"Bless the Broken Road" | |
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Song by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band | |
from the album Acoustic | |
Released | 1994 |
Genre | Country, pop |
Length | 3:50 |
Label | Liberty |
Songwriter(s) | Marcus Hummon Bobby Boyd Jeff Hanna |
Producer(s) | Nitty Gritty Dirt Band |
"Bless the Broken Road" | |
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Song by Marcus Hummon | |
from the album All in Good Time | |
Released | September 5, 1995 |
Genre | Country |
Length | 4:09 |
Label | Columbia |
Songwriter(s) | Marcus Hummon Bobby Boyd Jeff Hanna |
Producer(s) | Monroe Jones |
"Bless the Broken Road" is a song that has been recorded by several American country music artists. Co-written by Marcus Hummon, Bobby Boyd, and Jeff Hanna in 1994, it tells how the journey through relationship heartbreak and disappointment was an important series of lessons along the broken road to finding one’s true love. It was first recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1994, followed by Hummon on his 1995 album All in Good Time .
Since then, many artists have recorded the song, with Rascal Flatts' version being the highest-charting, becoming a number 1 hit on the Billboard country music charts in 2005 and earning the songwriters a Grammy Award for Best Country Song.
Singer-songwriter Marcus Hummon co-wrote the song with Jeff Hanna (of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) and Bobby Boyd. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band recorded it for the 1994 album Acoustic . One year later, Hummon covered the song for his debut album All in Good Time for Columbia Records. [1] His rendition includes backing vocals from Hanna and Matraca Berg. [2] Michael McCall of New Country magazine thought that Hummon's rendition was the best track on the album. [3]
Sons of the Desert recorded its own version of the song, for a planned second album on Epic Records that would have been released in 1998. This album was not released, due to a dispute between the band and its label. [4]
Since then, many artists have recorded the song including Melodie Crittenden, Geoff Moore, Selah, Jamie Slocum, Carrie Underwood, Buddy Greene, Boyce Avenue and Rascal Flatts.
"Broken Road" | ||||
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Single by Melodie Crittenden | ||||
from the album Melodie Crittenden | ||||
Released | January 1998 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 3:52 | |||
Label | Asylum #9945 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Marcus Hummon Bobby Boyd Jeff Hanna | |||
Producer(s) | Byron Gallimore Stephony Smith [5] | |||
Melodie Crittenden singles chronology | ||||
|
Also in 1998, Melodie Crittenden recorded the song under the title "Broken Road" and included it on her self-titled debut album for Asylum Records. Released as the first of two singles from it, this version was a number 42 single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts. [6]
This version was featured on an episode of Dawson's Creek.
Billboard gave Crittenden's version a positive review in the January 17, 1998, issue, calling it "sheer poetry with a moving message." [5]
Chart (1998) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) [7] | 48 |
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [8] | 42 |
"Bless the Broken Road" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Rascal Flatts | ||||
from the album Feels Like Today | ||||
Released | November 1, 2004 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:46(Album Version) 3:38 (Single Version) | |||
Label | Lyric Street | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Rascal Flatts singles chronology | ||||
|
The highest-charting rendition is by the country music group Rascal Flatts, who cut the song for the Feels Like Today album. Released in November 2004, this version spent five weeks at number one on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Country Song [9] and earned a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. The song topped the 2 million mark in paid downloads on September 18, 2010. It's Rascal Flatts' third song to reach that mark, following "Life Is a Highway" and "What Hurts the Most". [10] As of January 2020, the song has sold 3,719,000 copies in the US. [11]
On May 25, 2005, during a live performance on American Idol by Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts, [12] an additional version was recorded. While not in wide release, and never included on an album, the version received enough radio airplay to enter the country music charts at number 50. [9]
In 2009, an acoustic version recorded by Rascal Flatts was included in the soundtrack of Hannah Montana: The Movie .
On May 19, 2012, "Bless the Broken Road" debuted at number 76 and went to number 41 next week on the UK Singles chart (The Official Charts Company), the band's first and only appearance on the chart.
On February 26, 2020, the song received renewed attention after California-based artist RMR sampled the piano melody for his debut song "Rascal". The song and music video would go on to be a viral hit. [13]
Rascal Flatts' version of the song is set in the key of C major, with a vocal range from C4 to A5. [14]
Chart (2004–2012) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Country ( Radio & Records ) [15] | 1 |
Ireland (IRMA) [16] | 35 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [17] | 58 |
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) [18] | 41 |
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [19] | 1 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [20] | 29 |
US Billboard Pop 100 | 40 |
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [21] | 20 |
Chart (2005) | Peak position |
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [22] Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts version | 50 |
Chart (2005) | Position |
---|---|
US Country Songs ( Billboard ) [23] | 3 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [24] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [25] | Platinum | 3,719,000 [11] |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
"Bless the Broken Road" | ||||
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Single by Selah with Melodie Crittenden | ||||
from the album Bless the Broken Road: The Duets Album | ||||
Released | March 2006 | |||
Genre | Contemporary Christian music | |||
Length | 4:10 | |||
Label | Curb | |||
Songwriter(s) | Marcus Hummon Bobby Boyd Jeff Hanna | |||
Producer(s) | Allan Hall, Jason Kyle, Todd D. Smith | |||
Selah singles chronology | ||||
|
Selah, a contemporary Christian music band, covered the song in 2006 on the album Bless the Broken Road: The Duets Album featuring a duet vocal from Crittenden. [26] Also released as a single, Selah's version peaked at number five on the Hot Christian Songs charts.
Chart (2006) | Peak position |
---|---|
U.S. Billboard Hot Christian Songs [27] | 5 |
In 2007, this version of the song was nominated for a Dove Award for Song of the Year at the 38th GMA Dove Awards. [28]
A feature film based on the song, titled God Bless the Broken Road , began filming in 2015, and was originally announced to be released in 2016. [29] The actual release was September 7, 2018. [30]
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (NGDB) is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band.
"Life Is a Highway" is a song by Canadian musician Tom Cochrane from his second studio album, Mad Mad World (1991). The song became a number-one hit in Canada in late 1991. "Life Is a Highway" also peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1992 and reached the top three in Australia and New Zealand the same year. The song was covered by Chris LeDoux for his 1998 album One Road Man and Rascal Flatts for the Cars soundtrack.
Katrina Ruth Elam is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Universal South Records in 2004, she released her self-titled debut album that year, charting in the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks with the No. 29 "No End in Sight" and the No. 59 "I Want a Cowboy". A third single, "Love Is", peaked at No. 47 from an unreleased second album Turn Me Up. Elam left the label in 2008.
Rascal Flatts was an American country music group founded in 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee. The group consisted of Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus, and Joe Don Rooney. DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousin, a brother-in-law of country music singer James Otto, and was previously a member of the contemporary Christian music duo East to West. LeVox and DeMarcus are both natives of Columbus, Ohio.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 2005.
"What Hurts the Most" is a song written by American songwriter Jeffrey Steele and English songwriter Steve Robson. Originally recorded by country music artist Mark Wills in 2003 on his album And the Crowd Goes Wild, it was covered by Bellefire a year later. The first version to be released as a single was by pop singer Jo O'Meara in 2005, from the album Relentless. Later that year, country band Rascal Flatts covered the song as well, releasing it as the first single from the 2006 album Me and My Gang, topping the U.S. country and adult contemporary charts with it. German band Cascada later had international chart success with the song in 2007. It was also covered by Eden in 2008.
Selah is a contemporary Christian vocal trio consisting of Todd Smith, Allan Hall, and Amy Perry. The group has been featured on The 700 Club, Hour of Power, and TBN.
Feels Like Today is the third studio album by American country music group Rascal Flatts. It was released on September 28, 2004, via Lyric Street Records. The album has sold 5.274 million copies in the United States as of July 2014, and it has been certified 5× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. The album produced its title track as a single along with "Bless the Broken Road", "Fast Cars and Freedom", and "Skin (Sarabeth)". "Bless the Broken Road" was initially recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and has also been recorded by Marcus Hummon, Melodie Crittenden, and Geoff Moore before the release of Rascal Flatts' version. It would later be a Top 5 Christian hit for Selah as well. "When the Sand Runs Out" was later recorded by Marty Raybon on his 2006 album of the same name.
Sons of the Desert was an American country music band founded in 1989 in Waco, Texas. Its most famous lineup consisted of brothers Drew Womack and Tim Womack, along with Scott Saunders (keyboards), Doug Virden, and Brian Westrum (drums). The band released Whatever Comes First for Epic Records Nashville in 1997, and recorded a second album for Epic which was not released. Change followed in 2000. Counting two singles from the unreleased album, Sons of the Desert charted eight times on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the top ten hit "Whatever Comes First"; they were also guest vocalists on Lee Ann Womack's 2000 hit "I Hope You Dance" and Ty Herndon's "It Must Be Love", both of which reached No. 1 on that chart. Following the band's disestablishment, Drew Womack became a solo artist; he would join Lonestar in 2021.
"Fishin' in the Dark" is a song written by Wendy Waldman and Jim Photoglo, and recorded by American country music group Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, with Jimmy Ibbotson singing lead. It was released on June 7, 1987, as the second single from their album Hold On. It reached number-one on the U.S. and Canadian country charts. It was the band's third number-one single on the U.S. country music charts and the second in Canada. After it became available for download, it has sold over a million digital copies by 2015. It was certified Platinum by the RIAA on September 12, 2014.
Marcus Spencer Hummon is an American country music artist. He is the father of fellow country singer Levi Hummon.
Melodie Crittenden is an American country and Christian music artist. Her first album was recorded at the age of nine in Norman, Oklahoma, and was titled Melodie Sings. She traveled around Oklahoma with her family band "The Crittendens", performing at crusade events with evangelist Larry Jones. Later in life, she recorded a self-titled debut album for Asylum/Elektra Records in 1998, the same year that she charted with her rendition of "Bless the Broken Road" ; she would later record the song a second time as a member of the gospel group Selah.
Rascal Flatts were an American country music group founded in 1999 by Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus, and Joe Don Rooney. Signed to Lyric Street Records until 2010, the band released ten studio albums plus a greatest hits package, the first six on the Lyric Street Records label, the last four on Big Machine Records. Their highest-certified albums are Feels Like Today and Me and My Gang, which are both certified 5× Platinum. Except for their 2000 self-titled debut and 2017's Back to Us, all of the group's albums have reached No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart.
All in Good Time is the debut album of American country music artist Marcus Hummon. Released in late 1995 on Columbia Records Nashville, it produced one chart hit for him on the Billboard country charts in "God's Country, USA", which peaked at number 73.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (NGDB) is an American country rock band. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California, in 1966. The band's membership has had at least a dozen changes over the years, including a period from 1976 to 1981 when the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band. The band is often cited as instrumental to the progression of contemporary country and roots music.
"Here" is a song written by Jeffrey Steele and Steve Robson and recorded by American country music group Rascal Flatts. It was released in September 2008 as the fifth and final single from their fifth studio album Still Feels Good.
"Come Wake Me Up" is a song recorded by American country music group Rascal Flatts. It was released in May 2012 as the second single from their eighth studio album, Changed. The song was written by Johan Fransson, Tim Larsson, Tobias Lundgren and Sean McConnell. On November 7, a duet version with Swedish country/pop female singer, Jill Johnson was released on Johnson's album, A Woman Can Change Her Mind. The duet version was also released as a digital download internationally on November 16, 2012.
"Jezebel" is a song recorded by American country music artist Chely Wright. The song was written by Rascal Flatts member Jay DeMarcus, who was formerly part of her road band, and Marcus Hummon, with the song being produced by Wright and Paul Worley. MCA Nashville released the single to country radio on December 22, 2001 as the second and final single from Wright's fifth studio album Never Love You Enough (2001). It was also her final single for the label before she was dropped.
Jeffrey R. Hanna is an American singer-songwriter and performance musician, best known for his association with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. His professional music career has spanned six decades.
"Rascal" is a song recorded by American singer and rapper RMR. It was released as a single on February 26, 2020, and is included on the EP Drug Dealing Is a Lost Art.
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