Ben Gallaher Played a Guitar Lick — and His Career Changed: ‘It Just Really Connected with People’ (Exclusive)

It all started with a guitar lick, thanks to Ben Gallaher.

“It really took off,” Gallaher, 31, tells PEOPLE of the catchy tune, which the accomplished singer/songwriter shared on an ordinary day in September 2022 as part of his Boot Stomp series. “It just really connected with people.”

And it didn’t just connect—it went viral, garnering more than 13 million views on Instagram and TikTok combined and inspiring more than 10,000 fan-made videos.

Ben Gallaher.

Taylor Smith

There was just one problem.

“Everyone wanted to know what the song was or if it existed even song,” the Pennsylvania native recalls. “Was it finished or even written?”

And the collective answers to those questions were a resounding no. In fact, Gallaher says that at the time there was no song or lyrics to the guitar riff that the world quickly fell in love with. “And so we went in and finished,” Gallaher says with a laugh. “Everything just came together in a really organic way that nobody could have written.”

Ben Gallaher.

Taylor Smith

And now, the guitar riff that could change Gallaher’s entire nascent career can be heard on his latest single, “Stomp.”

“It’s funny because I’ve been playing that guitar riff for years,” admits Gallaher, who went and co-wrote the entire song with veteran songwriters Neil Thrasher, Patrick Thrasher and Wendell Mobley. “I’m a guitarist. I play riffs all the time. I’ve always thought that the opening riff is as important as any other part of the song, because even if there are no lyrics, it still makes you feel something.”

What made “Stomp” stand out even more was the fact that a slew of country music stars also couldn’t get enough of the song, with everyone from Joe Nichols to Russell Dickerson to Kristin Chenoweth expressing their love for the catchy tune on Gallaher’s social media. .

“When you get positive feedback from people like thatit’s really cool,” says Gallaher, who started playing guitar at age 6. “Not that you need it, but I mean, who wouldn’t want to hear that from someone you respect or really look up to their music?”

Certainly, Gallaher remembers the first time he too heard a guitar riff that has stuck with him, and the first time he heard Lynyrd Skynyrd’s version of “Sweet Home Alabama”. “I’ve always gravitated towards those riffs that just draw you in from the start,” says Gallaher.

Ben Gallaher.

Taylor Smith

So when it came time to finish the song that would become “Stomp,” Gallaher says he knew he didn’t want to change the feeling the original riff gave him and everyone who had heard it before.

“We wrote it relatively quickly and just kept it in that whole swamp vibe,” says Gallaher, who released his debut album, State in the house, back in February. “We didn’t stray too far. When you hear that riff, it can only be one kind of thing.”

Listen to Ben Gallaher’s Angsty ‘Lovin’ You Gets in the Way’ ahead of the release of his debut album

And now, Gallaher is looking forward to spending most of 2024 playing that riff on the road.

“It’s one thing to do it acoustically or just riff, but when you’re out there in front of an audience, that’s it,” says Gallaher, whose latest radio single, “Lovin’ You Gets in the Way,” was co-written by Jason Aldean, Neil Thrasher and Lee Miller. “The whole song comes together when we play it live. It was just a whirlwind, a terrible whirlwind.”

Ben Gallaher.

Taylor Smith

It’s a whirlwind that even his wife Monica can’t get enough of.

“She thinks this is crazy,” laughs Gallaher. “We have been together for a long time. We’ve been married for six years, but we’re from neighboring hometowns, so we’ve known each other since ninth grade. So she’s been with me through it all, but we’ve never been through anything like this.”

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Source: HIS Education