Frankie Ballard, ‘It All Started With a Beer’ [Listen]

Frankie Ballard is introducing his next chapter with a sweet love song called “It All Started With a Beer.” The ballad is the most straightforward country song on his upcoming album, he says. Still, it finds room to recall the midwest rock legends he calls influences.

Ballard plays a man looking back on love during this honest country reflection. There’s no pain, just an appreciation for the small moments that help create big, lasting moments.

“You had a Corona, I was drinking Bud Light / That jukebox singing every song just right that night / Something brewing in the air, it was more than just smoke / Looking back, looking back after two you laughed at all my jokes / Tonight lets raise ‘em up to where we ended up,” he sings after an introduction that rests on delicate percussion, acoustic guitar and organ.

Ballard doesn’t bring drama to the radio, which is refreshing and perhaps why there will always be space for him. Thematically the song recalls his breakthrough hit “Helluva Life,” but it’s more vulnerable. “It All Started With a Beer” shows growth and maturity.

"There’s been highs and lows, fast lane freeways and bumpy roads / Cursed the devil and prayed to heaven, lost it all and we rolled some sevens / There’s been more smiles than there’s been tears, been more good than bad years / Ain’t it crazy baby how we got here, Oh, it all started with a beer,” he sings at the chorus of this Jaren Johnston co-written track.

As the song fades to a finish, his guitar tones and backing vocals recall Ballard heroes like Bob Seger (Kid Rock uses a similar technique during his more personal tracks). He says there’s edgier, more rock-influenced music to come from his third album, but for now fans will enjoy hearing a track born from personal experience and his love of nostalgia.

Why Fans Will Love It: Ballard shows a more sensitive side on this love song from the singer's upcoming third studio album.

Key Lyrics: "There’s been more smiles than there’s been tears, been more good than bad years / Ain’t it crazy baby how we got here, Oh, it all started with a beer."

Did You Know?: Ballard recorded his upcoming album in a studio that sits on a 25-acre pecan farm in Tornillo, Texas. “I could have taken a baseball and thrown it in to Mexico," he says.

Listen to Frankie Ballard, “It All Started With a Beer”

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