Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)

Last updated
"Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)"
Big rich sahrac cover.jpg
Single by Big & Rich
from the album Horse of a Different Color
ReleasedApril 19, 2004
Recorded2003
Genre
Length
  • 3:20 (album version)
  • 4:25 (dance mix)
Label Warner Bros. Nashville
Songwriter(s) Big Kenny, John Rich
Producer(s) Paul Worley, Big Kenny, John Rich
Big & Rich singles chronology
"Wild West Show"
(2004)
"Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)"
(2004)
"Holy Water"
(2004)

"Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" is a song written and recorded by American country music duo Big & Rich. It was released in April 2004 as the second single from their debut album Horse of a Different Color . It reached number 11 on the U.S. Billboard US Country chart. The song received wide exposure when ESPN featured the song in commercials for its coverage of the 2004 World Series of Poker. It was also featured in the Boston Legal episode "Death Be Not Proud".

Contents

Big & Rich also released a remixed dance version of the song which appeared on their compilation Big & Rich's Super Galactic Fan Pak . They performed this remixed version at the CMT Video Music Awards in 2005. The song was also featured in a Chevrolet commercial that was aired during Super Bowl XLI and the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.

The song appears on the game Karaoke Revolution Country, as well as in the 2012 film Magic Mike . The song also appears in the May 16th 2013 episode of The Office (U.S.) as the song Meredith's son Jake strips to.

Content

The song is a fusion of country rock and country rap [ citation needed ]. The first two verses detail "Big" Kenny Alphin and John Rich's arrival into Nashville, going into a bar, "passing out hundred-dollar bills" and, "buying the bar a double round of Crown." They vow that Nashville is "never gonna be the same." They ride around Nashville on horses, while everyone else says to "save a horse" and "ride a cowboy."

Music video

The music video for the song was filmed in Nashville during the summer of 2004. Big & Rich, other members of the MuzikMafia, including Gretchen Wilson and Cowboy Troy, as well as dancers, marching bands, and other groups of people, parade on the Shelby Street Bridge in Nashville. It was directed by David Hogan. The video caused damage to the bridge including dents and scuff marks, which cost $23,000 in repairs. [1]

One World Gear controversy

In April 2007, the song was parodied by T-shirt manufacturer One World Gear, who began to offer a series of products on CafePress.com featuring snowclones of the slogan "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy", in which the word "cowboy" was replaced with the name of any one of 177 different nationalities, including "American". The version of the T-shirt featuring the slogan "Save a Horse, Ride a Taiwanese" was singled out as "racially discriminatory" and "insulting to Taiwan" by Taiwanese and Hong Kong media. [2] [3]

Chart performance

"Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" debuted at number 58 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of April 24, 2004. It has sold 2.087 million copies as of April 2013. [4]

Personnel

From Horse of a Different Color liner notes. [5]

Charts and certifications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynn Anderson</span> American country music singer (1947–2015)

Lynn René Anderson was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, "Rose Garden," was a number one hit internationally. She also charted five number one and 18 top-ten singles on the Billboard country songs chart. Anderson is regarded as one of country music's most significant performers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toby Keith</span> American country music singer and actor (born 1961)

Toby Keith Covel, known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's Toby Keith, 1994's Boomtown, 1996's Blue Moon and 1997's Dream Walkin', plus a Greatest Hits package—for various divisions of Mercury Records before leaving Mercury in 1998. These albums all earned Gold or higher certification, and produced several Top Ten singles, including his debut "Should've Been a Cowboy", which topped the country charts and was the most-played country song of the 1990s. The song has received three million spins since its release, according to Broadcast Music Incorporated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Chesney</span> American country musician

Kenneth Arnold Chesney is an American country singer. He has recorded more than 20 albums that included more than 40 Top 10 singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, 32 of which have reached number one. Many of these have also charted within the Top 40 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, making him one of the most successful crossover country artists. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowboy Troy</span> American country rapper

Troy Lee Coleman III, better known by his stage name Cowboy Troy, is an American rapper and singer. He is best known as a representative of the country rap genre. He has released seven studio albums and one EP, including three releases on Warner Bros. Records, and has charted twice on the Billboard country singles charts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Rich</span> American country musician

John Rich is an American country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist. After departing from the band in 1998, he embarked on a solo career on BNA Records in the late 1990s, releasing two singles for the label and recording Underneath the Same Moon, which was not released until 2006. In 2001, he self-released Rescue Me, an album he was inspired to record by a cancer patient named Katie Darnell. By 2003, he joined Big Kenny to form the duo Big & Rich, who released three albums on Warner Bros. Records as well as ten singles, including the Number One "Lost in This Moment". After Big & Rich went on hiatus in 2007, Rich began work on a third solo album, Son of a Preacher Man, which has produced two more chart singles. In 2011, Rich released two extended plays, Rich Rocks and For the Kids, before re-establishing Big & Rich in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Kenny</span> American country music singer

William Kenneth Alphin, best known by his stage name Big Kenny, is an American country music singer. He and John Rich comprise the duo Big & Rich, who recorded four studio albums and charted fifteen singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

<i>Horse of a Different Color</i> (Big & Rich album) 2004 studio album by Big & Rich

Horse of a Different Color is the debut studio album by American country music duo Big & Rich, released on May 4, 2004, by Warner Bros. Nashville. The album contains the hit singles "Wild West Show", "Save a Horse ", "Holy Water", and "Big Time". Respectively, these reached No. 21, No. 11, No. 15, and No. 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The album was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA for shipments of three million copies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild West Show (song)</span> 2003 single by Big & Rich

"Wild West Show" is a debut song co-written and recorded by American country music duo Big & Rich. It was released in December 2003 as the first single from their debut album Horse of a Different Color. It reached No. 21 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. The song was written by Big Kenny, John Rich and Blair Daly.

"Holy Water" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music duo Big & Rich. It was released in September 2004 as the third single from debut album Horse of a Different Color. It reached number 15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The song was written by Big Kenny, John Rich, Vicky McGehee and Jeff Cohen.

"Big Time" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music duo Big & Rich. It was released in February 2005 as the fourth and final single from their album Horse of a Different Color. The song was written by Big Kenny, John Rich and Angie Aparo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost in This Moment</span> 2007 single by Big & Rich

"Lost in This Moment" is a song written by John Rich, Keith Anderson and Rodney Clawson, and recorded by American country music duo Big & Rich. It was released in February 2007 as the first single from their album Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace. The single became their first and only Number One hit on the Billboard country charts in July 2007. Prior to its release, the duo's highest-charting single was "Save a Horse ", which reached #11.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Otto</span> American country music artist (born 1973)

James Allen Otto is an American country music singer and songwriter. Otto began his career on Mercury Nashville Records in 2002, charting three minor singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and recording his debut album Days of Our Lives for the label before being dropped in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big & Rich discography</span>

Big & Rich is an American country music duo founded by Big Kenny and John Rich. Signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2004, the duo has released six studio albums, five extended plays, two extended play/DVD combos, three compilation albums and 20 singles. Their 2004 debut, Horse of a Different Color, is also their highest-selling album, certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). 2005's Comin' to Your City is certified platinum by the RIAA, and 2007's Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace is certified gold by the same. Their first EP/DVD combo, Big & Rich's Super Galactic Fan Pak, is also certified platinum.

<i>Big & Richs Super Galactic Fan Pak</i> 2004 EP with bonus DVD by Big & Rich

Big & Rich's Super Galactic Fan Pak is an EP/DVD combination released by the country music duo Big & Rich on October 24, 2004. The album debuted on the country charts at No. 17, and the Billboard 200 at No. 90. Although it produced no chart singles, the album was certified platinum by the RIAA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerrod Niemann</span> American singer-songwriter

Jerrod Lee Niemann is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has released one single for Category 5 Records (2006); three albums for Sea Gayle Music/Arista Nashville: Judge Jerrod & the Hung Jury (2010), Free the Music (2012), and High Noon (2014); and one album, This Ride (2017), for Curb Records. These albums have produced a combined ten Top 40 entries on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, including the Platinum Number 1 singles "Lover, Lover" and "Drink to That All Night" and Gold Top 5 single "What Do You Want". He has also co-written three singles for Garth Brooks: the chart topping Chris LeDoux tribute "Good Ride Cowboy", as well as "That Girl Is a Cowboy" and "Midnight Sun". Jamey Johnson, Lee Brice, Blake Shelton, Colbie Caillat, Diamond Rio, The Cadillac Three, Mark Chesnutt, John Anderson, Neal McCoy, Christian Kane, and Julie Roberts have also recorded Niemann's songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowboy Casanova</span> 2009 single by Carrie Underwood

"Cowboy Casanova" is a song by American singer Carrie Underwood. It was written by Underwood, Mike Elizondo, Brett James. It was released on September 14, 2009, by Arista Nashville as the lead single from her third studio album, Play On. The song sold 2,300,000 copies, making it the fourth-biggest single of her career behind "Jesus, Take the Wheel", "Before He Cheats", and "Blown Away".

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Kelley (singer)</span> American musician (born 1985)

Brian Edward Kelley is an American musician, best known as a member of the Nashville-based duo Florida Georgia Line. Kelley is from Ormond Beach, Florida, and enjoyed playing sports and music growing up. He moved to Nashville to go to school and play baseball at Belmont University, where he met Tyler Hubbard, the other member of Florida Georgia Line.

<i>Gravity</i> (Big & Rich album) 2014 studio album by Big & Rich

Gravity is the fifth studio album by American country music duo Big & Rich, and was released on September 23, 2014. The duo announced that they had begun work on their next album in summer 2013 before releasing the album's lead off single, "Look at You," in January 2014. In addition to releasing the single, the duo announced that they had started their own record label, Big & Rich Records, which handled the release of this album.

Adam Shoenfeld is a professional guitarist, songwriter and producer based in Nashville, TN. Primarily focused on modern country music, his guitar playing has been featured on over 500 albums, and is closely associated with Big & Rich and Jason Aldean ("Hicktown").

References

  1. "Shoot of Popular Country Music Video Damaged Nashville Landmark". NewsChannel 5, WTVF Nashville. September 17, 2004.
  2. "「騎台灣人」性暗示侮辱 美國網站賣歧視T恤 ("Ride a Taiwanese" insulting sexual implication - American website sells discriminatory t-shirt)". Eastern Television. 2007-04-10. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
  3. Pang, Hau-wai (2007-04-11). "美售「騎台灣人」T恤 (Americans selling "Ride a Taiwanese" T-shirts)". Ming Pao . Retrieved 2007-04-11.
  4. 1 2 Paul Grein (April 17, 2013). "Week Ending April 14, 2013. Songs: PSY Gallops Back". Yahoo Music (Chart Watch). Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  5. Horse of a Different Color (CD). Big & Rich. Warner Bros. Records. 2004. 48520.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. "Every ARIA Top 100 Single in 2004".
  7. "Big & Rich – Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved March 13, 2020 [6] .
  8. "Big & Rich – Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  9. "Big Rich Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  10. "Big Rich Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  11. "Best of 2004: Country Songs". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. 2004. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  12. "Canadian single certifications – Big & Rich – Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)". Music Canada.
  13. "American single certifications – Big & Rich – Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy". Recording Industry Association of America.