Southern Rain

Last updated
Southern Rain
Southernrain.jpg
Studio album by
Billy Ray Cyrus
ReleasedOctober 17, 2000 (2000-10-17)
Genre Country
Length44:54
Label Monument
Producer
Billy Ray Cyrus chronology
Shot Full of Love
(1998)		Southern Rain
(2000)		 Time Flies
(2003)

Southern Rain is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Billy Ray Cyrus released October 17, 2000. The album sold 14,000 copies in its first week of release and would go on to sell over 160,000 copies. It produced five singles on the Hot Country Songs charts, including the number 17 "You Won't Be Lonely Now". This was his first album for Monument Records after leaving Mercury Records in 1999.

Contents

Content

Cyrus compared the title track on Southern Rain to the title tracks on his albums Some Gave All and Trail of Tears and said that he was inspired to write "Southern Rain" in his backyard during a rainstorm while feeling "depressed" about leaving his previous record company. [1] Cyrus co-wrote the song with Don Von Tress and Michael Joe Sagraves. The only other track on Southern Rain that Cyrus received a writing credit on is "Without You", which he co-wrote with Jude Cole. Cyrus began writing "Without You" on his own but described Cole as someone he "always wanted to write with", and the two were connected through a Sony A&R representative. [1]

The songs "You Won't Be Lonely Now", "All I'm Thinking About Is You", and "Everywhere I Wanna Be" were brought to Cyrus by producer Dann Huff. "I Will" was brought to Cyrus by producer Blake Chancey, and "Crazy 'Bout You Baby" was brought to Cyrus by a Sony representative. "You Won't Be Lonely Now" was written by Brett James and John Bettis. It was the first song recorded for Southern Rain by Cyrus and was also released as the album's lead single. "All I'm Thinking About Is You" was written by Jeffrey Steele, who also co-wrote "Crazy 'Bout You Baby" with Ed Berghoff. [1] Cyrus considered the former track to be unique from anything he had recorded before, due to the spoken-word verses. He described the latter song as "kind of a retro rock country blues thing" and said, "It's got a fun little dancing groove and a great hook." [1] "Everywhere I Want to Be" was written by Marty Dodson and Danny Wells, and Cyrus was drawn to the song by his love of power ballads. [1] "I Will" was the last song chosen to be recorded for the album. Cyrus said, "I didn't get past the first verse and I knew I wanted to try to sing it. Everyone agreed that it was the perfect fit." [1]

Monty Powell, who was a writer on two of Cyrus's previous singles, "Could've Been Me" and "Words By Heart", co-wrote Southern Rain's second single, "We the People", with Jimmie Lee Sloas and Anna Wilson. Noting that Southern Rain was released during an election year, Cyrus explained that he and his producers wanted "We the People" to be "an event record" and enlisted his personal friend Waylon Jennings, along with John Anderson, Danni Leigh, Montgomery Gentry, and Yankee Grey to join him on the track. Jennings and Anderson recite the Preamble of the United States Constitution during the song. [1] George W. Bush's presidential campaign adopted "We the People" as an official campaign song during the 2000 presidential election, after Monument Records offered use of the song to both Bush and the Al Gore presidential campaign. Cyrus was unsettled about the song's association with Bush, describing "We the People" as "a working people's song" and saying, "I've never really thought of the Republicans as the party of the working people." [2] Cyrus's father, Ron Cyrus, a Democrat who served as a Kentucky state legislator, insisted that "We the People" is "a Democrat song." [2]

Paul Thorn, who co-wrote "Burn Down the Trailer Park" with Billy Maddox and Pat McDonald, later included the song on his 2001 album Aint Love Strange. [3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Billboard (favorable) link
Entertainment Weekly C+ [6]
People (average) [7]

A writer for About.com said, "Billy Ray fans will love this album, and those who may know Billy Ray only from "Achy Breaky Heart" should give him a chance to show that he's more than just a one-hit wonder. He's got a lot more to give, and he gives it here on Southern Rain." [4] William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote that it was "a sturdy collection of average country songs effectively performed by a minor country talent. All of which was fine, unless you were hoping for an album that measured up to Cyrus' early sales figures, which, of course, Monument was." [5] Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly said, "[I]f he gets nearly swallowed up in the power-pop ballads, he shines on the roots rockers — proof that underneath his lightweight, Chippendale reputation, there’s an artist dying to get out." [6] A writer for People called the record "standard Cyrus, which means much of it sounds like the work of a frustrated heavy metal singer." The tracks "Hey Elvis", "We the People", "Love You Back" and "Burn Down the Trailer Park" were picked as highlights. [7]

Track listing

#TitleLengthWriter(s)Producer(s) [8]
1."You Won't Be Lonely Now"3:53 Brett James, John Bettis Dann Huff
2."Southern Rain"5:05Billy Ray Cyrus, Michael Joe Sagraves, Don Von Tress
3."All I'm Thinking About Is You"3:42 Jeffrey Steele Huff, Blake Chancey
4."We the People" (featuring John Anderson, Waylon Jennings, Danni Leigh, Montgomery Gentry, and Yankee Grey) [8] 4:11 Monty Powell, Jimmie Lee Sloas, Anna Wilson
5."I Will"3:58Bonnie Baker, Carol Ann Brown
6."Love You Back"3:56 Neil Thrasher, Wendell Mobley
7."Burn Down the Trailer Park"3:18 Paul Thorn, Billy Maddox, Pat McDonaldHuff
8."Everywhere I Wanna Be"3:28 Marty Dodson, Danny Wells
9."Crazy 'Bout You Baby"3:20Steele, Ed BerghoffHuff, Chancey
10."Without You"4:05Cyrus, Jude Cole
11."Hey Elvis" (bonus track)5:58 Bryan Adams, Gretchen Peters Cyrus, Terry Shelton

Personnel

Adapted from Southern Rain liner notes. [8]

Technical
Musicians on all tracks except 11
Musicians on Track 11

Chart performance

Album

Charts (2000)Peak
position
Canadian Top Country Albums24
US Billboard 200 [9] 102
US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [10] 13

Singles

YearSinglePeak chart
positions
US Country US
2000"You Won't Be Lonely Now"A1780
"We the People"60—
2001"Burn Down the Trailer Park"43—
"Crazy 'Bout You Baby"58—
"Southern Rain"45—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cyrus, Billy Ray. "Southern Rain - Cut-by-Cut". Asismanagement.com. Archived from the original on June 1, 2002.
  2. 1 2 Boucher, Geoff (October 11, 2000). "Songs in the Key of Presidency". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  3. ↑ Ain't Love Strange - Paul Thorn | Album | AllMusic , retrieved 2024-04-16
  4. 1 2 "Billy Ray Cyrus - Southern Rain". About.com . Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  5. 1 2 Ruhlmann, William. "Southern Rain - Billy Ray Cyrus". AllMusic . Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Nash, Alanna (October 20, 2000). "Southern Rain". Entertainment Weekly . Time Inc. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Picks and Pans Review: Southern Rain". People . Meredith Corporation. November 6, 2000. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 Southern Rain (CD insert). Billy Ray Cyrus. Monument Nashville. 2001. 62105.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ↑ "Billy Ray Cyrus Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Billy Ray Cyrus Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
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