"Thinkin' Problem" | ||||
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Single by David Ball | ||||
from the album Thinkin' Problem | ||||
B-side | "Down at the Bottom of a Broken Heart" [1] | |||
Released | March 28, 1994 | |||
Recorded | January 1994 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:00 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. Nashville | |||
Songwriter(s) | David Ball Allen Shamblin Stuart Ziff | |||
Producer(s) | Blake Chancey | |||
David Ball singles chronology | ||||
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"Thinkin' Problem" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer David Ball. Ball co-wrote the song with Allen Shamblin and Stuart Ziff. It was released in March 1994 as the lead-off single and title track from his album Thinkin' Problem . The song reached number 2 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) chart, and number 1 on Canada's RPM country chart. It also earned Ball a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards in 1995, as well as a nomination for the Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year.
"Thinkin' Problem" is a moderate up-tempo with electric guitar, pedal steel guitar, and fiddle flourishes. In it, the male narrator states that he has a "thinkin' problem" (meant as a play on the term "drinking problem") because he is constantly thinking about his former significant other despite numerous attempts to quit. The song begins with the famous phrase "Yes I admit, I've got a thinkin' problem", with the final syllable of the word "admit" drawn out.
The music video was directed by O Pictures and premiered in early 1994.
Rick Cohoon of Allmusic gave the song a mixed review, saying that it "is the fuel that ignited Ball's launch into stardom" but that "he tends to over-nasalize to the point of annoyance." [2] Deborah Evans Price, of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably calling it a "perfect combination of retro sensibility and '90s production, and a pure honky-tonk delight." [3]
Cledus T. Judd, a country music parodist, parodied the song as "Stinkin' Problem" on his 1995 debut album Cledus T. Judd (No Relation) .
"Thinkin' Problem" debuted at number 72 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of April 16, 1994.
Chart (1994) | Peak position |
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Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) [4] | 1 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [5] | 40 |
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [6] | 2 |
Chart (1994) | Position |
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Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) [7] | 18 |
US Country Songs ( Billboard ) [8] | 71 |