Back to Tennessee is the eleventh studio album released from country music singer Billy Ray Cyrus. The album was released on April 7, 2009, on Lyric Street Records. It is also the follow-up album to 2007s Home at Last. Originally planned to be released in July 2008, the album was pushed to new release dates five times. "Somebody Said a Prayer" was released as the album's lead-off single, and was a top 40 hit on the country charts in late 2008. The title track and "A Good Day" followed it as the second and third singles, reaching number 47 and number #59, respectively. Also on the album is "Butterfly Fly Away", a duet with daughter Miley Cyrus. The song is also on the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack. Cyrus and Lyric Street Records parted ways shortly after the chart debut of "A Good Day".
| Back to Tennessee | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 7, 2009[1] | |||
| Recorded | 2008 | |||
| Studio | Starstruck Studios | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 44:16 | |||
| Label | Lyric Street | |||
| Producer | Glen Ballard, Mark Bright, Alan Silvestri | |||
| Billy Ray Cyrus chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Back to Tennessee | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Billboard | (favorable)[3] |
| Engine 145 | [4] |
| Entertainment Weekly | D+[5] |
| People | [6] |
| The Washington Post | (average)[7] |
Content
edit"Somebody Said a Prayer", the title-track and "A Good Day" have been released from Back to Tennessee. Additionally, "Butterfly Fly Away" (a duet with daughter Miley Cyrus), was released as a promotional single for Hannah Montana: The Movie.
"Thrillbilly", an album-cut, was also turned into a music video; it premiered on May 22, 2009.[8] The song was originally planned to be the third single release from the album,[9] but it was later changed to "A Good Day".
The song "I Could Be the One" was recorded and released by country music singer Glen Templeton as his debut single in April 2011. The song debuted at number 58 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week ending July 30, 2011. "He's Mine" also appears on Rodney Atkins' 2011 album Take a Back Road, from which it was released as a single in late 2011.
"Somebody Said a Prayer"
editThe album's first single, "Somebody Said a Prayer", was released to radio on August 16, 2008, where it debuted at number 53 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Due to the success of its predecessor, "Ready, Set, Don't Go", critics were expecting the song to be Cyrus' solo comeback to country music. However, the song only managed to reach a peak of number 33 in November 2008.
"Somebody Said a Prayer" was also made into a music video, directed by Roman White.[10] It was then released to CMT and GAC in September 2008.
"Back to Tennessee"
editThe title track to the album was then released as the second single on February 2, 2009. However, the song entered the charts for the week of March 14, 2009, where it entered at number 59. That same week, Cyrus' daughter, Miley Cyrus, charted her first solo country single, "The Climb", which also entered for the week of March 14, at number 48. With father-daughter charting separate singles at the same time, it made chart history. That was the first time a father-daughter charted their own singles since Johnny Cash and Rosanne Cash did so in 1990.[11] Both singles were released in promotion of Hannah Montana: The Movie. The music video for "Back to Tennessee" debuted on CMT on March 12, 2009, directed by Declan Whitebloom.[12]
"A Good Day"
editThe third single from the album is "A Good Day", which was released on July 20, 2009. However, the single did not enter the country songs chart until September 5, where it entered at number 60. After spending two non-consecutive weeks on the country charts, the song managed to peak at number 59, following the departure of Cyrus from Lyric Street Records.
The song's narrator recalls a "good day" that he had with a former lover. Bobby Peacock of Roughstock reviewed the song unfavorably, saying, "Amidst a generic wall of guitars courtesy of (over)producer Mark Bright, Cyrus starts off in that soft yet gritty tone that has worked so well on many of his other ballads. Somewhere along the way, though, he loses interest and fades into a lifeless monotone. Even more unusual is that half of the words in the chorus come out forced and clipped."[13]
Track listing
editAll tracks were produced by Mark Bright, except "Butterfly Fly Away", which was produced by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri.[11] In the United Kingdom version of the album, "Ready, Set, Don't Go" and "Over the Rainbow" were added.[14]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Back to Tennessee" | Billy Ray Cyrus, Tamara Dunn, Matthew Wilder | 4:12 |
| 2. | "Thrillbilly" | J.R. Shelby, Marty Dodson, Danny Orton | 3:22 |
| 3. | "He's Mine" | Casey Beathard, Tim James, Phil O'Donnell | 3:44 |
| 4. | "Somebody Said a Prayer" | Neil Thrasher, Craig Wiseman | 4:06 |
| 5. | "A Good Day" | Danny Orton, Jennifer Schott | 4:08 |
| 6. | "I Could Be the One" | Jay Knowles, Thom McHugh | 3:03 |
| 7. | "Like Nothing Else" | Blair Daly, Troy Verges, Barry Dean | 4:25 |
| 8. | "Country as Country Can Be" | Cyrus, Beathard, Mick Adkins | 3:25 |
| 9. | "Love Is the Lesson" | Rivers Rutherford, Steve McEwan | 3:46 |
| 10. | "Give It to Somebody" | Jeffrey Steele, Tom Hambridge | 3:41 |
| 11. | "Real Gone" | Sheryl Crow, John Shanks | 3:40 |
| 12. | "Butterfly Fly Away" (bonus track; with Miley Cyrus) | Glen Ballard, Alan Silvestri | 4:44 |
Personnel
edit- Steve Brewster – drums
- Tom Bukovac – electric guitar
- Lisa Cochran – background vocals
- Perry Coleman – background vocals
- Billy Ray Cyrus – lead vocals
- Miley Cyrus – vocals on "Butterfly Fly Away"
- Eric Darken – percussion
- Shannon Forrest – drums
- Kenny Greenberg – electric guitar
- Aubrey Haynie – fiddle
- Wes Hightower – background vocals
- Mike Johnson – steel guitar
- Charlie Judge – keyboards
- Chris McHugh – drums
- Jimmy Nichols – keyboards
- Jimmie Lee Sloas – bass guitar
- Chris Stapleton – background vocals
- David A. Stewart – electric guitar solo on "Butterfly Fly Away"
- Ilya Toshinsky – acoustic guitar
- Jonathan Yudkin – violin, viola, cello, string arrangements
Chart performance
editAlbum
editThe album debuted at number 41 on the U.S. Billboard all-genre 200, number 42 on the all-genre Top Comprehensive Albums and number 13 on the Top Country Albums chart, as well as number 21 in Canada. In its opening week, Back to Tennessee sold approximately 14,000 copies in the U.S. As of May 23, 2009, the album has sold 29,000 copies in the U.S.[15]
| Charts (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200[16] | 41 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Comprehensive Albums[17] | 42 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums[18] | 13 |
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Country | ||
| 2008 | "Somebody Said a Prayer" | 33 |
| 2009 | "Back to Tennessee" | 47 |
| "A Good Day" | 59 |
Other charted songs
edit| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | CAN | IRE | UK | ||
| 2009 | "Butterfly Fly Away" (with Miley Cyrus) | 56 | 50 | 46 | 78 |
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| United States | April 7, 2009 | CD, digital download |
| Canada | ||
| Australia | ||
| United Kingdom | April 20, 2009 |
References
edit- ^ Garrison, Wanda (2009-01-18). "New single "Back to Tennessee" now at radio". billyraycyrus.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-02. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Back to Tennessee - Billy Ray Cyrus". AllMusic. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (2009-04-11). "Billy Ray Cyrus: Back to Tennessee". Billboard: 28. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
- ^ Thanki, Juli (2009-04-06). "Album Review: Billy Ray Cyrus – Back To Tennessee". Engine 145. Archived from the original on 3 June 2009. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
- ^ Bierly, Mandi (2009-04-10). "Short Takes (Billy Ray Cyrus: Back to Tennessee)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
- ^ Arnold, Chuck; Messer, Lesley (2009-04-20). "Picks and Pans Review: Billy Ray Cyrus (Back to Tennessee)". People. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
- ^ Stewart, Allison (2009-04-07). "Rascal Flatts, Cyrus Stick to Formula". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2013-06-30. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
- ^ Exclusive Video Premiere: 'Thrillbilly' Billy Ray Cyrus
- ^ Billy Ray Cyrus - Miley's Ultimate BFF
- ^ ""Somebody Said a Prayer" - Behind the Scenes". 2008-11-12. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
- ^ a b Starpulse Entertainment (2009-03-05). "Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus make chart history". Archived from the original on 11 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
- ^ CMT.com (2009-03-12). "Billy Ray Cyrus "Back to Tennessee" Music Video". Archived from the original on 15 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
- ^ "Roughstock Blog: Billy Ray Cyrus - "A Good Day"". Archived from the original on 2010-04-27. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
- ^ Amazon.com (2009-05-25). "Amazon.co.uk". Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ^ Kevin J. Coyne (2009-05-23). "Album sales update". Country Universe. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
- ^ "Billy Ray Cyrus Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ^ "Billboard Comprehensive Albums 2009-04-25". Billboard. April 25, 2009. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
- ^ "Billy Ray Cyrus Album & Song Chart History - Country Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.