"If You're Reading This" | ||||
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Single by Tim McGraw | ||||
from the album Let It Go | ||||
Released | June 11, 2007 | |||
Recorded | May 15, 2007 (live recording) June 2007 (remixed version) | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 4:12 | |||
Label | Curb | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Tim McGraw singles chronology | ||||
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"If You're Reading This" is a song performed by American country music artist Tim McGraw. The song was first performed at the Academy of Country Music (ACM) awards, which were held in Las Vegas, Nevada and aired May 15, 2007 on CBS. [1] Shortly after McGraw's live performance, several radio stations began playing a telecast of the song, boosting it to a debut at No. 35 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts from unsolicited airplay. A remixed version of the live recording was later released to radio as a single, overlapping McGraw's then-current single, "I Need You", a duet with wife Faith Hill.
"If You're Reading This" eventually peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard country charts in October 2007, becoming McGraw's forty-second Top Ten country hit overall. The song also peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 .
"If You're Reading This" is a tribute to the families of soldiers who have died. [2] Its lyrics take the form of a letter written from a soldier to his family — a letter that is intended to be sent only if the soldier dies ("If you're reading this / I'm already home"). [3]
McGraw co-wrote the song, with Brad and Brett Warren of country duo The Warren Brothers, approximately three weeks before the ACM awards aired. [1] [4] The three were inspired by reading a magazine article on war casualties. [3]
When McGraw performed the song at the ACM telecast, one hundred relatives of soldiers joined him onstage, under a banner that read "Families of Fallen Heroes". [2] After performing the song, he received a standing ovation. [1]
Despite the lack of a studio recording, the song received airplay on country radio after several stations began playing the CBS telecast of McGraw's live performance. [5] As a result, it entered Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart at number 35. [4] [6] Scott Siman, McGraw's manager, had been working with both the label (Curb Records) and radio stations to "address the fact that we don't have a studio recorded version of this song". A remixed version (with most of the audience noise removed, except for applause at the end) was released to radio in June 2007, while McGraw's then-current single "I Need You" (a Faith Hill duet) was also climbing the charts. [7] [8] This remix was added to later presses of his then current album Let It Go , and Curb began promoting the song as a single in place of "I Need You".
"If You're Reading This" is the second song in McGraw's career that has charted due to a live performance. In 2001, "unknown fans" taped McGraw's performance of the song "Things Change" during the CMA awards, and posted the recording to Napster; as a result, several stations downloaded and played the live telecast of that song. [9]
Chart (2007) | Peak position |
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US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [10] | 3 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [11] | 41 |
US Billboard Pop 100 | 48 |
Canada Country ( Billboard ) [12] | 12 |
Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [13] | 81 |
Chart (2007) | Position |
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US Country Songs ( Billboard ) [14] | 8 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [15] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Samuel Timothy McGraw is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums. 10 of those albums have reached number one on the Top Country Albums charts, with his 1994 breakthrough album Not a Moment Too Soon being the top country album of 1994. In total, McGraw's albums have produced 65 singles, 25 of which have reached number one on the Hot Country Songs or Country Airplay charts. Three of these singles – "It's Your Love", "Just to See You Smile", and "Live Like You Were Dying" – were respectively the top country songs of 1997, 1998, and 2004 according to Billboard Year-End. He has also won three Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) awards, 10 American Music Awards, and three People's Choice Awards. His Soul2Soul II Tour, which was done in partnership with his wife, Faith Hill, is one of the highest-grossing tours in country music history, and one of the top five among all genres of music. He has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
Kenneth Arnold Chesney is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, In My Wildest Dreams, in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles that have peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Jason Aldine Williams, known professionally as Jason Aldean, is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released eleven albums and 40 singles. His 2010 album, My Kinda Party, is certified quadruple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His 2012 album Night Train is certified double-platinum, while his 2005 self-titled debut, 2007 album Relentless, 2009 album Wide Open, and 2014 album Old Boots, New Dirt are all certified platinum. Aldean has received five Grammy Award nominations throughout his career, twice for Best Country Album.
Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has had the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook. Their musical style relies heavily on four-part vocal harmonies, with all four members alternating as lead vocalists. Fairchild and Westbrook have been married to each other since 2006.
The Warren Brothers are an American country music duo composed of brothers Brett Warren and Brad Warren. The duo has released three studio albums: Beautiful Day in the Cold Cruel World (1998) and King of Nothing (2000) on BNA Records, as well as Well Deserved Obscurity (2004) on Sig/429 and a 2005 compilation album, Barely Famous Hits. These four albums have produced nine charting singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, with the highest being "Move On" at No. 17 in late 2000-early 2001. Brad and Brett have also co-written songs for Taylor Swift, Dierks Bentley, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and Martina McBride.
"Tim McGraw" is the debut single by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who wrote it with Liz Rose for her 2006 self-titled debut studio album. Big Machine Records released the song to US country radio on June 19, 2006. Produced by Nathan Chapman, "Tim McGraw" is an acoustic guitar-led country ballad that incorporates the '50s progression and elements of alternative rock. In the lyrics, Swift's character pleads with her ex-boyfriend to remember her every time he hears her favorite song by Tim McGraw, the song's namesake.
Let It Go is the ninth studio album by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released on March 27, 2007 by Curb Records. It was entered the U.S. Billboard 200 at number one with sales of 325,000 copies. The album has produced seven Top 20 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including a number one; one of those seven songs was only included on later issues of the album. Of all McGraw's albums, this one has produced the most singles in his career.
"Teardrops on My Guitar" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who wrote it with Liz Rose. In the United States, the song was the second single from Swift's 2006 self-titled debut album; Big Machine Records released it to country radio on February 20, 2007, and to pop radio as a crossover single on November 9, 2007. An international mix was included on the international edition of Swift's second studio album, Fearless, and released as a single in Europe on May 7, 2009.
"Last Dollar (Fly Away)" is a song written by Big Kenny, one half of the duo Big & Rich, and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released in January 2007 as the first single from his album Let It Go. "Last Dollar (Fly Away)" reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, becoming McGraw's first Number One country hit since "Back When" in late 2004. Big Kenny later recorded the song for his 2010 album, Big Kenny's Love Everybody Traveling Musical Medicine Show Mix Tape, Vol. 1.
"I Need You" is a song written by David Lee and Tony Lane, and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw and his wife, Faith Hill as a duet. It was released in April 2007 as the second single from the album, Let It Go. The song peaked at number 8 on the country charts in August 2007, partly due to competition with individual singles from Hill and McGraw.
"Indian Outlaw" is a song written by Tommy Barnes, Jumpin' Gene Simmons, and John D. Loudermilk, and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released in January 1994 as the first single from his album Not a Moment Too Soon. It was McGraw's breakthrough and first Top 40 country hit, peaking at No. 8 on Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks, and No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Real Good Man" is a song written by Rivers Rutherford and George Teren and recorded by American country music singer Tim McGraw. It was released in May 2003 as the fourth single from McGraw’s 2002 album Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors. The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart.
"Something Like That" is a song written by Rick Ferrell and Keith Follesé and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released in June 1999 as the second single from McGraw's album A Place in the Sun. The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, and peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it a minor crossover hit.
"She's My Kind of Rain" is a song written by Tommy Lee James and Robin Lerner, and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released in January 2003 as the third single from his album Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors. It peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and at number 27 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a solo artist for Hollywood Records.
"Highway Don't Care" is a song recorded by American country music singers Tim McGraw and Taylor Swift on vocals, featuring Keith Urban on guitar. It was released to US country radio on March 25, 2013, as the third single from McGraw's first album for Big Machine Records, Two Lanes of Freedom (2013). The song was written by Mark Irwin, Josh Kear and Brad and Brett Warren. McGraw and Swift recorded their parts separately. To date, this is Swift's seventh number one hit on Billboard's Country Airplay chart.
"Meanwhile Back at Mama's" is a song recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw and his wife Faith Hill. It was released in April 2014 as the second single from his second studio album for Big Machine Records, Sundown Heaven Town. The song was written by Jeffrey Steele, Jaren Johnston and Tom Douglas.
"Humble and Kind" is a song written by Lori McKenna and first released by American country music singer Tim McGraw on January 20, 2016, as the second single from his fourteenth studio album, Damn Country Music. McKenna later recorded her rendition of the song for her eighth studio album, The Bird and the Rifle, released in July 2016. Among several other wins and nominations, the song won the award for Best Country Song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, "Video of the Year" at the 2016 CMT Music Awards, "Song of the Year" at 2016 CMA Awards and "Country Song of the Year" at 2016 American Music Awards. It has been certified platinum and reached the number one position on the country music charts in both Canada and the United States. To date, this is McGraw’s most recent number one song.
"Peter Pan" is a song co-written and recorded by American recording artist Kelsea Ballerini. It was released to American country radio by Black River Entertainment as the third single from her debut studio album The First Time (2015). Ballerini co-wrote the song with Forest Glen Whitehead and Jesse Lee. The track is a country pop ballad about a lost love being compared to the song's namesake as a metaphor for being immature and having a tendency to run off to his own fantasy.
American singer and songwriter Tim McGraw has had 75 singles spanning 16 studio albums.