"Tough Little Boys" | ||||
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Single by Gary Allan | ||||
from the album See If I Care | ||||
B-side | "I Can Love You" | |||
Released | June 23, 2003 | |||
Recorded | 2003 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 3:57 | |||
Label | MCA Nashville 000946 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Don Sampson, Harley Allen | |||
Producer(s) | Mark Wright, Gary Allan | |||
Gary Allan singles chronology | ||||
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"Tough Little Boys" is a song written by Harley Allen and Don Sampson and recorded by American country music artist Gary Allan. It was released in June 2003 as the first single from Allan's 2003 album See If I Care . The song became Allan's second number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in October 2003.
The song, backed primarily by acoustic guitar and keyboard, is about a father who has always imagined himself to be tough, even as a child. However, upon looking at his own child, the father starts finding himself worrying about the child's safety, admitting that "When tough little boys grow up to be dads / They turn into big babies again." The song's chorus references the young adult novel Old Yeller with the line "Now I didn't cry when Old Yeller died / At least not in front of my friends."
Jennifer Webb of About.com reviewed the song favorably, calling it "touching and tender." [1]
The music video was directed by Morgan Lawley, and premiered in mid-2003. It was filmed at the Tennessee National Air Force Base, and features actual soldiers returning from and during wartime, and their daughters, who come out and hug them in the end. Gary is seen performing the song in an air force treatment tent with an acoustic guitar, and in an airport hangar with an electric guitar, while videos of the soldiers on screens behind him are playing. His own daughter Dallas makes a cameo as well. He dedicated the video to all the soldiers who fought and continue to fight for their country, with a note at the end of the video saying "This video is dedicated to all the soldiers, who left their families, to fight for our country."
"Tough Little Boys" debuted at number 45 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of June 28, 2003.
Chart (2003) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [2] | 1 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [3] | 32 |
Chart (2003) | Position |
---|---|
US Country Songs ( Billboard ) [4] | 30 |
Kid Rock is the self-titled sixth studio album by Kid Rock, his fourth Atlantic Records album. It was released in 2003. It was critically acclaimed by Rolling Stone, which named it one of the 50 Greatest Albums of 2003. "Black Bob" and "Jackson, Mississippi" were recorded for his 1996 album Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp in 1995, but were left off the album. "Feel Like Makin' Love", "Cold and Empty", "Intro", "Hillbilly Stomp" and "Run Off to LA" were recorded for the demo sessions for 2001's Cocky, but did not make the cut as well. "Feel Like Makin' Love" originally had Sheryl Crow on the song. Country singer Kenny Chesney co-wrote "Cold and Empty".
Gary Allan Herzberg is an American country music artist. Signed to Decca Records in 1996, Allan made his country music debut with the release of his single "Her Man", the lead-off to his gold-certified debut album Used Heart for Sale, which was released in 1996 on Decca. His second album, It Would Be You, followed in 1998. Allan's third album, Smoke Rings in the Dark, was his first one for MCA Nashville and his first platinum album. His next albums, Alright Guy (2001) and See If I Care (2003), both were also certified platinum while Tough All Over (2005) and Greatest Hits (2007) and Living Hard (2007) were all certified gold. His next two albums Get Off on the Pain (2010) and Set You Free (2013) both reached the Top 10 on the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums charts, at numbers 2 and 1 respectively.
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Tough All Over is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Gary Allan. It was released in October 2005 via MCA Nashville. It has been certified gold by the RIAA. Recorded after his wife's suicide, this album is more somber than his previous ones, with several of its songs termed to be "excruciatingly sad."
Used Heart for Sale is the debut studio album by American country music singer Gary Allan. It was released on September 24, 1996 via Decca Records Nashville. The album has been certified gold by the RIAA. It produced four singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with "Her Man", "Living in a House Full of Love", "From Where I'm Sitting", and "Forever and a Day". "Her Man" reached the Top 10 on the country charts at #7, while none of the other three singles reached Top 40.
It Would Be You is the second studio album by American country music singer Gary Allan. It was released on May 19, 1998, as his last studio album for the Decca Records Nashville label. After that album's release, Decca Records Nashville closed, so Gary Allan signed contracts with MCA Records Nashville. The album produced three singles with the title track, "No Man in His Wrong Heart", and "I'll Take Today". The title track was Allan's second Top 10 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart at number 7.
Smoke Rings in the Dark is the third studio album by American country music singer Gary Allan. It was released on October 26, 1999 as his first album for MCA Records Nashville after leaving Decca Records Nashville. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA, and it produced three singles: the title track, "Lovin' You Against My Will", and "Right Where I Need to Be", which respectively reached number 12, number 34 and number 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. "Right Where I Need to Be" was also Allan's first Top 5 country hit and his third Top 10.
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