“I never thought of myself as a great singer, [but] I knew how to entertain people,” Riley Green mused upon being honored as Billboard‘s 2025 Country Power Players Groundbreaker. “When I started writing songs, that was how I saw I could set myself apart from somebody who was more talented as a singer or player.”
“From a songwriter standpoint, Riley has really embraced his versatility,” added Jimmy Harnen, president/CEO of Green’s label, Nashville Harbor/Big Machine Label Group. “He’s at the point in his career where he’s not afraid to express what he’s feeling and seeing around him.”
In 2025, Green has bolstered his rise with two self-penned No. 1s on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart: “Don’t Mind If I Do,” featuring Ella Langley, topped the Dec. 20 tally, after “Worst Way” led the June 21 list. With the coronation of the former, he became the first artist to link back-to-back leaders with solely-written hits since Taylor Swift doubled up with “Sparks Fly” and “Ours” in 2011-12.
(Green’s two billed co-writers on his 2020 top 15 Country Airplay hit “I Wish Grandpas Never Died”? Lendon Bonds and Buford Green, his late grandfathers. He told Billboard that he credited them “as a sign of respect.”)
Since Country Airplay began with the chart dated Jan. 20, 1990, only 4% of all No. 1s have been solely written by the soloists that recorded them. When including leaders by duos or groups penned by one member of those acts, the share bumps to a still exclusive 5%.
Comparatively, of the 13 Country Airplay No. 1s in between Riley’s two latest leaders, an average of 5.9 writers authored them (ranging from as few as three on one song to as many as 11).
Which artists boast the most solely self-written Country Airplay No. 1s over the chart’s history? Browse the list below, spanning from the ranking’s first leader, Clint Black’s “Nobody’s Home,” through the latest. Only six solo acts have notched multiple such No. 1s, while one duo or group has done so via one its members. Another 12 soloists have earned one each and three other groups have led with one song apiece written by one of their members.
Breaking down the stat by decade, 24 of the 48 Country Airplay No.1s solely written by acts that performed them ruled in the 1990s; 17, in the 2000s; four, in the ‘10s; and three, in the ‘20s.
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11, Alan Jackson
Jackson leads with 11 solely self-written Country Airplay No. 1s. In chronological order: “I’d Love You All Over Again” (1991), “Livin’ on Love” (1994), “I’ll Try” (1996), “There Goes” (1997), “Where I Come From,” “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” (both 2001), “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” (2002), “Remember When” (2004), “Small Town Southern Man,” “Good Time” (both 2008) and “Country Boy” (2009).
Of the Sept. 11-inspired “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning),” Jackson told Billboard in 2001, “It was Sunday, Oct. 28. I played a show down in Georgia Saturday night, and I flew home late. I got up [at] 3 or 4 in the morning, and that’s when the song [came], just out of nowhere. I got up and put it on a digital recorder. I just sang it, didn’t even play guitar. I just sang the melody and lyrics right into it and went back to bed. I got up the next morning, and the girls [his wife, Denise, and their three daughters] went to Sunday school [while] I finished writing the verses.
“It just came out. I think it was a gift, and I’m just a messenger for it. It’s a very special song.”
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5, Toby Keith
The late star is tied for the second-most Country Airplay No. 1s solely written by the act that recorded them. He logged the first of his five with his debut hit “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” in 1993 and followed with “Who’s That Man” (1994), “You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This” (2001), “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” and “Who’s Your Daddy?” (both 2002).
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5, Taylor Swift
Swift has also penned five Country Airplay No. 1s with no collaborators, including her first leader, in 2007, “Our Song.” She repeated the feat with “Should’ve Said No” (2008), “Love Story” (2008), “Sparks Fly” (2011)” and “Ours” (2012).
(Click here for a rundown of the more than 50 songs in Swift’s catalog that she has written on her own.)
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5, Ronnie Dunn, of Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn is the only non-solo act with multiple Country Airplay No. 1s written solely by a duo or group member. Ronnie Dunn wrote five of the pair’s leaders by himself: “Neon Moon,” “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” (both 1992), “She Used To Be Mine” (1993), “She’s Not the Cheatin’ Kind” (1994) and “Little Miss Honky Tonk” (1995).
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3, Clint Black
Black bookended the ‘90s with fully self-authored Country Airplay No. 1s, with one in between. His three: “Nobody’s Home” (1990), “Loving Blind” (1991) and “When I Said I Do” (1999).
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2, Riley Green
Green makes the list thanks to 2025 Country Airplay leaders “Don’t Mind If I Do,” featuring Ella Langley, and “Worst Way.” With solo-written songs more common in earlier eras, he told Billboard, “The majority of my [youth], all four of my grandparents I saw every day. My great-grandmother was alive until 2020. I think that’s where I get a lot of the more traditional values.”
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2, Travis Tritt
Tritt has tallied two Country Airplay No. 1s with no other writing partners: “Foolish Pride” (1994) and “Best of Intentions” (2000).
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Acts with one each
Meanwhile, 12 solo artists have paced Country Airplay with one song each that they wrote by themselves. Plus, three groups have hit No. 1 with a song written by one of their members. Here’s a look at all such leaders.
Soloists:
- Chayce Beckham: “23” (2024)
- Mary Chapin Carpenter: “Shut Up and Kiss Me” (1994)
- Lionel Cartwright: “Leap of Faith” (1991)
- Kenny Chesney: “Beer in Mexico” (2007)
- Anita Cochran: “What If I Said” (duet with Steve Wariner; 1998)
- Vince Gill: “Tryin’ To Get Over You” (1994)
- Mac McAnally: “Down the Road” (with Kenny Chesney; 2009)
- David Lee Murphy: “Dust on the Bottle” (1995)
- Brad Paisley: “Letter to Me” (2008)
- Eddie Rabbitt: “On Second Thought” (1990)
- Dan Seals: “Love on Arrival” (1990)
- Clay Walker: “Live Until I Die” (1994)
Groups:
- The Band Perry: “If I Die Young,” written by Kimberly Perry (2010)
- LANCO: “Greatest Love Story,” written by Brandon Lancaster (2017)
- Sawyer Brown: “Some Girls Do,” written by Marc Miller (1992)
