A Story Behind The Song- Rascal Flatts' "Every Day"

Songwriter Alissa Moreno

I'm spending a little time in Nashville this week and knocking out a handful of interviews (which I'll share with all my That Nashville Sound readers soon) and catching a bunch of live shows. Last night, a downtown songwriters' institution, The Listening Room, held a farewell party. They are closing down their Cummings Station location and will be reopening at 2nd Street off of Broadway in a few weeks down the road. Many of the artists and songwriters that have performed their came by and knocked out a couple songs each over a several hour period. While the quality of songwriting and storytelling was superb the whole night, one in particular stuck out.

As a Universal Music Publishing songwriter, Alissa Moreno penned the chart-topping hit “Every Day” with Jeffrey Steele for Rascal Flatts. The song went to number two on the country charts and was nominated for a Grammy.  She has co-written with accomplished recording artists such as JoJo, Vertical Horizon, Fastball, Colbie Caillat, Chuck Wicks, and Javier. Alissa also co-wrote and co-performed the theme song for the ABC hit series “Hope and Faith.”

That's where the story could end. But last night, she shared the back-story of the song. It turns out, that shortly before the song was pitched to and recorded by Rascal Flatts, Moreno's mother was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors gave her a 50/50 shot at beating it. Being a struggling songwriter in Nashville and from a non-wealthy family, the news knocked she and her family for a loop. Unsure of how they might cover some of the medical bills, things didn't look good to get her mom the quality of care needed to make her well.

Fast-forward just a few days and Dan Huff pitched the Steele/Moreno song to Rascal Flatts, it was cut, released as a single and the song whose lyrics are "Every day, you save my life," really did save a life. The songwriting royalties paid out on "Every Day" went to get Moreno's mother well. Today, four years later, she's still in remission and doing well.