Michael Ray Celebrates No. 1 Hit ‘Think A Little Less’

Michael Ray was joined by the "Think A Little Less" songwriters to celebrate the chart-topping success of his most recent single.

Written by Annie Reuter
Michael Ray Celebrates No. 1 Hit ‘Think A Little Less’
Pictured (L-R): BMI songwriter Thomas Rhett, BMI artist Michael Ray, ASCAP writer Jimmy Robbins, BMI writer Barry Dean (not pictured: ASCAP writer Jon Nite); Photo by Steve Lowry

Michael Ray knew “Think A Little Less” was a hit from the moment he heard the song. Written by Thomas Rhett, Barry Dean, Jon Nite and Jimmy Robbins, the demo of the song had Rhett singing on it and Ray was convinced TR would record the song. Lucky for him, that wasn’t the case.

In an interview before his No. 1 party for “Think A Little Less” on Tuesday (June 13) at Nashville’s The Sutler, Ray tells Sounds Like Nashville and other media that Travis Gordon, Senior Creative Director at Universal Music Publishing Group, first played him the song and assured him that Rhett wouldn’t be cutting “Think A Little Less” for his album.

“I was like, ‘Well then yes, I want it right now,” Ray tells SLN of the decision to record the song for his debut album. “Everybody from day one was behind this song and we knew we wanted it to be a single. When it came time to pick a third single we went to streams to see what the fans wanted.”

Ray says his top three streaming songs were his first No. 1, “Kiss You in the Morning,” “Run Away with You,” a song he wrote that Big & Rich recorded and released as a single in 2015, and “Think A Little Less.” He had never played “Think A Little Less” live and after seeing the reaction the song had online, he and his team had their answer for a third single.

Dean and Robbins, two of the four songwriters on “Think A Little Less,” were also in attendance for the press conference and discussed with reporters the evolution of the song. Written four years to the week the song hit No. 1, the three writers were on the road with Rhett when the song came together.

“Barry and I were on the road with Thomas at the time,” Robbins says. “We were in Columbus, Ohio, and Thomas was sleeping in. I wrote ‘It Goes Like This’ for him and that was on the radio at the time so we went out to write. Barry and I had a dude date and we strolled around Columbus and went to a museum.”

The two came back and joined Rhett and Nite to write what would become “Think A Little Less,” Ray’s second No. 1 song. As Dean recalls, Robbins and Nite had the title and a riff for the song so he and Rhett joined in to finish the track.

“They’re great guys to write it with and a great guy to sing it,” Dean says. “It’s been a joy. I’ve never had a song quite like this that’s found its person and that person found it. It’s really great. It went No. 1 four years to the week [we wrote it]. Almost to the day. That’s an amazing thing to me.”

Ray says the song is a huge moment in his live show as he no longer has to introduce “Think A Little Less” to the audience. He says from the moment his guitar player starts the opening riff the crowd knows exactly what song he’s about to perform.

“I wish these guys could see the impact their songs have. I was thankfully very lucky to be the guy that they let take their creation and take it out to the world,” Ray adds. “My first concert was Garth Brooks and when he played the first lick to ‘Friends In Low Places,’ he doesn’t even say anything. He does it and the whole place erupts and he doesn’t have to say anything. I want one of those. For me, we play it and as soon as my guitar player hits it people know it. It’s changed my whole life. It’s changed our shows.”

Following their interview with Nashville press, Ray, Dean and Robbins were joined by Thomas Rhett upstairs and performed the song that they wrote with Nite, who wasn’t in attendance. The remainder of the No. 1 party had the songwriters and Ray receiving several plaques and No. 1 medallions for the song’s success as well as thanking friends, family and others in the industry.

“To have a No. 1 song is a blessing and to be able to announce I have two is mind blowing for me,” Ray conceded. “Thanks to these guys, ‘Think A Little Less’ solidified me in some ways as an artist. Not taking anything away or anything for granted of having a No. 1 song, I told Jimmy, ‘Thank you for not making me a one hit wonder because I was scared for a while.’ I’d be like, five years or 20 years people would go, ‘Remember, he had that one hit back in the day.’ Now I’ll be the guy who has two.”