The Eli Young Band experienced another first in their careers on Monday afternoon (Jan. 23) as they sat in the spotlight at their very first No. 1 party in Nashville, honoring their recent chart-topping single, ‘Crazy Girl.’

 

The feat was a long time coming for the Texas-based band who started their musical journey well over a decade ago. ”I’m kind of glad it’s happened the way it has, just because we’ve been able to develop our craft of songwriting,” the band’s guitar player James Young told Taste of Country prior to the party starting. “We’ve just had a lot of fun learning how to be a band for the past 12 years. This is just icing on the cake.”

“I think with everything that goes along with having a No. 1, we wouldn’t have been able to deal with it [if it happened right away in our career],” added frontman Mike Eli. “We would have had deer in the headlight looks … it would’ve been horrible [laughs]!”

 

There are few things more pleasurable on Music Row than seeing a deserving group of artists celebrate their first-ever No. 1 hit. And industry friends turned out in droves Monday at BMI to share the love with the Eli Young Band (EYB)—Mike Eli, James Young, Chris Thompson and Jon Jones—as they were honored for topping the charts with “Crazy Girl”  from the band’s 14-track Life At Best CD. The tune was written by Liz Rose and Lee Brice, who were also on hand for the big day. Having survived a bus fire just a couple of days earlier, Lee was especially glad to be able to celebrate a little good news this week. One of the hardest-working bands in country music, EYB has been building toward this career milestone the old fashioned way, by touring tirelessly and cultivating loyal fans from coast to coast. And, as Mike Eli (center in photo above) conveyed during the award presentations, they know a hit when they hear one.

Lee Brice and members of his band escaped injury Saturday (Jan. 21) when their tour bus caught on fire while parked outside Toby Keith's Bar and Grill in Mesa, Ariz. Brice was sleeping when the fire began, he told KNXV-TV in Phoenix. "We had to run off, and within a couple of minutes, it was in flames," he said. "The whole back of the lounge was apparently burned through." He and his band lost part of their wardrobe in the blaze, but firefighters were able to remove luggage and equipment from inside the bus. Brice is scheduled to be in Nashville for a Monday afternoon (Jan. 23) party celebrating the success of "Crazy Girl," the Eli Young Band's No. 1 hit he wrote with Liz Rose. Brice will resume touring with a Wednesday night concert in Athens, Ohio.

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Nashville-based country artist Lee Brice has escaped a fire aboard his tour bus, according to breaking wire reports.

Now touring in support of his latest hit, "A Woman Like You," and his Love Like Crazy album, the newly-engaged Brice reportedly was on the bus when it caught fire in Mesa, Ariz., in front of a restaurant. The fire forced Brice and his crew to evacuate the bus after being on the road just nine hours.

Per an AP report, Shaun Denman, a Mesa-based firefighter, the fire's flames were "about as high as the roof of the (restaurant) building" and fire personnel worked speedily to stop the blaze from spreading.