We take you behind the scenes and explore the making of one of our favorite tunes with The Song Remembers When…
Song: “She Had Me At Heads Carolina”
Songwriters: Cole Swindell, Thomas Rhett, Ashley Gorley, Jesse Frasure, Mark D. Sanders, and Tim Nichols
Album: Stereotype, Stereotype Broken
“She’s got the bar in the palm of her hand. And she’s a 90’s country fan like I am”- that line is from Cole Swindell’s multi-week number one “She Had Me At Heads Carolina.” Cole often talks about how much ‘90s country music means to him and how it inspired him to be the artist and writer he is today. He wanted to pay tribute to the era by bringing back a song from that time. After a conversation with his label team, Cole decided to focus on Jo Dee Messina’s 1996 hit “Heads Carolina, Tails California.”
Before going any further, Cole got approval from the song’s original writers – Tim Nichols and Mark D. Sanders. Then, he got together with Thomas Rhett who he’d been talking to about taking a ‘90s hit and writing something new around it. TR loved the idea and invited songwriters Ashley Gorley and Jesse Frasure into the mix. Cole said it really felt right when they came up with the line, “Maybe she’ll fall for a boy from South Georgia!” Both Cole and Thomas have roots in Georgia.
In September 2022, “She Had Me At Heads Carolina” began a four-week run at the top of the chart. The song would go on to win both Song and Single of the Year at the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards where Cole performed the song with Jo Dee.
