Billy Currington photo by Danny Clinch, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

When Billy Currington went to No. 1 with his single “That’s How Country Boys Roll,” he might have done a little bit of redefining within the genre.

After all, the only figures the Country Music Association’s Wendy Pearl could come up with when considering “country boys who roll,” were the Pillsbury Dough Boy and… (supply your own rimshot here) Willie Nelson.

Wendy’s one-liner was part of a presentation Monday during a pair of Music Row parties toasting Billy and his co-writers, Dallas Davidson and Brett Jones. Held at the offices of two performing rights organizations, ASCAP and BMI, the events brought a shower of mementos for the three composers as well as producer Carson Chamberlain, several publishing companies and the staff at Mercury Records.

“That’s How Country Boys Roll” followed “Don’t” and “People Are Crazy” to become the third chart-topping release from Billy’s Little Bit Of Everything album. It also marked the first time Billy saw his name at No. 1 as an author.

“It’s so cool to have a No. 1 as a songwriter,” Billy said, noting that the basic idea for “Country Boys Roll” was presented by Brett when the three writers took an out-of-town trip. “We had no plans of writin’ anything, but it just kinda happened that we did, and it was this song. It was the only one we wrote on that trip. I wasn’t even sure I was gonna record it. Then when we did, you know, who knows if it’s gonna come out? But it did. So it’s all kinda weird. It’s cool that we’re here.”

Plenty of people were there, in fact, simply to wish the writers well. Singer-songwriters Luke Bryan and Bobby Pinson joined in the celebration, as did a couple men who’ve co-written hits with Dallas: Jamey Johnson, who shared writing credits with Dallas on the Trace Adkins hit “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”; and Rhett Akins, one of Dallas’ collaborators on the Joe Nichols single “Gimmie That Girl.”

While the songwriting was at the heart of the event, the writers were genuinely appreciative of Billy’s performance on “That’s How Country Boys Roll.”

“He sings so good,” Dallas observed. “It’s so pure, and he doesn’t have to try.”

All of them can now line up with Willie and the Dough Boy among country figures with a distinct talent.

“We love,” the CMA’s Wendy Pearl told them, “the way you roll.”

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