Album: single release only (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is a single released by Jaron Lowenstein, who records as Jaron and the Long Road to Love. The song is a duet with Big Kenny, one half of the Country music duo Big & Rich, and was released on May 31, 2011.
  • Though Lowenstein had never met Big Kenny before they wrote this song they already had a connection. 11 years previously Jaron and his twin brother Evan cut "Contemplating," the first song Big Kenny ever had that was recorded by somebody else.
  • Lowenstein and Big Kenny finally got together after a buddy introduced them over e-mail. Initially the plan was just to chat, but after Kenny's little boy asked them to sing, Lowenstein got out his guitar and started playing "Contemplating," and Kenny joined in. He recalled to The Boot: "We had this amazing connection and harmony. We played the whole song, while his little boy was dancing. That's really what inspired us to write. Kenny said, 'What's on your mind?' I told him, 'I have this idea for a song called 'Beautiful Lies.'' Then I just saw his eyes go somewhere else, and he walked away and grabbed his own guitar, and immediately starts singing, 'Lie to me, oh lie to me …'
    Lowenstein was impressed, "I'm like, "I love that melody. What is that?," he recalled: "He just got really into that song. I was just hearing him with my guitar ... We opened up, started throwing out lines and the song just happened. Strange process, but it was nothing like I had ever experienced. It was incredible."
  • A tune that Jaron and his twin brother Evan wrote, "It's a Good Thing," was originally earmarked to be the first single. However after, he and Big Kenny posted a YouTube video of themselves performing this song, fans began to react in the same way that they did to "Pray For You." This left Lowenstein in a quandary. He told The Boot: "I called Big Kenny and said, 'I don't know what to do. I have 'It's a Good Thing' as a single and we are staying the course. But I can't stop this. I think this might get picked up by radio even though it's not the single.' And he's so spiritual. He said, 'We can't interfere with art.' It's like that old saying, 'Man makes plans, and God laughs.' It's been incredibly humbling to me because right out of the gate, I felt like 'Pray For You' was an amazing thing happening, but with 'Beautiful Lies,' I was the last to know."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."

Did They Really Sing In That Movie?

Did They Really Sing In That Movie?Fact or Fiction

Bradley Cooper, Michael J. Fox, Rami Malek, Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow and George Clooney: Which actors really sang in their movies?

Linda Perry

Linda PerrySongwriter Interviews

Songwriting Hall of Famer Linda Perry talks about her songs "What's Up" and "Beautiful," her songwriting process, and her move into film music.

Martin Page

Martin PageSongwriter Interviews

With Bernie Taupin, Martin co-wrote the #1 hits "We Built This City" and "These Dreams." After writing the Pretty Woman song for Go West, he had his own hit with "In the House of Stone and Light."

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)Songwriter Interviews

The former Metallica bassist talks about his first time writing a song with James Hetfield, and how a hand-me-down iPad has changed his songwriting.