Emerson Drive is a Canadian country music band consisting of Brad Mates, Danick Dupelle, Mike Melancon (drums), and Dale Wallace. The band was founded in 1995 as 12 Gauge, which consisted of Mates, Pat Allingham (fiddle), Steven Swager, Chris Hartman (keyboards), Dan Binns (guitar), David Switzer (guitar), and Reni Barre (drums); Swager was replaced with Jeff Loberg early on. After recording under this name, the band moved to the United States in 1999 and renamed themselves to Emerson Drive. They released two albums for the former DreamWorks Records Nashville branch: Emerson Drive in 2002 and What If? in 2004. These accounted for their first hit singles in the United States: "I Should Be Sleeping", "Fall into Me", and "Last One Standing". After DreamWorks closed, Emerson Drive signed with Midas Records Nashville for the 2006 album Countrified, which produced their only American number-one single in "Moments". Further releases in the United States were unsuccessful, but the band has continued to chart in Canada through releases on Open Road Recordings.
"Take Me Home, Country Roads", also known simply as "Country Roads", is a song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert and John Denver about West Virginia. It was released as a single performed by Denver on April 12, 1971, peaking at number two on Billboard's US Hot 100 singles for the week ending August 28, 1971. The song was a success on its initial release and was certified Gold by the RIAA on August 18, 1971, and Platinum on April 10, 2017. The song became one of John Denver's most popular songs. It has continued to sell, with over 1.6 million digital copies sold in the United States.
"What Hurts the Most" is a song written by American songwriter Jeffrey Steele and English songwriter Steve Robson. Initially recorded by country music artist Mark Wills in 2003 on his album And the Crowd Goes Wild, it was covered by Bellefire a year later. The first version to be released as a single was by pop singer Jo O'Meara in 2005, from the album Relentless. Later that year, country band Rascal Flatts covered the song as well, releasing it as the first single from the 2006 album Me and My Gang, topping the U.S country and adult contemporary charts with it. German band Cascada later had international chart success with the song in 2007. It was also covered by Eden in 2008.
"Santa Baby" is a song performed by American singer Eartha Kitt with Henri René and His Orchestra and originally released in 1953. The song was written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, who also used the pseudonym Tony Springer in an attempt to speed up the song's publishing process. Lyrically, the song is a tongue-in-cheek look at a Christmas list addressed to Santa Claus by a woman who wants extravagant gifts such as sables, yachts, and decorations from Tiffany's.
"Kiss Me" is a song by American pop rock band Sixpence None the Richer from their self-titled third album (1997). The ballad was released as a single on August 12, 1998, in the United States and was issued in international territories the following year. Several music critics compared the song to works by English alternative rock band the Sundays, and it was nominated for a Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 42nd Grammy Awards.
"Amazed" is a song by American country music group Lonestar, released on March 22, 1999, for country radio as the second single from their third studio album Lonely Grill (1999). The power ballad is the band's longest-lasting number one single and biggest hit, spending eight weeks at the top of the Billboard country chart. The song was written by Marv Green, Aimee Mayo, and Chris Lindsey. A pop remix of the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts in 2000. The song has sold over 1,650,000 digital copies in the US as of February 2016.
"She Believes in Me" is a song recorded by American country music singer Kenny Rogers. It was released in April 1979 as the second single from his album The Gambler. The song was written and first recorded by Steve Gibb.
"Stupid Boy" is a song written by Dave Berg, Deanna Bryant, and Sarah Buxton. Originally recorded by Buxton, the song was later recorded by Australian country music singer Keith Urban on his 2006 album Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing. Urban's version was released as that album's second single in December 2006 and peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. A year after its release, Urban won a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance of the song.
"You Needed Me" is a song written by Randy Goodrum, who describes it as being about "unconditional undeserved love". It was a number one hit single in the United States in 1978 for Canadian singer Anne Murray, for which she won a Grammy Award. In 1999, Irish pop band Boyzone recorded a hit cover of the song that hit number one on the UK Singles Chart.
Countrified is the fifth album by Canadian country music band Emerson Drive. It was released in 2006 as their first issue for the Midas Records label. In the U.S., the album produced three singles on the Hot Country Songs charts: "A Good Man", "Moments", and "You Still Own Me". Two of the album's tracks are covers: "You Still Own Me" was previously a hit in Canada for Johnny Reid, and "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a cover of a song made famous by the Charlie Daniels Band.
"Moments" is a song written by Sam Tate, Annie Tate and Dave Berg, and recorded by Canadian country music band Emerson Drive. It was released in November 2006 as the third single from the album Countrified. The song was a Top Five hit on the Canadian country music charts. It also reached Number One on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Songs charts, becoming the first Number One single not only for the band, but also for their label, Midas Records Nashville. "Moments" was the most played country music song of 2007 in Canada. The song was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.
"You Were Meant for Me" is a song written by Steve Poltz and Jewel and performed by Jewel on her first album, Pieces of You (1995). It relates the singer's incomprehension of a failed relationship and her inadequate attempts at moving on with her life.
"Redneck Woman" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Gretchen Wilson. Wilson wrote this song with John Rich. It was released on March 15, 2004, as the lead-off single from her debut studio album, Here for the Party (2004). The song is Wilson's only number-one single on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, and it also reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. Internationally, the song found modest success in Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, reaching number 50 on the Australian Singles Chart, number 45 on the Irish Singles Chart, and number 42 on the UK Singles Chart.
"You're Like Comin' Home" is a song recorded by American country music group Lonestar and it was released in June 2005 as the lead single from their sixth studio album Coming Home. The song peaked at number 8 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It was written by Brandon Kinney, Brian Dean Maher and Jeremy Stover.
"Fall into Me" is a song written by Danny Orton and Jeremy Stover, and recorded by Canadian country music band Emerson Drive. It was released in July 2002 as the second single from their self-titled album. The song peaked at number 3 on the Billboard country charts in January 2003. The song would remain the band's highest chart peak in the U.S. until the Number One hit "Moments" in 2007.
"A Good Man" is a song written by Victoria Shaw, Keith Follesé and Adrienne Follesé, and recorded by Canadian country music band Emerson Drive. It was released in March 2006 as the first single from their album Countrified. The song reached the Top 20 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 2006, peaking at number 17.
"Song for the Life" is the title of a country music song written by American singer Rodney Crowell. Crowell first recorded the song in 1978 on his debut album Ain't Living Long Like This, and since then, the song has been covered by several other artists. One version, recorded by Alan Jackson, was released as a single in 1995, and was a Top Ten country hit for him that year.
"Belongs to You" is a song written by Dave Berg, Rivers Rutherford and Tom Shapiro, and recorded by Canadian country music band Emerson Drive. It was released in November 2008 as the lead-off single to their sixth studio album Believe, released in Canada on May 5, 2009 via Midas Records Nashville and The Valory Music Group, the latter is an imprint of Big Machine Records.
The discography for Canadian country music group Emerson Drive consists of seven studio albums, one compilation, one EP, 33 singles, and 25 music videos. The band was formed in February 1995, under the name 12 Gauge, and released an independent debut album in 1996 titled Open Season. The group then released their second album, Until You Walk the Tracks in 1997. The album included the singles "Love's a Trip" and "Some Trains Never Come", which peaked at number 70 and number 36 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks Chart.
"Dark Horse" is a song by Canadian pop singer Amanda Marshall. Co-written by Dean McTaggart and David Tyson, it was the fifth single released from Marshall's 1995 self-titled debut album and became another hit for her in Canada, reaching number five on the RPM Top Singles chart and peaking atop the RPM Adult Contemporary chart. It also became a minor hit in Australia and Germany. In 1997, American country music singer Mila Mason covered the song for her own debut album, That's Enough of That. Her version reached number 21 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and number 12 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.
