a professional level, for sure, since Morgan wrote three of Aldean’s recent hits and is signed to Aldean’s record label, Night Train, affiliated with BBR Music Group.
But the buddies in “Friends Like That” are a little more figurative: vices and voices telling the protagonist he’s better off alone than to be weighed down by the woman who just walked out on him. Broken hearts aren’t typically pleasurable, although the breezy melody and pulsing guitars on “Friends Like That” make loneliness sound attractive.
“That was kind of the point,” Morgan says, “to make light of a heavy subject.”
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Mission accomplished — with a little help from some friends.
Morgan wrote “Friends Like That” during September 2020 – the height of the pandemic – at Cornman Music in Nashville, where songwriter Will Bundy (“Half Of Me,” “Brown Eyes Baby”) maintains an office. They were joined by Lydia Vaughan (“If I Didn’t Love You,” “Out Of That Truck”) and Brent Anderson (“Cab In A Solo,” “Lonely Tonight”), ostensibly a group of writers who’ve been interacting with each other in different combinations for several years.
The day started – as it did for so many Americans in that window of time – fairly directionless. No one had any ideas they were passionate about, so they chatted, puttered and brainstormed a bit until something caught their attention. That something was a mysterious-sounding guitar riff that sounded like it was leading somewhere. It was ideal for an intro, and interesting enough that Vaughan insisted they make it part of the melody later in the song. It became the basis for the pre-chorus, setting up the sound of the chorus, which they attacked before they even knew where they were going.
“A lot of times the pre-chorus is just a transitional piece to get from A to B,” Anderson says. “Having, to the best of my knowledge, started this song with that part is probably the reason that it stands out.”
His co-writers are convinced that Anderson spit out the “Friends Like That” title, though none of them know how they got there. It was apparent, however, that they were writing a breakup song, with the singer listening to his friends’ advice about pulling himself together and moving on. The song’s conversations, though, took place in front of a fire at home. The friends were music (Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings) and alcohol (Jack Daniel’s), and staying home with them spoke volumes.
“When something like that happens to you, a lot of people write about the bar,” Morgan says. But having the character stay home “was more real to me, because when I get pissed off, or whenever something happens, I just don’t want to talk to anybody.”
Buoyed by “Willie,” “Jack” and “Waylon,” the singer addresses his ex in absentia with a dismissive payoff at the end of the chorus: “Who needs you when I got friends like that?”
As self-sufficient as the guy tries to sound at that point, he evinced a brooding outlook when the writers started filling in the blank spaces in the first verse. They established the setting with much of that opening stanza – it’s after sundown, with the ex’s keys on the table. When they reached that transitional pre-chorus, the lyrics refocused on his “friends,” changing the feel from lonely atmosphere to party central.
In verse two, the singer recalled the couple’s better days, reiterated that he no longer needed her, and – when the pre-chorus returned – boasted that he’s “got buds to get me through it.” It may take several listens to realize that while “buds” is short-hand for “buddies,” it might also simply be “buds.”
“It rides a nice line to me where it’s not like completely hidden,” Bundy says of the weed reference. “It’s sort of camouflaged in a cool way.”
The bridge gets ultra-cheery, with a call-and-answer component while the vices actually start talking to the protagonist, “telling me I don’t need you no more.” “It’s a great singalong moment,” Vaughan notes. “I just thought it was really catchy. I don’t know that it necessarily revealed anything new about the story that wasn’t already there, but we all just liked it.”
Aldean and two of his band members, bassist Tully Kennedy and guitarist Kurt Allison, produced “Friends Like That” at Nashville’s Sound Emporium with Kennedy’s adventuresome bass and Mike Johnson’s haunting steel adding some sonic burn to the track. Morgan played the opening riff and the guitar solo, but he was particularly impressed with the crew. He referenced a driving rhythm element on Tom Petty’s “Running Down A Dream” when they got to the bridge, and guitarist Rob McNelly locked onto it right away. “Seeing how pro those guys are is pretty unbelievable,” Morgan says.
Bundy produced Morgan’s final vocal session at Ocean Way. Morgan didn’t need much direction – the song had been written to fit his voice – but he definitely paid attention when Bundy gave him notes. “It’s sort of like getting to drive a Mercedes when you record John’s vocal,” Bundy says. “The great thing about John is we’re also such good buddies that I can criticize him and be tough on him, and he takes that and runs with it. You know he’s going to improve on it.”
Morgan’s solo version of “Friends Like That” became his most played song, racking up 23 million streams on Spotify following its Sept. 30, 2022, release. Aldean thought they should take it to radio. He also suggested that maybe he should add his voice to it, providing a little extra promotional incentive for programmers to add it.
Originally, Aldean wanted to just sing the second verse. Ultimately, Morgan persuaded him to do more – including the call-and-answer part on the bridge and a background vamp in the closing moments. Aldean also makes subtle melodic changes, adding a blue note here or there that creates a little extra grit. “That’s what’s so badass about him,” Anderson says. “He’s done that since the beginning.”
Night Train and Broken Bow released the Morgan/Aldean remix to country radio via PlayMPE on April 8 and set April 22 as its official impact date. “The song itself being called ‘Friends Like That’ — how fun is it now that it’s two friends singing on it together?” Vaughan asks.
In the end, “Friends Like That” will sink or swim on the lead voices, the breezy outlaw references and the self-deception that’s hiding just beneath the surface of the song’s relentless pulse. The freshly rejected guy in the song is a character everybody knows.
“There’s some bitterness in there, but also some sarcasm,” Morgan says. “Also, you know, [he’s] lying through his teeth.”