Kenny Chesney's latest single, 'Live a Little,' is doing more than just a "little" on the country singles chart. The hit is one of Billboard's Greatest Gainer songs, leaping from No. 29 last week to No. 20 this week.

'Live a Little' was penned by singer-songwriter David Lee Murphy and Shane Minor. "We were sitting there trying to come up with an idea, and Shane said, 'live a little, love a lot,'" Murphy tells Taste of Country. "I said, 'Wow, man … that really sounds good!' So we just started playing off that and started jamming on it on the guitar."

The song starts with the catchy chorus, "I need to live a little, have some fun / Take some time, waste it on number one / Find a girl that brings my whole world to a stop / Live a little, love a lot."

"I remember we wrote the chorus in the morning, and then we went and had lunch," Murphy says. "We couldn’t quit singing that chorus. It was the end of the summer. We had the windows rolled down. We were just having fun and taking some time."

"It’s the kind of song I like ... one that's fun, light and upbeat," continues Murphy. "This song is about forgetting about everything else and just focusing on having a good time. Just step back, smell the roses and all that stuff. It’s just fun. It’s an escape."

After the writers finished the tune, they felt one artist in particular needed to hear the demo. "We were sitting there going, ‘Man … Kenny could kill this!'" Murphy recalls. "It just so happened that after we demoed it, my manager Doug played it for [Kenny’s producer] Buddy Cannon. Buddy was like, 'Put this thing on hold right now!' I just felt like if Kenny recorded it, it was going to be great."

Chesney did cut the tune for his 'Hemingway's Whiskey' album, and released it as the album's third single.

"Kenny did a show here in Nashville and he asked me to come down," Murphy tells us. "I got up on the bus that night, and he goes, 'Man, we cut ‘Live a Little,’ and you’re going to love it!' I was really stoked when he told me that because I love Kenny. Then when I heard the record, I was tickled to death. On the album version, it’s got this really cool, show startin’ guitar intro that’s really, really cool. I loved it. I just crank it up every time I hear it."

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