Riley Green Never Liked His Voice, Until His Granddaddy Gave Him $20 to Sing

Riley Green may be one of modern country’s most recognizable voices, but according to the Alabama native, it took years and a little nudge from his granddaddy for him to believe he belonged behind a microphone.

Riley Green: Via Zach Sang Show On YouTube

On a recent episode of The Zach Sang Show, Green opened up about his early reluctance to share his music, admitting he wasn’t always comfortable with his own sound.

“Definitely singing,” Green confessed when asked if he was hesitant about putting himself out there. “I never liked to hear my voice. I probably won’t even listen to this, because I guess I didn’t like hearing myself talk either.”

But what he lacked in confidence, he made up for in good company. His grandfather Buford, a devoted country music fan, had an old Epiphone guitar that became the gateway to something much bigger. Green recalled how those evenings strumming on the front porch turned into an unlikely tradition.

“He started calling up his buddies, guys that played banjo, mandolin, whatever and we started meeting up every Friday on the porch of my great-grandparents’ house,” Green said. “The floors were falling in, but we turned it into a music hall, a little miniature Grand Ole Opry.”

That porch became the Golden Saw Music Hall, complete with a hand-painted gold saw blade hanging out front. For more than a decade, it wasn’t just a gathering spot; it was a community stage where anyone with a song was welcome. “Every Friday, anybody that wanted to play came and played music. The old ladies made snacks, and I would just sit there and watch how they made chords with their hands,” Green remembered.

As for performing? His granddaddy sweetened the deal with a little pocket change. “He’d go, ‘Man, I’d give you $15, $20 if you’d get up and sing a song tonight.’ And because I was a kid, they all cheered whether I was good or not. So I got a little false confidence from that, probably.”

That “false confidence” eventually grew into the real thing. And though Green admits it took him a long time to feel at home on stage, those early Friday night jams planted the seeds for the career he’s built today, one rooted in tradition, family, and the unshakable storytelling spirit of country music.

In hindsight, the boy who once hated the sound of his own voice now carries that same voice into sold-out arenas across the country. And maybe that’s the beauty of Riley Green’s journey: it started not with a spotlight, but with a porch light.

You can check out the full interview below, it's a good one.

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