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

When everyone from Russell Dickerson to Kristin Chenoweth complimented the riff, the singer-songwriter knew he had to finish it — and the tune became 'Stomp'

It all started with a guitar lick, courtesy of Ben Gallaher.

“It really took on a life of its own,” says Gallaher, 31, to PEOPLE about the infectious melody the accomplished singer/songwriter shared on an ordinary day in September of 2022 as part of his Boot Stomp series. “It just really connected with people.”

And it didn’t just connect — it went viral, amassing over 13 million views on Instagram and TikTok combined and inspiring over 10,000 fan-created videos.

There was just one problem.

“Everyone wanted to know what this song was or if there was even a song,” the Pennsylvania native remembers. “Was it finished or was it even being written?”

And the collective answers to those questions was a resounding no. In fact, Gallaher says that at the time, there was no song and no lyrics to the guitar riff that the world was quickly falling in love with. “So, we went in and finished it,” says Gallaher with a laugh. “It all just really came together in a really organic way that nobody could really script.”

And now, the guitar riff that could change the entirety of Gallaher’s budding career can be heard in his latest single “Stomp.”

“It's funny because I had been playing that guitar riff for years,” admits Gallaher, who went and wrote the entirety of the song alongside accomplished songwriters Neil Thrasher, Patrick Thrasher, and Wendell Mobley. “I’m a guitar player. I'm playing riffs all the time. I've always thought an intro riff is just as important to any other part of the song, because even if there's no lyric yet, it still makes you feel something.”

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

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

Certainly, Gallaher remembers when he too heard a guitar riff for the first time that still hasn’t left his mind, and it was the first time he heard Lynyrd Skynyrd’s version of “Sweet Home Alabama.” “I've always gravitated towards those riffs that just pull you in from the beginning,” Gallaher says.

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 already heard it.

“We wrote it relatively fast, and we just kept it in that whole swampy type of vibe,” says Gallaher, who released his debut album, Country in the House, back in February. “We didn't stray away too much. When you hear that riff, it can kind of only be one type of thing.”

Related: Listen to Ben Gallaher's Angsty 'Lovin' You Gets in the Way' Ahead of His Debut Album Release

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

“It's one thing to do it acoustic or just to riff, but then when you are there in front of an audience, that’s everything, “ says Gallaher, whose most recent 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 out live. It's just been a whirlwind, an awesome whirlwind.”

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

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

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