Down in Tennessee explained

Down in Tennessee
Type:single
Artist:John Anderson
Album:Tokyo, Oklahoma
B-Side:"I've Got Me a Woman"[1]
Released:November 4, 1985
Genre:Country
Length:3:23
Label:Warner Bros. Nashville
Prev Title:Tokyo, Oklahoma
Prev Year:1985
Next Title:You Can't Keep a Good Memory Down
Next Year:1986

"Down in Tennessee" is a song written by Wayland Holyfield and recorded by American country music artist John Anderson. It was released in November 1985 as the second single from the album Tokyo, Oklahoma. The song reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.[1]

Critical reception

Kip Kirby, of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that "the heartsick blues are well handled here by an artist who sings ballads with tears in every syllable."[2]

Mark Chesnutt version

Down in Tennessee
Type:single
Artist:Mark Chesnutt
Album:What a Way to Live
B-Side:"This Side of the Door"
Released:June 12, 1995
Genre:Country
Length:3:21
Label:Decca
Producer:Mark Wright
Prev Title:Gonna Get a Life
Prev Year:1995
Next Title:Trouble
Next Year:1995

"Down in Tennessee" was also recorded by American country music artist Mark Chesnutt. It was released in June 1995 as the fourth single from the album What a Way to Live. The song reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.[3] It also peaked at number 7 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that Chesnutt's version is "just as compelling on this powerful ballad of a man dealing with lost love." She goes on to say that Chesnutt "makes you feel like hurting right along with him."[4]

Chart performance

"Down in Tennessee" debuted at number 66 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of June 17, 1995.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Whitburn, Joel. Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. 2008. 26–27. 978-0-89820-177-2.
  2. Billboard, November 2, 1985, Vol. 97, No. 44, Page 78.
  3. Whitburn, pp. 92-93
  4. Billboard, June 17, 1995, Vol. 107, No. 24, Page 57.