Back Where I Come From

Last updated
"Back Where I Come From"
Single by Mac McAnally
from the album Simple Life
B-side "Company Time" [1]
ReleasedJanuary 1990
Recorded1990
Genre Country
Length3:32
Label Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s) Mac McAnally
Producer(s) Jim Ed Norman, Mac McAnally
Mac McAnally singles chronology
"Minimum Love"
(1983)
"Back Where I Come From"
(1990)
"Down the Road"
(1990)

"Back Where I Come From" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Mac McAnally. It was released in January 1990 as the first single from his album Simple Life . The song reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. [1] Its B-side, "Company Time", was later a single for Linda Davis in 1994. "Back Where I Come From" was also recorded by Kenny Chesney in 1996.

Contents

Content

The song is a mid-tempo in which the narrator expresses nostalgia towards his hometown in Mississippi. [2] Regarding its content, McAnally told American Songwriter , "When I wrote 'Back Where I Come From' I thought that it was a hit, but also that it said something that I personally wanted to be the first to say." [3] The song, the first cut on Simple Life, has a play length of 3 minutes and 32 seconds; a 1-minute and 20 second reprise, performed by McAnally on piano with backing from the Nashville String Machine, is the album's sixth track. [4]

Cover versions

"Back Where I Come From" was covered by Kenny Chesney on his 1996 album Me and You , produced by Barry Beckett. Chesney also included a live version of the song on his 2000 Greatest Hits album. Of Chesney's recordings, McAnally said that "As a publisher I knew I was devaluing the copyright by singing it myself instead of passing it onto better and bigger singers, but I did it anyway. One of many of my classically bad business choices, but thankfully Kenny Chesney was kind enough to bail me out and cut it again." [3] Although it was not released as a single, Chesney's rendition has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Personnel (Mac McAnally)

From Simple Life liner notes. [4]

Chart performance (Mac McAnally)

Chart (1990)Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) [5] 18
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [6] 14

Certifications (Kenny Chesney)

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [7] Gold500,000Double-dagger-14-plain.png

Double-dagger-14-plain.png Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 261. ISBN   978-0-89820-177-2.
  2. "Mac McAnally finding his place on the charts". The Hour. April 10, 1990. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Moore, Rick (January 2, 2012). "Mac McAnally". American Songwriter . Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  4. 1 2 Simple Life (CD booklet). Mac McAnally. Warner Bros. Records. 1990. 26136-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 1245." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. May 26, 1990. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  6. "Mac McAnally Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  7. "American single certifications – Kenny Chesney – Back Where I Come From". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved December 13, 2022.