About Hard to Forget

With “Hard to Forget,” Sam Hunt has given country fans a track that lives up to its title, likely to be remembered for both its progressive sound and its instant country history lesson.

The single, which has now cracked the top 20 on both Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs, is built around a sample of Webb Pierce’s 1953 hit “There Stands the Glass,” and ladled with twangy Hawaiian steel guitar and Pierce’s pinched vocal timbre.

“The way Webb Pierce sings that song, even if you haven’t heard it, you feel like you’ve heard it before,” says Hunt. “It’s a very familiar, classic melody and performance. It sounds like that era of country music.”

Hunt had long been intrigued by the thought of applying hip-hop sampling techniques to country tracks, but had never found the right vehicle. That all changed when songwriter Luke Laird (“Beat This Summer,” “T-Shirt”) introduced his “There Stands the Glass” sample in the middle of writing a different song, “One Whiskey Away,” that wasn’t working.

Sam Lowry Hunt (born December 8, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter. Born in Cedartown, Georgia, Hunt played football in his high school and college years and once attempted to pursue a professional sports career before signing with MCA Nashville in 2014.