Don Rollins isn't responsible for coining the phrase "It's 5 o clock somewhere" but he is the man that brought it to life

"It's an old saying. It's been around a while, but that song is the thing that took it to the forefront" says Rollins.

Years ago he was reflecting on his early days as a band director when he remembered something a co-worker would say to him.

"We
used to lock doors of band hall everyday at 3 and go get a beer and I'd
say Jim are you ready to go get a drink and he'd look at his watch and
say well it's five o clock somewhere. He said it every day for so long
it imprinted" says Rollins.

With the title on his mind, in
February of 2003 Rollins went into a songwriting session with Jim Brown,
who wanted to write a jJimmy Buffet style song for an unnamed up and
coming county star.

"It was loose fiction and we said wouldn't
it be cool if we had a guy that was so frustrated and fed u with job
that he decided to drink lunch and by the way I'm not coming back to
work" says Rollins

Rollins had the title and Brown had a great hook for the chorus,  leaving the rest of the song to fall into place quickly!


"The pour me something tall and strong, very much a fist in the air
line. I cant remember if we drank lunch or not but we were done by
lunch" says Rollins.

While Buffet's name ended up in the lyrics, believe it or not, pitching the song to him never crossed their minds.

"The
funny thing is that the Buffet line was already there. It was there
more for the vibe of the song than any idea ever thinking he would
actually sing on the song. It was really just me being sarcastic" says
Rollins.

After being turned down by the artist they originally
wrote it for  it was pitched to Kenny Chesney, who didn't need it at the
time. But just as quickly as it was rejected, it ended up in the hands
of Alan Jackson.

"We wrote it in February, demoed it in March, Alan cut it in April and it was on the radio in June" says Rollins.

How
Buffet got involved with the song is a story in itself. Jackson, who is
boat buddies with Buffet, had actually been searching for a song to
sing as a duet.

"That wasn't on the street. I hasn't heard that. All unknowing we wrote the perfect duet for them" says Rollins

The two took the song to a place Rollins never dreamed, resulting in numerous awards including a CMA and Grammy,

"I
have to tell myself still on a regular basis that is not normal! There
are people that have had great careers that have been in town 20 to 30
years that have never had a hit like that" says Rollins

"It's
five o'clock somewhere" also spent 8 weeks at the top of the charts,
giving rollins his first number one hit, and I bet you could never guess
what he was doing when he got the good news?

"I was in San Antonio having margaritas" laughs Rollins.

Now
almost a decade later the song is as popular as ever and Rollins never
stops counting his blessings that his name is behind such a classic
tune!

"That was the best 2 1/2 hours I've ever spent" says Rollins
STORY BEHIND THE SONG: "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere"