Play Something Country

Last updated
"Play Something Country"
Brooks Dunn - Play Something Country.png
Single by Brooks & Dunn
from the album Hillbilly Deluxe
ReleasedJune 6, 2005
Genre Country
Length3:14
Label Arista Nashville 82876-69945
Songwriter(s) Ronnie Dunn
Terry McBride
Producer(s) Kix Brooks
Tony Brown
Ronnie Dunn
Brooks & Dunn singles chronology
"It's Getting Better All the Time"
(2004)
"Play Something Country"
(2005)
"Believe"
(2005)

"Play Something Country" is a song recorded by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn, co-written by Ronnie Dunn and Terry McBride. It was released in June 2005, as the first single from the duo's album Hillbilly Deluxe . In September of that year, the song reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, becoming the twentieth and final number one hit of the duo's career to date.

Contents

Background and writing

The idea came to Dunn after a show in Minnesota. According to McBride, who played bass guitar in Brooks & Dunn's road band, Dunn "comes busting onto the bus and says, 'how about this idea?' and he howls that ah oooh, aw, play something country!" [1] Inspired by Gretchen Wilson, with whom they had been touring, McBride and Dunn decided to base the song's central character on Wilson's image, creating a "ballsy chick that bursts into the barroom, puts her hand on her hip […] and goes, 'play something country!'" [1] After McBride told Wilson that she was the inspiration for "Play Something Country," Wilson replied that she loved the song. [1]

Content

"Play Something Country" is an up-tempo song backed by electric guitar and a horn section. Its lyrics are the narrator's description of a female character who wants to hear country music.

Music video

The music video was directed by Michael Salomon and premiered in mid-2005. It shows the duo performing the song in a bar with a full band, and Ronnie Dunn as a bar patron singing the song. It also shows a sassy country chick dancing and interacting with the bar patrons. At one point, she is seen using a lasso to grab one bar patron (played by NY actor Rob Findlay), then riding on his back as if he was a horse. Another scene shows her standing before the DJ and grabbing his record off his turntable, forcing him to "Play something country."

Chart positions

"Play Something Country" debuted at number 37 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart for the week of June 4, 2005. On the chart dated September 17, 2005, it became the twentieth and most recent Number One single of Brooks & Dunn's career.

Chart (2005)Peak
position
Canada Country ( Radio & Records ) [2] 1
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [3] 1
US Billboard Hot 100 [4] 37
US Billboard Pop 100 53

Year-end charts

Chart (2005)Position
US Country Songs ( Billboard ) [5] 22

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [6] Platinum1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooks & Dunn</span> American country music duo

Brooks & Dunn is an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of songwriter and record producer Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were solo recording artists, having charted two solo singles apiece in the 1980s. Brooks also released an album for Capitol Records in 1989 and wrote hit singles for other artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronnie Dunn</span> American singer-songwriter

Ronald Gene Dunn is an American country music singer-songwriter and record executive. Starting in 2011, Dunn has worked as a solo artist following the temporary dissolution of Brooks & Dunn. He released his self-titled debut album for Arista Nashville on June 7, 2011, reaching the Top 10 with its lead-off single, "Bleed Red". After leaving Arista Nashville in 2012, Dunn founded Little Will-E Records. On April 8, 2014, Ronnie Dunn released his second solo album, Peace, Love, and Country Music through Little Will-E Records. On November 11, 2016, he released his third album Tattooed Heart on NASH Icon label. His fourth album Re-Dunn was released on January 10, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McBride & the Ride</span> American country music band

McBride & the Ride is an American country music band consisting of Terry McBride, Ray Herndon, and Billy Thomas. The group was founded in 1989 through the assistance of record producer Tony Brown. McBride & the Ride's first three albums — Burnin' Up the Road, the gold-certified Sacred Ground, and Hurry Sundown, released in 1991, 1992, and 1993, respectively — were all issued on MCA Nashville. These albums also produced several hits on the Billboard country charts, including the Top 5 hits "Sacred Ground", "Going Out of My Mind", "Just One Night", and "Love on the Loose, Heart on the Run".

<i>Hillbilly Deluxe</i> (Brooks & Dunn album) 2005 studio album by Brooks & Dunn

Hillbilly Deluxe is the ninth studio album by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn, released in 2005 on Arista Nashville. Certified Platinum in the United States by the RIAA, the album produced four singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The duo produced the majority of the album with Tony Brown.

<i>Tight Rope</i> (album) 1999 studio album by Brooks & Dunn

Tight Rope is the sixth studio album by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn, released in 1999 on Arista Nashville. Their least successful album commercially, it was the first album of their career not to receive platinum certification from the RIAA; furthermore, only one of its three singles reached the top ten on the country charts. The album's lead single was a cover of John Waite's 1984 number-one pop hit "Missing You". This cover peaked at No. 15 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Following it were "Beer Thirty" and "You'll Always Be Loved by Me". "Goin' Under Gettin' Over You" reached No. 60 from unsolicited play as an album cut.

<i>Kix Brooks</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Kix Brooks

Kix Brooks is the first solo studio album by American country music artist Kix Brooks. It was released on Capitol Nashville in 1989, a year before he joined Ronnie Dunn in the duo Brooks & Dunn. The album was re-released in 1993 on compact disc via Liberty Records. It includes the single "Sacred Ground," which was a minor hits for Brooks on the country charts, and a new version of "Baby, When Your Heart Breaks Down", which was originally released as a single in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacred Ground (song)</span>

"Sacred Ground" is a country music song, co-written and originally recorded by American country music singer Kix Brooks, prior to his joining Ronnie Dunn in the duo Brooks & Dunn. Brooks' version was issued in 1989 as a single, and was included on his 1989 self-titled debut album.

<i>Cowboy Town</i> 2007 studio album by Brooks & Dunn

Cowboy Town is the tenth studio album by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn, released in 2007 by Arista Nashville. Produced by the duo and Tony Brown, the album has accounted for four Top 20 country singles on the Billboard country singles charts: "Proud of the House We Built," "God Must Be Busy," "Put a Girl in It," and "Cowgirls Don't Cry." The album debuted at number 13 on the Billboard albums chart, selling 68,900 copies in the first week of release. To date it has sold over 400,000 copies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brand New Man (song)</span> 1991 single by Brooks & Dunn

"Brand New Man" is a song recorded by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn, written by Kix Brooks, Don Cook and Ronnie Dunn. It was released in June 1991 as their debut single, and was served as the first single and title track from their debut album of the same name, and their first Number One single on the country charts, thus making them only the second country music band in history to have its debut single reach Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">If You See Him/If You See Her</span> 1998 single by Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn

"If You See Him/If You See Her" is a song written by Terry McBride, Jennifer Kimball and Tommy Lee James, and recorded by American country music artist Reba McEntire, along with the duo Brooks & Dunn. It served as the title track to each artist's respective 1998 albums, both released on June 2 of that year. The song was concurrently promoted and distributed by both artists' labels: MCA Nashville and Arista Nashville, then the respective labels for McEntire and Brooks & Dunn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry McBride (musician)</span> American singer-songwriter

Terry McBride is an American country music artist. Between 1989 and 1994, and again from 2000 to 2002, McBride was the lead vocalist and bass guitarist in the band McBride & the Ride, a country music group which recorded four studio albums, received CMA and ACM Nominations for Vocal Group of the Year, and charted more than ten singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The trio reunited a second time in 2021 and is currently touring throughout the country in support of their comeback EP, Marlboros & Avon. McBride continues to write and record solo music as well, including albums Hotels & Highways and Rebels & Angels. He is also the son of 1970s country singer Dale McBride.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">He's Got You</span> 1997 single by Brooks & Dunn

"He's Got You" is a song written by Ronnie Dunn and Terry McBride, and recorded by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It was released in October 1997 as the second and final single from their compilation album The Greatest Hits Collection. The song peaked at number 2 on the US Country chart for two weeks, only behind "Just to See You Smile" by Tim McGraw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowgirls Don't Cry</span> 2008 single by Brooks & Dunn featuring Reba McEntire

"Cowgirls Don't Cry" is a song written by Ronnie Dunn and Terry McBride of McBride & the Ride and recorded by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It was released in October 2008 as the fourth and final single on their studio album Cowboy Town. One month after its chart entry, it was re-recorded and re-released as a duet with Reba McEntire. The song is Brooks & Dunn's 41st and most recent Top 10 hit on the Billboard country charts and McEntire's 56th.

"You'll Always Be Loved by Me" is a song written by Ronnie Dunn and Terry McBride, and recorded by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It was released in March 2000 as the third and final single from their album Tight Rope. It peaked at number 5, and is the only single from the album to reach the Top 10. The title of its parent album Tight Rope is mentioned in this song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl</span> 2003 single by Brooks & Dunn

"You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl" is a song written by Bob DiPiero and Bart Allmand, and recorded by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It was released in September 2003 as the second single from their album Red Dirt Road. It reached number 3 in early 2004.

"That's What She Gets for Loving Me" is a song written by Ronnie Dunn and Terry McBride, and recorded by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It was released in February 2004 as the third and final single from their album Red Dirt Road. It peaked at number 6 in the United States.

"Beer Thirty" is a song written by Ronnie Dunn and Terry McBride, and recorded by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It was released in October 1999 as the second single from the album Tight Rope. The song reached #19 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

<i>Number 1s... and Then Some</i> 2009 compilation album by Brooks & Dunn

#1s... and Then Some is the title of a two-disc compilation album released on September 8, 2009, by country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It is the duo's fifth greatest hits package. The package contains two new tracks that were both released as singles, "Indian Summer" and a collaboration with ZZ Top lead guitarist Billy Gibbons, "Honky Tonk Stomp". It is their last release before their five-year hiatus from 2010 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honky Tonk Stomp</span> 2009 single by Brooks & Dunn featuring Billy Gibbons

"Honky Tonk Stomp" is a song recorded by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It was written by duo member Ronnie Dunn along with Terry McBride and Bobby Pinson. It is the 50th overall single for the duo, the second and final single from their compilation album #1s… and Then Some. The song features Billy Gibbons, lead singer of the band ZZ Top. The music video was voted in No. 47 on GAC's Top 50 Videos of the Year list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let the Cowboy Rock</span> 2012 single by Ronnie Dunn

"Let the Cowboy Rock" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Ronnie Dunn. It was released in January 2012 as the third single from his self-titled album. Dunn wrote this song with Dallas Davidson.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Horner, Marianne (2005-10-10). "Story Behind the Song". Country Weekly . 12 (21): 70.
  2. Radio & Records: September 2, 2005, page 40 worldradiohistory.com
  3. "Brooks & Dunn Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  4. "Brooks & Dunn Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  5. "Best of 2005: Country Songs". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. 2005. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  6. "American single certifications – Brooks & Dunn – Play Something Country". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved August 14, 2024.