Jim Collins is no stranger to No. 1 songs. He's had so many of them that he's lost count.
However, he does remember the last one — "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" — and so does his co-writer Marty Dodson.
The writing duo celebrated the success of the Kenny Chesney hit this week with a No. 1 party at BMI that was attended by more than 100 industry executives, family and friends of the duo. Guests munched on chicken skewers, stuffed mushrooms and cupcakes while the songwriters made jokes from the stage.
"Jim told me he didn't think any of his friends were going to show up," Marty said, laughing. "Somebody give him a hug."
Before the party got under way, Collins and Dodson took a few minutes to remember writing the reggae-infused Chesney hit.
"It was one of those weeks when I had worked on lots of deep, sad, poetic songs," Collins said. "I wanted to write something fun, and Marty threw that out there. It was just a little groove that felt kind of good."
The song is Collins' fifth with Kenny Chesney. He also wrote "The Good Stuff" and "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy," among others.
"I've got every publisher in town now, if I turn in a song with somebody, the first thing they say is 'Let's pitch this to Kenny,' " he says. "Maybe it's my phrasing, but I never really think about it. I'm glad that Kenny likes what I do."
That said, the two maintain they didn't write "Everybody Wants to go to Heaven" with Chesney in mind. George Strait actually planned to record the song first. Indeed, he was the person who first played it for Chesney.
"If I do go in and try and write something for an artist, it just bogs me down," Collins says. "Then you start thinking, 'Well, what would he like?' instead of writing the song the best you can."
'Best you can' can take daysDodson adds that sometimes, when working with Collins, writing a song "the best you can" can take days, just as it did to complete "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven."
"Jim never leaves it alone," Dodson says. "The phone will ring about 7 or 7:30 (p.m.), and I'll know it will be Jim, and that he's changed something."
Dodson isn't complaining, though. It's a method that works for them, so he just hopes the hits keep coming.
Back at the party, Jody Williams, BMI vice president writer/publisher relations, Nashville, noted that both writers are accomplished at their craft. He added that, even though it's been a few weeks since "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" hit the top of the charts, "it's never too late to throw down for a big No. 1."
After his introductory remarks, Williams presented Dodson with a commemorative No. 1 acoustic guitar from BMI. (Collins already has one, which he actually used when writing "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven.")
Representatives from each writer's publishing company made presentations to those associated with the song's hit status, including Chesney's producer, Buddy Cannon. Executives from the Country Music Association and Country Radio Broadcasters followed suit, then left the songwriters to muse about how different their lives would be without Chesney.
"I've had enough Kenny Chesney hits now that when he starts recording, my phone starts ringing," Collins says. "People say, 'Hey, I have this idea.' "
For Dodson, who also co-wrote "Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right" for Billy Currington, the change is less noisy.
"I thank God every day I get to do this for a living," he says. "It's more than I ever dreamed I would get to do."
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