Rascal Flatts Played Into Recording ‘Banjo’

With 11 No. 1 songs to their name, it’s a safe assumption that Rascal Flatts band members Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney have an ear for a hit song. But the trio admits a bit of trickery on behalf of the tune’s songwriters may have been involved in getting the superstar trio to cut their Top 5 single, ‘Banjo.’

“Wendell [Mobley] just happened to get the rough copy of ‘Banjo’ and he was playing if for Neil [Thrasher] to go, ‘Oh, here’s the song they demoed for us,” LeVox recalls, thinking back on the day he and the two superstar songwriters were writing ‘Changed,’ the title track of their latest album (quote via Big Machine Records). “I wasn’t even in the same room and heard it and I went in there and was like, ‘What is that!’”

Despite their lead singer’s coy recollection of that day’s events, his fellow bandmates remain skeptical. “Uh-huh,” says Rooney. He adds, “See, those jokers know what they’re doing. We ain’t no fools! Yeah … other room … loud speakers!”

“That was a set up,” agrees DeMarcus. As the tune inched closer toward the top spot, none of the band members seemed too hung up on the song’s backstory, including LeVox himself. “Okay, you got us!” he jokes.

‘Banjo’ is the first single from ‘Changed,’ the band’s second release under the Big Machine label. The second single, 'Come Wake Me Up,' was just released. The trio is currently gearing up for their Changed 2012 headlining tour, which kicks off on June 15 in Hartford, Ct.