Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Backroad” Now the Longest-Running #1 in “Country” History
Well, it’s happened. As predicted by Saving Country Music and certain others, Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Backroad” is now officially the longest-charting #1 single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in the chart’s nearly 60-year-old history, logging a total of 25 straight weeks at #1, and beating a record previously held by Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” after shattering the record for a solo artist previously held by Leroy Van Dyke’s “Walk On By.”
And now, whenever someone refers to the history books to find out what song was the most successful in the genre from a statistical standpoint, they’ll find Sam Hunt, his pop/rap/EDM song with a verse that goes, “Got hips like honey, so thick and so sweet,” and his stupid haircut as the answer. The song has also been certified triple platinum, is the third most downloaded song in 2017 all genre, and is the most downloaded song in country. It has also been streamed 261 million times.
I don’t give a shit if you’re tired of hearing about Sam Hunt on Saving Country Music or anywhere else. This record falling into the hands of the most non-country “country” performer in history is a tragedy, is the very reason vehement defiance is necessary to the cause to save country music, and apathy for what is transpiring in the country mainstream is an ally to their efforts. At least in the case of Florida Georgia Line, we could blame the remix with Nelly and the new chart rules that factor in pop radio plays for the anomaly of the song’s success. And let’s face it, ” Cruise” is not nearly as terrible as “Body Like A Backroad,” even if it feels like choosing between two bastard children.
And who is to say the record stops here. “Body Like a Backroad” could very well have three or four more weeks in it at #1, or maybe even more before it falls out. What is rising up the charts that could top it at the moment? Where are the rest of country music’s heavy hitters that can offer some relief from the Sam Hunt summer of unadulterated hell on corporate radio courtesy of “Body Like a Backroad”?
I’m out of adjectives to describe the severity of this development, and any ideas of how to launch efforts to impeded Sam Hunt and “Body Like a Backroad.” There is no way to sugar coat this. After two solid years of what felt like substantial gains in substance in the mainstream, we have suffered the mother of all setbacks. The success of “Body Like a Backroad” is symbolic of the regression being felt across the country mainstream in 2017.
Does country music really want a song such as “Body Like a Backroad” to represent what it is, and what it stands for? Is this how we want this era of country music defined? Is this country music putting it’s best foot forward? In fairness, the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart is just as much a barometer of public opinion as it is the devil’s work of the country industry. The song continues to be helped greatly by radio, remaining in the Top 10 despite hitting #1 many weeks ago. But the success of “Body Like a Backroad” is very much due to the will of the people.
It’s a big Sam Hunt shit sandwich, and we all have to take a bite. Let’s hope this symbolizes another lowest point, and a rebound is on the way.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
August 1, 2017 @ 8:22 am
I remember a quote from somewhere that went along the lines of
“in a hundred years what with the orchestras play? probably Mozart, Beethoven, and all the other stuff they’ve been playing for three hundred years. they might play one, maybe two modern composers, but it’s mostly going to be the good old tried and true that they’ve kept playing.”
It also applies to Country Music.
A five or six year period isn’t going to meaningfully matter in fifty years when people look back.
they’ll probably still see Hank Williams, George Jones, and Alan Jackson defining the genre.
that’s assuming anybody even looks at Country Music as linear.
I’ve taken enough classes to know that Bluegrass and Americana will share some of the glory.
and let’s not forget:
Stapleton still is king as far as album sales go.
sure people stream Sam Hunt.
people buy Stapleton.
I’m not a huge Stapleton fan, but the impact his music is having is huge, and most historians will see that alongside Sam Hunt.
What kind of music historian would only look at part of the history?
Does anybody honestly think that Stapleton’s success could go overlooked?
it’s like saying England fought a hundred years war and then overlooking that France was a part of said war.
that’s just bad history.
Zues
August 3, 2017 @ 7:29 pm
I agree, nobody will remember this disposable nonsense, except maybe out of nostalgia for the summer of their sophomore year of high school when they finally punched their “v-card” with Becky from Intersectional Gender Studies class.
The reality is, who cares about history? We live in the modern age. If we’re lucky, we’re here for 80 years. Listen to what you makes you happy. Forget about the vapid shit on the radio. You carry a radio in your pocket that let’s you listen to what you want, when you want. At least until sky net… I mean Google takes over.
CountryKnight
August 1, 2017 @ 8:28 am
The local radio station near me had a throwback weekend where they occasionally interspersed “older” tunes (1990s) with the current playlist. Alan Jackson, “Here in the Real World” came on. Delightful and thought provoking as always. It was followed by “Body Like a Back Road.” The difference was chilling in both sound and lyrics. Somewhere, along the way, country music radio took the wrong road.
The Goddess of Country Rock
August 1, 2017 @ 8:46 am
How shameful. What gutter trash!
But nonetheless, the fight goes on. It has to.
Greg Green
August 3, 2017 @ 7:27 am
When I was in the Marine Corps a friend of mine was getting posted for duty as Regimental Officer of the Day by the sometimes crazy Regimental Executive Officer. When then XO asked if there were any questions my friend asked, “Sir, in the firefight of life, do you ever get the feeling the assholes are winning?” The XO said “Yes, but if we stop fighting the assholes will take over.”
The Goddess of Country Rock
August 1, 2017 @ 8:49 am
And now for two performances by some of country’s greatest women, as a way to get the stink of our ears. Enjoy. 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9dEmQjYdF8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVL4mDFX3rY
Chris Barnes
August 1, 2017 @ 11:27 am
I tuned into an area radio station last night that for the past 5 yrs played “classic country” Haggard, Jones, Strait, Jackson, Travis, etc., all the greats. I hadn’t tuned in for a long time and was expecting to hear some great country music, BUT instead I heard some idiot named Michael Ray and then Florida-Georgia Line. They both made me want to puke. I searched online and found this internet-based radio station. http://1fmclassiccountry.radio.net/ they everything from Earnest Tubb to Alan Jackson, but get this..They’re located in Zug, Switzerland. it a damn shame that the only place to find REAL country music is not in America but Switzerland.
Summer Jam
August 2, 2017 @ 8:31 pm
Dont talk shit about Michael Ray. I hated his guts till i bought his album. Its more country than 95% of the shit thats usually on country radio.
Gena R.
August 1, 2017 @ 2:41 pm
YAS! Especially love that MCC song (“He Thinks He’ll Keep Her”). 😀
pgwenz
August 2, 2017 @ 2:50 pm
Wait a second … a song in which a woman has a point of view, and isn’t just an object to be oggled by horny men? The hell you say!
Lucille biss
August 2, 2017 @ 9:01 am
This is REAL country!!
Greg Green
August 3, 2017 @ 7:40 am
My favorite is right next to it, Mary Chapin Carpenter – Hard Way (CBS Special – Women of Country Music
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jw_a7_7glPk
I’m still filled with awe, smiles and tears watching all those women step forward and celebrate. Talented Trailblazers.
Mo Crawford
August 1, 2017 @ 9:04 am
could be people rebelling after having Stapleton shoved in their faces
scott
August 2, 2017 @ 10:49 am
Yeah, no, that’s not it.
Funk Soul Bubby
August 1, 2017 @ 9:11 am
This shit right here is more country.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmwMsNmcEe4
Charlie
August 1, 2017 @ 9:22 am
Why did you include a picture of a de-mustached Hitler with this article? And what a poor coloration job they did on it.
Tom
August 1, 2017 @ 9:41 am
The actual country song of the week is by midland, and appears at no8 on the billboard chart.
As it’s the first song on the chart that sounds like a country song
Gena R.
August 1, 2017 @ 2:39 pm
Finally heard those guys on ‘World Cafe’ last week — not too bad. “Drinkin’ Problem” especially kinda sounded like something that could’ve come in the ’90s. 🙂
Darthchase
August 1, 2017 @ 9:45 am
2 Sam Hunt stories this week and it is only Tuesday.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
August 1, 2017 @ 10:21 am
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Jerry
August 1, 2017 @ 9:56 am
Its number one and has been for so long because its so damn catchy. I hate it but anytime it comes on I find myself singing along.
JB-Chicago
August 1, 2017 @ 12:37 pm
Heard it in the grocery store today so I sang a duet with some old lady whose body wasn’t like a backroad.
Columbia Outlaw
September 21, 2017 @ 12:13 pm
Agreed I hate that song but when I heard it for the first time it was stuck in my head for weeks on end
Bradley Olson
August 1, 2017 @ 10:11 am
Lady Antebellum did do a great parody of this called “Party In a Bathrobe” on YouTube as well
TwangBob
August 1, 2017 @ 10:50 am
Funny indeed!
albert
August 1, 2017 @ 10:49 am
I think the scariest thing about the success of this nowhere-near-country song is that NOTHING is out of bounds on’ country’ radio now and radio/marketers know it . I mean …its all about forcing a nursery rhyme on people through constant exposure ( paid for or otherwise ) . There is nothing to suggest that playing the theme to the old Spiderman cartoon series or the Jetsons on country radio wouldn’t result in downloads and streaming etc.
There is a great line from the movie HANNAH AND HER SISTERS by the brilliant Woody Allen which , I think , sums up the scenario quite accurately . Its in reference , unfortunately , to dictators and the damage they can do . Max Von Sydow , in answer to Barbara Hershey’s question ” Why does this happen ” replies to her ” The question is not ‘ Why does this happen ‘ …the question is ..’ Why doesn’t this happen more often ‘ ‘ ( paraphrasing ) .
Mainstream radio is showing us with regularity that it , in fact , can and does happen ..TOO often in these times .
CountryCharm
August 1, 2017 @ 11:25 am
Or maybe people just really like the song. The streaming and download charts would suggest that.
albert
August 1, 2017 @ 11:56 am
My point above suggests that we come to ‘ like ‘ or , more accurately, ‘ accept ‘ or ‘adapt to ‘ almost anything we are constantly fed .. or are told is cool, hip, trendy , etc. Certainly there are those who might like this song . But would they like REAL country music as much or more offered the same exposure to it ? I think the answer is a loud YES !
To use an analogy I’ve used many times here …If you were only offered a Big Mac ..you may like it . If all of your friends ordered Big Macs , you might likely do the same . BUT …if you were offered more nutritious fare that tasted better and was far healthier , a smart person would make that choice more often …..no ? Why wouldn’t they ? However , ‘ country ‘ radio has stopped offering us those options . They don’t HAVE to if the cheap unhealthy burger sells as well as the better -tasting more nutritious burger . We adapt to what we are exposed to ….burgers or music …..healthy or not .
CountryCharm
August 1, 2017 @ 3:02 pm
I’m going to have to counter with the majority of people who do buy and stream his music are not at interested in the type of music you call real country. They like Sam because he doesn’t sound traditional. Traditional country music for the majority of Americans is still trashy redneck music about tractors and beer. Sam is popular because he’s not Cody Jinks.
albert
August 1, 2017 @ 3:32 pm
”…the majority of people who do buy and stream his music are not at interested in the type of music you call real country…” Exactly ……
We don’t disagree , CC. Sam Hunt is a pop artist being played on what a younger demographic THINKS is COUNTRY radio . Whether or not you like the guy’s stuff is not for me to decide . I’m simple stating for the zillionth time here that he is NOT country music in any way shape or form and shouldn’t be taking valuable airtime on COUNTRY stations from folks who actually ARE playing country and trying to keep the traditions of the genre alive so that it isn’t lost forever. Certainly you can understand the concern in this regard . Some folks call it an ‘ evolution’ of COUNTRY music but it isn’t that at all . It is a complete rejection of the hallmarks of the genre in order to open up avenues for pop singers and reach people who , as you so rightly point out above ” are not interested in the type of music you call real country ” .This would not happen on jazz stations , classical , blues or any other kind of genre -dedicated station . Maybe Sam should get radio exposure …people obviously are supporting him . But that shouldn’t be on a COUNTRY station any more than it should be on a jazz or reggae or blues radio station . And it wouldn’t . The powers that be who preach ( or buy or trade favours ) to mainstream country radio stations and its new demographic are simply taking advantage of the ignorance of the demographic they are targeting . They are limiting music options and in doing so destroying a genre’s chances for survival with no remorse . Music listeners deserve to hear those options when they tune into a COUNTRY station .
CountryCharm
August 1, 2017 @ 7:29 pm
I completely understand your point about preserving country music. I think that fell to the wayside when we switched to computers programming radio stations based on call out scores and we lost DJ’s. I don’t understand why we can’t have Sam Hunt for the modern evolved country crowd and then also shows that cater more to more traditional country.
My contention is that even though traditionalist don’t like modern country I don’t think the way forward is the ostracize those who do. In the comments this last week women who like Sam Hunt and Luke Bryan were called hos for no other reason than liking non traditional country. That’s an issue and causes a massive divide and strengthens the belief that country is for a small minority.
I have no solution to the problem facing country today and I don’t think anybody does. We keep hearing radio is dead people enjoy country by streaming and downloading but the charts completely disagree. That’s where Sam is #1. The same goes for women in country. Everybody is cheering on women but Carly Pearce is the only woman in the streaming and download Top 25 charts.
scott
August 2, 2017 @ 10:54 am
Sam is popular because radio doesn’t play Cody Jinks.
CountryCharm
August 2, 2017 @ 12:39 pm
You can play Cody Jinks all day it won’t make a difference. The people who like Sam Hunt’ s music are still going to like Sam Hunt. On the streaming charts where consumers not radio programmers decide, Sam Hunt has 3 songs on the BB chart, Cody Jinks doesn’t make the chart.
scott
August 2, 2017 @ 1:07 pm
You’re probably right, CC. My only thought is that IF country radio played Jinks, maybe, possibly he would be more popular with “mainstream country” fans. Not that Sam Hunt fans would embrace him.
Jack Williams
August 3, 2017 @ 6:18 am
I found my way to country music through country influenced roots rock. The country music that I listen to tends to be the hard stuff or country music with a rock and/or folk element. As I was never much of a pop fan, I don’t really go for pop influenced country music, but I admit that’s just personal taste. I’m not a purist.
Sam Hunt is different. He makes me think of the “frog in boiling water” parable. His music marks the point where it’s gone from mostly pop/a little country to all pop/no country. And maybe if one has been listening to and enjoying country radio for years, the transition isn’t terribly noticeable.
Gena R.
August 1, 2017 @ 2:36 pm
Upvote for the HANNAH quote. 😀
Another favorite line (from the same character): “If Jesus came back and saw what’s going on in his name, he’d never stop throwing up!”
Canoe Paddler
August 1, 2017 @ 10:55 am
Adolf Hunt’s song feels like someone is shoving a screwdriver in your ear.
GrantH
August 1, 2017 @ 11:32 am
Jeez, and to think that a few years ago I thought it couldn’t get much worse than “Cruise.”
Lil Dale boring country music comentar of the yeer
August 1, 2017 @ 11:49 am
good im proud of eem n hes a good boy just haven fun n all but still wurkin hard may be if pussys like justin issabell focused more on playin good musoc and less on ethnomasochism hed be in the samemorning boat as sam
RD
August 1, 2017 @ 12:42 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_lXZzBr2pg
scott
August 2, 2017 @ 10:55 am
Lil Dale bringing it real!!!
Gina
August 1, 2017 @ 12:03 pm
Bummer. Also, I don’t care what Music Row tries to sell us, Sam Hunt is not “hot.” Nor are half the guys they try to convince us are. Yeah, it shouldn’t matter, but it bugs me.
Jackie
August 1, 2017 @ 12:21 pm
I turn that f***king song OFF every time I hear it start up. I will leap across the room to shut it down. My friends just don’t understand why I’m so angry about this song/person, permeating country music the way that it/he has. I’ve been calling him country’s Anti-Christ since his first airplay. It used to be that only people who really knew and liked country music would listen to country radio. Now, because it’s been watered down, de-twanged and lost it’s fiddle and steel guitar–everyone listens to it and think they “like country music”. I tell them no, you really don’t. You like pop abd hip hop being played on so-called country stations. End of story.
Robin
August 4, 2017 @ 9:33 am
Since you are on the subject, let me complain about his song “Break Up In a Small Town”. There have been a couple of times when I heard this song on the radio, and the radio DJ mentioned how Sam Hunt knows what life in a small town is like. They say that he comes from a town of “only about ten thousand people”. Ten thousand people is NOT a small town! A small town is when you drive at least 25 minutes just for Walmart. Or you care about how you look when you go to the gas station, because you might very well see a few people that you know.
albert
August 1, 2017 @ 12:31 pm
If a jazz station was playing this song and calling it jazz people would laugh and e-mail the station asking WTF is up with that ? But the new ‘ country ‘ music demographic laps this stuff up thinking its COUNTRY music not knowing the difference between this and actual COUNTRY music. Their loss , of course .
JB-Chicago
August 1, 2017 @ 12:33 pm
3 times in 4 hours on US*99 “Chicago’s Hottest Country”
http://us995.cbslocal.com/playlist/
Songs kind of growin on me….LOL
seak05
August 1, 2017 @ 12:58 pm
It’s cool, Jason Derulo has a country project coming up that will probably break the record. And then Timberlake will release something that he’ll label contry & it will go to #1 in pop and take the record from him.
Meanwhile this went recurrent on Country BB airplay this week. And I’ve got no idea what’s going on with Luke. He’s been in studio, he’s due for an album release, and he’s been off radio since April (which is an eternity in modern country cycles :eyeroll:).
Honky
August 1, 2017 @ 1:00 pm
And I still haven’t heard it.
jtrpdx
August 1, 2017 @ 2:55 pm
You should really give him a listen, Honkster. He is from Cedartown, GA (population 9,500) so he has that authentic country background and pedigree that you crave. How could you go wrong?
Sam Cody
August 1, 2017 @ 7:50 pm
Sheeeiittt! Where I come from, I had to drive 90 minutes to get to a town that big! 😀
Robin
August 4, 2017 @ 9:38 am
Exactly! As I wrote in another comment, he is NOT from a small town! Radio DJs play his song “Break Up In A Small Town” and say that he knows what small town life is like. When we lived in a small town, we drove 30 minutes just for Walmart.
Honky
August 2, 2017 @ 4:56 am
That’s cute.
Do you really not get it? Or do you get it, but disagree?
jtrpdx
August 3, 2017 @ 9:28 am
I really don’t get your insistence that an artist has to be from the “country”, and from a geography with a southern accent, to get your respect. Yet, you listen to Merle and others who don’t meet this criteria.
Consistency is your friend….if you want others to take you seriously, that is.
GregD
August 1, 2017 @ 1:10 pm
Yes this sucks. My wife knows how much I hate it but she likes that damn song. I say fine if you like that kind of music just DO NOT CALL IT COUNTRY!!! Meanwhile I’m listening to Sturgill Simpson…
Ulysses McCaskill
August 1, 2017 @ 1:18 pm
There has to be some kind of an inside plot to dumb us down and take away meaningful music. There just has to. There’s no other way to explain this kind of absolute horseshit getting shoved down our throats. To each his own, but damn…If you like that kind of music I feel very sorry for you. Get help.
Scotty J
August 1, 2017 @ 1:34 pm
Can I qualify as a ‘certain other’?
Bobby Bones
August 1, 2017 @ 2:01 pm
Where is your God now???
BWAAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!!!
Corncaster
August 1, 2017 @ 5:29 pm
FFS
That is all.
Corncaster
August 1, 2017 @ 6:04 pm
ok, not all
trig it seems to me the real fight is with whoever will write the history of country music
let sam sell his trite shitty records
it doesn’t mean country historians have to roll over and let “Sam ‘n Shane” take a nice long piss on the tradition and its aging defenders, like St. Marty
just write him out of the history of country music, because he isn’t in that history: he’s in the history of the Monogenre, which includes Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, FGL, and other confections like Rhett Eldridge (sic) and other interchangeables
the lune of country music runs through those who love it enough to keep it going
Big Cat
August 1, 2017 @ 7:43 pm
Bingo. Exactly. End of story. Really no need to feak out about it or any of these other jokers
Corncaster
August 1, 2017 @ 6:04 pm
line
roscoe
August 1, 2017 @ 6:23 pm
So far I haven’t heard it. Fingers crossed!
Justin
August 1, 2017 @ 7:13 pm
Just remember, curiosity kills the cat, haha.
Justin
August 1, 2017 @ 6:32 pm
“And let’s face it, “Cruise” is not nearly as terrible as “Body Like A Backroad,” even if it feels like choosing between two bastard children.”
The “country” version of “Cruise” wasn’t nearly as bad as “Body Like A Backroad,” but the Nelly pop radio version was just horrific. And that Nelly pop radio version was why it stayed #1 so long on the country chart.
Pop airplay factoring into the Hot Country Songs chart was also a reason, maybe the main reason, why “Body Like A Backroad” got this record, just like “Cruise.” According to Mediabase, this past week it got 66 million audience on pop radio (Top 40/Hot AC) compared to 41 million audience on country radio. It peaked on “country” radio, then started taking off on pop radio, then the downloads and streams really took off with the pop crowd which contributed a ton to its chart points on Hot Country Songs. Although it’s a little bit impressive it did it without a pop remix (it’s just a sign of how pop elements like EDM/rap sounds in country songs have become accepted on country radio so a pop remix wasn’t necessary for pop radio).
I’m not sure why Billboard decided in 2012 to start allowing POP airplay to count toward chart points on the Hot Country Songs chart, unless they deliberately wanted to water down and “popify” the Country chart. I think that was probably the intent, which is pretty insidious.
JohnWayneTwitty
August 1, 2017 @ 7:13 pm
And Barry Bonds* has hit* the most* home runs* of all time*
We’ve become such a pathetic nation that Russia and North Korea will fight each other over who has to have custody of us
Justin
August 1, 2017 @ 7:28 pm
The fact that Billboard includes pop airplay in the chart points for the Hot Country Songs chart does raise the possibility that a Justin Timberlake “country” song or even a Beyonce song could theoretically set a new record as longest #1 running “country” song if Billboard “decides” the song should be on the country chart (and thus ALL of that song’s pop, R&B, country, etc. airplay and all of its streams and downloads would count toward its chart points for the Hot Country Songs chart). And Billboard, in its sole discretion, decides which songs should be on which charts, not the genres of radio that songs are getting played on.
Big Cat
August 1, 2017 @ 7:39 pm
Man you are seriously over thinking this in my opinion. Maybe I’m the gimp falling into the trap for reading this shit; otherwise if not, quit taking guys like Sam Hunt as real threats to country music.
Fans are getting pissed Sturgill is turning on country and going rock…… it’s no wonder he is after reading shit like this.
Jtrpdx
August 1, 2017 @ 9:27 pm
The problem with shit like this getting played on what used to be country radio is that it takes the spot of what rightfully should be reserved for worthy, real country artists. And eliminates that massive promotional opportunity that they should be getting instead of this lazy pop music. That is the problem, and the reason it is a worthy cause to point shit like this out, to discuss it, and in doing so, spread awareness to others that there are other alternatives out there. Keep in mind that SCM has further reach than just people who come here and are already “converted”.
Also, I can pretty much guarantee you Sturgill doesn’t read much media articles….and if he does, he isn’t letting something like this article influence his musical direction.
Big Cat
August 2, 2017 @ 3:46 am
Think you totally missed the Sturgill point. I’m wasn’t being literal to this piece Kyle wrote or the comments below it. I’m talking about he movement in general and his resistance to being a “savior” of something he can’t even relate to.
jtrrpdx
August 2, 2017 @ 7:05 am
Understood. I just don’t think Sturgill is the type to make any major artistic decisions on what others are doing, and the whole savior thing was completely a media phenomena that they made up…..not something Sturgill really cares about. I do think he believes that Nashville is broken, and its a worthy cause to bring real music back to being in the spotlight, but from the beginning he has been clear that he never wants to “manke the same album twice” and that he has a ridiculously broad range in musical tastes. I do hope he comes back around to a more traditional country lineup and sound though, and I think he will at some point. Probably a few albums down the road though. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to seeing him on this tour, with his new guitar hero schtick ; )
Big Cat
August 2, 2017 @ 8:30 am
All fair. I’ve personally heard him say on stage this year “we aren’t country, we are a rock band now”. He’s also been playing lot more Gibson LP than tele. A lot of folks are upset the picking is gone but like you, I think he’s on a mission to do something different every year and I respect the shit out of that. It is hilarious how many fans freaked the fuck out about the horns and now I hear them bitching the horns are gone. Your points are spot on there.
That said, and we can disagree, I do think the ‘savior from bro country’ talk has pushed him further and further away from wanting anything to do with that role. I do think that has played into his musical direction. I also think his camp has figured out a niche fanbase coming out of a lot of rock spaces (Allman bros, Trucks, Greatful Dead, Govt. Mule, etc type fans are coming to shows in droves). What’s going to be hilarious is when he goes retro hard core old school country. Wont surprise me. Like you say, that’s what makes him different than anyone else out there.
jtrrpdx
August 2, 2017 @ 9:04 am
I see what you are saying….I do agree that all the media talk and spotlight on him (and the pressure) to carry any sort of torch probably does hamper what little amount of desire he had before to go full on country with his career. Driven by the fact that he is such a low key guy. On that point, I have also thought about how long it might be before we even get another Sturgill album. With the family thing going on, and coming off of several years of touring, I think he might want to just take several years to tinker in the studio with and produce and possibly write some stuff for others.
Big Cat
August 2, 2017 @ 3:52 am
Kyle just to clarify, I’m directing this at the comments in general and the overall topic here…. not just this piece individually. When I reread it sounds harsh and that was not my intent brother.
It’s just one mans opinion, you know how I feel….:.
Mark Blakeney
August 1, 2017 @ 10:09 pm
Is this article a joke? I never heard the song so I looked it up. After 1 minute I had to turn it off. A decent country song nowadays is a rarity. I don’t know who started calling this pop crap country but whoever it was needs to be shot.
Orgirl1
August 1, 2017 @ 10:35 pm
I like the song. However, I do not consider it country at all. I agree with Justin-that was my thought exactly. That Billboard is counting pop chart streams towards hot country. I haven’t listened to mainstream country in about 2 years, except occasionally. For me, I like *some* (not all) pop country. I like some Sam Hunt, some Kelsea Ballerini. But if I want to listen to country music, I’m listening to Sturgill, Cody Johnson, Cody Jinks, Sunny Sweeny. Not mainstream Nashville. Mainstream Nashville has become for me either good workout music, or Bro country/Bro country porn. I like pop country, but it isn’t country. The question for me is what year is the cutoff, not if. Hybrid pop/r&b/country/hip hop needs to be it’s own genre.
Chase
August 2, 2017 @ 1:48 am
This song is such crap. Is it just me or does the phrase “every inch is a mile” sound like something a guy with a small dick would say?
Tim from GA
August 2, 2017 @ 4:45 am
Never thought It could get worse than “Red Solo Cup” by ole Toby Keith when that song was “hot”, but damn….I was wrong. I first heard this “Backroad” song about two weeks ago thanks to a Gander Mountain or Dollar General or some store playing it overhead…it is worse than I even thought it could be when reading Trigger’s previous articles. I try my best to avoid ever hearing this kind of crap then I walk into a store and they completely stain my ears and brain forever.
DimM
August 2, 2017 @ 5:01 am
This is not ”country” history, this is a crime scene!
eckiezZ
August 2, 2017 @ 9:16 am
I finally listened to this song yesterday, just to see what all the fuss was about. It’s just a rip-off of that Ed Sheeran song that Justin Bieber turned into a hit, “Love Yourself.”
Evan Rhodey
August 2, 2017 @ 11:37 pm
Love Sam’s music! #samiscountryyouoldfartsandjackasses
slu
August 3, 2017 @ 8:43 am
I’m not too big of a fan of all this new country music, but I don’t see what the big deal is either. Music is constantly changing, but it’s not like we don’t have real country artists. The younger generation just wants something we can dance to at places. I wish award shows would have more than the same four people, but I also am not going to hate all these artists. Body like a back road is pretty dumb, but it’s fun to dance to and that’s what is in right now. I’m not attacking anyone on here because I love this website, but just think you should have a more open mind about things.
RP
August 7, 2017 @ 6:54 pm
Well…Scott Borschetta is very pleased.
Keep fighting the good fight, sir!
Patti21
August 11, 2017 @ 2:42 pm
I had never heard the song, so I tried to listen to it. I’m sorry I did. There is nothing country about the song. The lyrics are a sad pitiful joke. What happened to the storytelling part of country? Garbage like this is why I stopped listening to the radio. Since artists don’t get promoted like they used to, it is really hard to make it in the music business. You always saw albums advertised on TV all the time and on the radio. Not anymore. We just get this trash shoved down our throats whether we like it or not. Sad!
handsomeblackcowboybrady1953
August 22, 2017 @ 7:49 am
Can we get 88-year-old Leroy Van Dyke to beat up Sam Hunt (and the DJs and PDs) for inflicting “Body Like A Back Road” on us?This swill has now topped the charts for TWENTY-EIGHT STRAIGHT WEEKS!!!!!!!!!
Razor X
August 25, 2017 @ 6:59 am
He actually is re-releasing it. Have you not heard?