Earlier this week, Lee Brice celebrated his fourth No. 1 single with his tearjerker of a tune, "I Don't Dance." But it was his wife's tears - her uncharacteristic tears - that let him know he had something special with the song, as reported by CMT News.
Lee candidly admits that Sara, his wife, is she his one true love, absolute best friend and musical muse. He also admits that she can be brutally honest in a constructive way when he writes a new song and plays it for her-and then asks her what she thinks of the tune.
"She doesn't hold back when I bring home songs," he confesses. "She'll tell me the truth. And sometimes I hate it."
Brice pushes on.
"She'll be like, "Yeah, I don't know. I don't get that,' or 'You can make that better,' but I do appreciate her honesty."
Lee got together with fellow songwriters Dallas Davidson and Rob Hatch to write a song for Sara as a wedding gift. And when he played the song for her he was not expecting her reaction. The first time she heard the touching words and music of "I Don't Dance" she was moved beyond words to actual tears.
"I mean, she really loved it," he said. "She had a little tear in her eye, and she was like, 'Lee!'"
Used to his wife's role as a supportive - yet honest - critic of his work, Sara's tears caught him a little off guard. But in a good way.
"The way she reacted to 'I Don't Dance,' it was perfect. That couldn't have made me happier."
The song's success proves the way it touched Sara's heart when she first heard it is exactly the way it touched the hearts of others. The No.1 song powered Lee's new album - cleverly titled "I Don't Dance" - to the top of the country album charts. And, oh yeah, "I Don't Dance" is up for Song of the Year at November's CMA Awards.
Lee admits the songs he writes are the songs he wanted to write when he first decided to chase the dream of a country music career. And the success of "I Don't Dance" reinforces that he is on the write songwriting track.
"When I heard songs on the radio that were my favorites, I thought they were personal songs," he recalls. "Back then, I just thought the singer wrote the songs, so I grew up wanting to write personal songs. So to write that and, again, for it to do what's it's doing, it's exactly what I always dreamed about."
