Hillbilly Road Explained

Hillbilly Road
Type:	studio album
Artist:	John Williamson
Cover:	Hillbilly_Road_by_John_Williamson.jpg
Released:	13 August 2008
Recorded:	2008
Length:	35:45
Label:	GumLeaf, EMI Music
Producer:	John Williamson
Prev Title:	Quambatook
Prev Year:	2008
Next Year:	2010

Hillbilly Road is the seventeenth studio album by Australian country music artist John Williamson. It was released in August 2008 and peaked at number 6 on the ARIA Charts. The album was certified gold in July 2009.^[1] The album was inspired by Williamson's retreat in the Queensland hinterland and supported with a national tour across late 2008 and into 2009.^{[2] [3]}

At the Country Music Awards of Australia in January 2009, Williamson was nominated for six awards; APRA Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Heritage Song of the Year, Bush Ballad of the Year and Vocal Collaboration of the Year.^[4] Williamson won one award "Bush Ballad of the Year" for ""Australia Is Another Word for Free" with Warren H Williams and Amos Morris^[5]

Singles

Five singles were released off the album across 2008 and 2009; "Drink a Little Love", "Cydi", "Hillbilly Road", "Australia Is Another Word for Free" and "Better Than a Picture".^[6]

Reception

Adam Greenberg from AllMusic said "Williamson's sound is by and large in a strong John Denver vein, with an optimistic, warm sound, and a fairly natural guitar tone. A few Aboriginal sounds creep into the mix from time to time, but seem to stand in comfortably and naturally, rather than as an afterthought or a simple nod to the outback that Williamson calls home. The music is simple and warm, built with a touch of timelessness that's almost intentional, but not quite to the degree that it can be called out. It's a fine album, and has just enough vocal goodness to pull in a few listeners from outside of the country realm. "

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (2008)	Position
ARIA Country Albums Chart^[7]	6
ARIA Australian Artist Albums Chart^[8]	39
Chart (2009)	Position
ARIA Country Albums Chart^[9]	41

Notes and References

1. Web site: Year by Year. John Williamson. 28 September 2018.
2. Web site: True blue Hillbilly Tour packs Empire . The Chronicle . 10 November 2008. 2 October 2018.
3. Web site: John is on the Hillbilly Road. Echo News. 23 March 2009. 2 October 2018.
4. Web site: John Williamson leads country nominations . ABC . 12 November 2008 . 2 October 2018.
5. Web site: CMAA 2000–2008 . Country Music Association of Australia . 2 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080719040900/http://country.com.au/index.cfm?page_id=1134 . 19 July 2008 . dead .
6. Web site: Another Gold Record for John. John Williamson. July 2009. 2 October 2018.
7. Web site: 2008 ARIA COUNTRY ALBUMS CHART. Australian Recording Industry Association . 29 September 2018.
8. Web site: ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Australian Artist Albums 2008. Australian Recording Industry Association . 29 September 2018.
9. Web site: 2009 ARIA COUNTRY ALBUMS CHART. Australian Recording Industry Association . 29 September 2018.
10. Web site: Hillbilly Road by John Williamson (DD). Apple Music. 23 September 2018.