Did you know the songwriters of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" originally wanted Johnny Cash to record it? John Denver eventually got a songwriting credit on the finished product, but Johnny's version would've taken on an entirely different vibe.
Here are some other famous country songs that were almost recorded by other artists:
1. "Where the Wild Things Are" by Luke Combs was pitched to Eric Church, but he passed.
2. "Drink a Beer" by Luke Bryan was actually written by Chris Stapleton. It was first pitched to Dierks Bentley, but he passed.
3. "Big Green Tractor" by Jason Aldean. It was first pitched to Jake Owen but he said it wouldn't be authentic to sing about something he didn't relate to, so he passed. Jake's brother then reminded him, "Johnny Cash did not shoot a man in Reno." And now when Jake gets pitched a good song, he takes it.
4. "The House That Built Me" by Miranda Lambert. It was supposed to be recorded by her then-husband Blake Shelton, but he saw how much Miranda connected to it, and gave it to her.
5. "Chicken Fried" by Zac Brown Band. Alan Jackson was planning on recording it, but he had just cut another song called "Where I Come From" that mentioned fried chicken, so he passed.
You can check out the rest of the list, at Whiskey Riff.
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