Louth country singer Ger Long delighted at iTunes No 1 spot

His cover of the Alan Jackson classic charted at the top spot ahead of Faith Hill and The Chicks after his producer Brian Kerrigan of Harmony Recording Studios urged him to release it.

"I recorded it in Brian’s studio in Letterkenny last year and didn’t think any more about it until he said I should release it.”

The Carlingford musician was joined by Grammy winning American fiddle player Mike Cleveland on the track along with some of Ireland’s top country musicians.

"It’s one of a number of songs I recorded for an album that I’m aiming towards,” he said.

"I recorded it last year year and it was just sitting then and Brian said I should release it as a single. I put it out on iTunes and it just went really well.”

He also enjoyed success with a previous recording of the Amy MacDonald song ‘This is the Life’ a few years ago.

Music has beena big part of Ger’s life for the past 15 years.

“I learned the guitar with Sean Connelly and am self-taught on the keyboard,” he said.

His first taste of recording came when he released the single ‘A Christmas Wish for You’ with the Carlingford choir featuring Mary Duff.

"I just love music and probably do more to promote other bands than promoting myself.”

Ger was involved in organising the Carlingford Oyster Festival for ten years and was responsible for putting together a big country music programme.

Nowadays, he is in demand to play around the country and is looking forward to travelling to Spain in June as part of a special country music holiday with Mike Denver.