Dierks Bentley’s First No. 1 Hit Was Inspired by a Real-Life Childhood Crush

In 2003, Dierks Bentley had his first No. 1 single, with “What Was I Thinkin’”. The song was written by Bentley, along with Brett Beavers and Deric Ruttan.

A No. 1 single for Bentley, “What Was I Thinkin’” is a humorous tune about the repercussions of young love and missing curfew. The song says, “Oh, I knew there’d be hell to pay / But that crossed my mind a little too late / ‘Cause I was thinkin’ ’bout a little white tank top sittin’ right / There in the middle by me / I was thinkin’ ’bout a long kiss man just gotta get / Goin’ where a night might lead / I know what I was feelin’ / But what was I thinkin’, what was I thinkin’.”

Although it seems like another fun tune, “What Was I Thinkin’” is actually inspired by a real-life childhood crush. Beavers shares the story that led him to write “What Was I Thinkin’”.

“In the 8th grade, there was a girl around the corner named Becky,” Beavers tells The Tennessean. “She had a pet raccoon, and she was really cute, and I had a crush on her. Of course, I never even talked to her.”

How Life Changed for Dierks Bentley After “What Was I Thinkin’”

Before Bentley had success as an artist, he worked for TNN. An avid lover of country music, Bentley would often sneak into the Grand Ole Opry, which was next door to where he worked.

“I would sneak over there on Fridays and Saturdays to watch the Opry before I would go down to Lower Broadway to watch more music,” Bentley tells Taste of Country.

“Eventually, I got a letter at work saying, ‘Hey, we love Dierks. But he can’t come to the Opry every single weekend.’ So I knew the only way to solve that was to become a member, which I was lucky enough to do.”

Bentley says his removal from the Opry helped him flesh out “What Was I Thinkin’”. With the success of the song, Bentley was invited to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. In 2005, Bentley became a member of the Opry.

Bentley has had several No. 1 singles since then. Still, it took him a while to return to the top of the charts. He released three more singles after this song, which became Top 20 singles, without going all the way to No. 1. Bentley reclaimed the top spot in 2005, with “Come A Little Closer”.

“What Was I Thinkin’” remains one of Bentley’s most successful singles of all time.

Photo by M. Caulfield/WireImage for Bragman Nyman Cafarelli

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