Ben Burgess

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

In 2015, Ben Burgess and Kevin Kadish met for a songwriting session where Burgess proposed an idea about writing a track centered on whiskey glasses. He liked the concept enough to craft the line, "I'mma need some whiskey glasses, 'cause I don't wanna see the truth." The pair decided the theme would focus on someone drinking to cope with a bad break-up. To anchor the song's opening, Burgess recalled his father's habit after drinking too much: saying, "Poor Pappy ... oh, pour your Pappy a drink." They adapted this memory into the lyric "Poor me, pour me another drink," establishing the narrator's desire to numb the pain of an ex moving on.

In Their Own Story

After Burgess and Kadish finished writing the song in 2015, they pitched it to Morgan Wallen. Wallen recorded the track with producer Joey Moi. Although the song was first released in the summer of 2018 as part of *If I Know Me*, it initially did not achieve massive success. It only became a hit in 2019, eventually topping the Hot Country Songs chart and reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart dated June 8, 2019. Wallen described the track as a "sad song at its core" but asked Moi to make it feel less somber, resulting in an energetic delivery that contrasted with the melancholy lyrics.

Reader's Guide

For fans of "Whiskey Glasses," the song's legacy is defined by its unexpected chart trajectory and massive commercial success. It was certified 13× Platinum by the RIAA on December 16, 2025, marking it as Wallen's highest-certified single to date. As of March 2020, the song had sold 391,000 copies in the United States. The music video, directed by Justin Clough and premiering in October 2018, features Wallen mending his broken heart through drinking before performing a live version with friends, including Hardy.

Did You Know?

• Ben Burgess got the idea for "Whiskey Glasses" from his father's phrase, "Poor Pappy ... oh, pour your Pappy a drink."
• The song was written in 2015 but did not become a hit until 2019.
• Wallen specifically asked producer Joey Moi to make the sad lyrics feel less somber for an energetic delivery.
• "Whiskey Glasses" topped the Billboard Country Airplay chart on June 8, 2019.
• Despite being co-written in 2015, "Whiskey Glasses" was never part of Wallen's 2016 EP *The Way I Talk*.