Back to Tennessee (song)
Encyclopedia
"Back to Tennessee" is a country
song by American singer-songwriter and actor Billy Ray Cyrus
. It released as the second single from Cyrus' eleventh studio album of the same name
on February 2, 2009 by Lyric Street Records
. Cyrus drafted the song after learning that Hannah Montana: The Movie
, a film he would star in, would be set in Tennessee
. The song, developed with the aid of co-songwriters Tamara Dunn and Matthew Wilder
, includes country rock
elements while describing Cyrus' longing to return to the South, where he grew up, after spending several years in Los Angeles. "Back to Tennessee" was featured in both Hannah Montana: The Movie
and its soundtrack
.
"Back to Tennessee" was well received by critics, though some felt it took the album's message too literally. It was a moderate commercial achievement for Cyrus and charted within the top fifty of the Billboard magazine
chart Hot Country Songs
.
The song's music video was directed by Declan Whitebloom and features scenes of Cyrus at a beach inter cut with clips of Hannah Montana: The Movie. The song was performed in several venues.
to star on the Disney Channel
television series Hannah Montana
in 2006. Cyrus's character, Robby Ray Stewart
, is a former country singer and the father of Miley Stewart, a popstar played by Miley Cyrus
, Cyrus' real life daughter. The television series became a worldwide hit and the basis for Hannah Montana: The Movie, a feature film released in 2009.
Cyrus first read the script for Hannah Montana: The Movie while in Malibu in early 2008. The film's plot features the Stewarts leaving Hollywood for a summer and returning to Tennessee, their home state, to reconnect with their southern roots. Having grown up in Kentucky
, Cyrus was excited to learn the film would be set in the country and fought for it to be filmed on location
. "They were gonna film it in a different state [but] I just knew that Tennessee had all the facilities, the man power, and the ability to make this film great," said Cyrus. In addition, Cyrus believed that "in real life, Miley and [he] needed to come back home", saying, "It was important for us to come back to where we are from and remember who we are." Once filming in Tennessee was settled, Cyrus was "overcome with a very positive emotion of coming back home" and wrote "Back to Tennessee" with the aid of songwriters Tamara Dunn and Matthew Wilder.
Cyrus recorded "Back to Tennessee" for the film Hannah Montana: The Movie, in which his character performs the song at a fundraiser to save the meadows near his hometown from development. Cyrus says the song is "part of the cornerstone" of the film because it reflects the film's theme of escaping the fast-paced, glitzy world of Hollywood in search of a simpler country lifestyle. Cyrus commented,
influenced tracks on Back to Tennessee. It is set in common time
with a country rock tempo
of 120 beats per minute. The song is written in the key of C major
. The song has the following chord progression
, C—C7—C.
Cyrus said of the lyrics, "If you download "Back to Tennessee" and listen to the whole song, you'll hear exactly how I felt after four years of Hannah Montana, and living in Los Angeles and giving up my previous life and existence and who I am and where I come from. You'll hear a guy who's immersed in music, and my love and desire and need to go back home." Jon Caramanica of The New York Times
interpreted the song as an apology "both to [Cyrus's] teenage self and, by extension, to the daughter under his wing." Both Caramanica and Alison Stewart of The Washington Post
took interest in the lines, "Great big town/So full of users". Caramanica said the line recognized that "fame is illusory" and "talk[ed] about some of his daughter’s famous friends", while Stewart interpreted the line as a description of Hollywood life in general.
said, "There's a special quality to this single that might be able to help people get past 'that one song' from Billy Ray Cyrus's past and realize there's so much more to the man than something from two decades ago." While reviewing the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack
, Heather Phares of Allmusic said the song "fits in smoothly with an acoustic version of Rascal Flatts
' witty 'Backwards'". Jon Caramanica of The New York Times
said, "His hard-won insight is the next best thing to a good swaddle." Allison Stewart of The Washington Post
described "Back to Tennessee" as a "fusillade of strident twang rock track". She added that the song was "eager" and that it explained "Country as Country Can Be". Yahoo! Music
thought the song was followed Back to Tennessee' s message "too literally". The song was included on the short list
for Best Original Song
at the 82nd Academy Awards
, but failed to achieve a nomination.
, the country's main singles chart, but charted on the country-genre chart. In the week ending March 7, 2009, "Back to Tennessee" debuted at number fifty-nine on Billboard
s Hot Country Songs
. "The Climb
", by Cyrus' daughter, Miley Cyrus
, debuted at number forty-eight the same week, the first time a father and daughter had separate charting songs on the chart since Johnny Cash
and Rosanne Cash
charted in 1990 with "Silver Stallion" and "One Step over the Line", respectively. On the week ending April 25, 2009, the song reached its peak at number forty-seven on the chart.
for "Back to Tennessee" was directed by Declan Whitebloom and premiered on March 12, 2009 on CMT
. It was partially shot in Malibu, California, where Cyrus wrote the song. Like the song, the video represents Cyrus' desire to return home. Cyrus explained,
Cyrus's "little blue truck" is the blue 1990 Ford Ranger that he drove in the film, which was transported to California to be used in the video. The video prominently features clips of Hannah Montana: The Movie, particularly the scene in which Cyrus performs "Back to Tennessee". Cyrus's backup band in that performance includes part of Taylor Swift
's band, Bucky Covington
, and Marcel
. About the video as a whole, Cyrus said, "I hope when people, you know, watch the video. I hope that they can feel what this song is about. I hope they can relate to that in their life and their world."
The video commences with the Hannah Montana: The Movie performance, in which Cyrus and his backup band perform atop a stage in a crowded barn
. The video then switches to its principal setting, which features Cyrus on a beach at sunset. Cyrus is seen in a black T-shirt tossing rocks at the ocean and looking at a picture of a blond woman. The woman is portrayed by Melora Hardin
, who plays Lorelai, Robby Ray's love interest in Hannah Montana: The Movie. As the video progresses, Cyrus is also seen with the blue Ford Ranger, either driving it or leaning against it while playing an acoustic guitar
. The video also includes clips of Lorelai, Robby Ray, Miley Stewart, and Miley Stewart's love interest, Travis Body. The video ends with Cyrus, looking down, walking next to the seashore.
as an extended play
titled iTunes Live from London. On August 1, 2009, Cyrus performed the song at the 2009 Hannity Freedom Concert, a concert supporting the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
song by American singer-songwriter and actor Billy Ray Cyrus
Billy Ray Cyrus
William "Billy" Ray Cyrus is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist, who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon...
. It released as the second single from Cyrus' eleventh studio album of the same name
Back to Tennessee
- Personnel :* Steve Brewster — drums* Tom Bukovac — electric guitar* Lisa Cochran — background vocals* Perry Coleman — background vocals* Eric Darken — percussion* Shannon Forrest — drums* Kenny Greenberg — electric guitar* Aubrey Haynie — fiddle...
on February 2, 2009 by Lyric Street Records
Lyric Street Records
Lyric Street Records was an American record label specializing in country music. The label was part of the Disney Music Group, owned by the The Walt Disney Company. President Randy Goodman, formerly a general manager for RCA Records, founded the label in 1997...
. Cyrus drafted the song after learning that Hannah Montana: The Movie
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Hannah Montana: The Movie is a 2009 Walt Disney Pictures musical comedy film based on the Disney Channel show Hannah Montana which was released on April 10, 2009, by Walt Disney Pictures, it was the second Disney Channel series to have a movie for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by...
, a film he would star in, would be set in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. The song, developed with the aid of co-songwriters Tamara Dunn and Matthew Wilder
Matthew Wilder
Matthew Wilder is an American musician, composer and record producer, best known for his 1983 Top 5 hit, "Break My Stride"....
, includes country rock
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...
elements while describing Cyrus' longing to return to the South, where he grew up, after spending several years in Los Angeles. "Back to Tennessee" was featured in both Hannah Montana: The Movie
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Hannah Montana: The Movie is a 2009 Walt Disney Pictures musical comedy film based on the Disney Channel show Hannah Montana which was released on April 10, 2009, by Walt Disney Pictures, it was the second Disney Channel series to have a movie for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by...
and its soundtrack
Hannah Montana: The Movie (soundtrack)
Hannah Montana: The Movie is the soundtrack for the film of the same name. The film is an adaptation of the popular Disney Channel original series Hannah Montana, which first aired in 2006. In the television series and film, American singer–songwriter and actress Miley Cyrus portrays Miley Stewart,...
.
"Back to Tennessee" was well received by critics, though some felt it took the album's message too literally. It was a moderate commercial achievement for Cyrus and charted within the top fifty of the Billboard magazine
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
chart Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
.
The song's music video was directed by Declan Whitebloom and features scenes of Cyrus at a beach inter cut with clips of Hannah Montana: The Movie. The song was performed in several venues.
Development
Cyrus moved to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to star on the Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
television series Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana is an American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on the Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real...
in 2006. Cyrus's character, Robby Ray Stewart
Robby Ray Stewart
For the actor of the character Robbie see Billy CyrusRobert Ray "Robby" Stewart is a fictional character from the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana, portrayed by Billy Ray Cyrus. Robby is the single father of Jackson Stewart and Miley Stewart...
, is a former country singer and the father of Miley Stewart, a popstar played by Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
, Cyrus' real life daughter. The television series became a worldwide hit and the basis for Hannah Montana: The Movie, a feature film released in 2009.
Cyrus first read the script for Hannah Montana: The Movie while in Malibu in early 2008. The film's plot features the Stewarts leaving Hollywood for a summer and returning to Tennessee, their home state, to reconnect with their southern roots. Having grown up in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Cyrus was excited to learn the film would be set in the country and fought for it to be filmed on location
On location
On location can refer to:*Filming location, a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced*On Location , a name of an HBO special series*Adobe OnLocation, computer software for direct to disk recording....
. "They were gonna film it in a different state [but] I just knew that Tennessee had all the facilities, the man power, and the ability to make this film great," said Cyrus. In addition, Cyrus believed that "in real life, Miley and [he] needed to come back home", saying, "It was important for us to come back to where we are from and remember who we are." Once filming in Tennessee was settled, Cyrus was "overcome with a very positive emotion of coming back home" and wrote "Back to Tennessee" with the aid of songwriters Tamara Dunn and Matthew Wilder.
Composition
"Back to Tennessee" is one of the more rock musicRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
influenced tracks on Back to Tennessee. It is set in common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
with a country rock tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 120 beats per minute. The song is written in the key of C major
C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
. The song has the following chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
, C—C7—C.
Cyrus said of the lyrics, "If you download "Back to Tennessee" and listen to the whole song, you'll hear exactly how I felt after four years of Hannah Montana, and living in Los Angeles and giving up my previous life and existence and who I am and where I come from. You'll hear a guy who's immersed in music, and my love and desire and need to go back home." Jon Caramanica of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
interpreted the song as an apology "both to [Cyrus's] teenage self and, by extension, to the daughter under his wing." Both Caramanica and Alison Stewart of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
took interest in the lines, "Great big town/So full of users". Caramanica said the line recognized that "fame is illusory" and "talk[ed] about some of his daughter’s famous friends", while Stewart interpreted the line as a description of Hollywood life in general.
Critical reception
The song received generally positive reviews from critics. Shelly Fabian of About.comAbout.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
said, "There's a special quality to this single that might be able to help people get past 'that one song' from Billy Ray Cyrus's past and realize there's so much more to the man than something from two decades ago." While reviewing the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack
Hannah Montana: The Movie (soundtrack)
Hannah Montana: The Movie is the soundtrack for the film of the same name. The film is an adaptation of the popular Disney Channel original series Hannah Montana, which first aired in 2006. In the television series and film, American singer–songwriter and actress Miley Cyrus portrays Miley Stewart,...
, Heather Phares of Allmusic said the song "fits in smoothly with an acoustic version of Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...
' witty 'Backwards'". Jon Caramanica of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said, "His hard-won insight is the next best thing to a good swaddle." Allison Stewart of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
described "Back to Tennessee" as a "fusillade of strident twang rock track". She added that the song was "eager" and that it explained "Country as Country Can Be". Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...
thought the song was followed Back to Tennessee
Short list
A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates . The length of short lists varies according to the context.-U.S...
for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
at the 82nd Academy Awards
82nd Academy Awards
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2009 and took place March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled well after...
, but failed to achieve a nomination.
Chart performance
In the United States, "Back to Tennessee" failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, the country's main singles chart, but charted on the country-genre chart. In the week ending March 7, 2009, "Back to Tennessee" debuted at number fifty-nine on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
. "The Climb
The Climb (song)
"The Climb" is a song performed by American recording artist and actress Miley Cyrus, for the 2009 film Hannah Montana: The Movie. The song was written by Jessi Alexander and Jon Mabe, and produced by John Shanks. It was released on March 5, 2009, as the lead single of the film's soundtrack by...
", by Cyrus' daughter, Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
, debuted at number forty-eight the same week, the first time a father and daughter had separate charting songs on the chart since Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
and Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of the late country music singer Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto Cash Distin....
charted in 1990 with "Silver Stallion" and "One Step over the Line", respectively. On the week ending April 25, 2009, the song reached its peak at number forty-seven on the chart.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Back to Tennessee" was directed by Declan Whitebloom and premiered on March 12, 2009 on CMT
Country Music Television
Country Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...
. It was partially shot in Malibu, California, where Cyrus wrote the song. Like the song, the video represents Cyrus' desire to return home. Cyrus explained,
Cyrus's "little blue truck" is the blue 1990 Ford Ranger that he drove in the film, which was transported to California to be used in the video. The video prominently features clips of Hannah Montana: The Movie, particularly the scene in which Cyrus performs "Back to Tennessee". Cyrus's backup band in that performance includes part of Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
's band, Bucky Covington
Bucky Covington
William Joel "Bucky" Covington III is an American country music singer. He placed eighth on the 5th season of the Fox Network's talent competition series American Idol. In December 2006, he signed a recording contract with Lyric Street Records...
, and Marcel
Marcel (singer)
Marcel Francois Chagnon is an American country music singer and songwriter known by the singular name Marcel. Signed to Mercury Nashville Records in 2003, he released his debut album You, Me, and the Windshield that year and charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts with the single "Country...
. About the video as a whole, Cyrus said, "I hope when people, you know, watch the video. I hope that they can feel what this song is about. I hope they can relate to that in their life and their world."
The video commences with the Hannah Montana: The Movie performance, in which Cyrus and his backup band perform atop a stage in a crowded barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
. The video then switches to its principal setting, which features Cyrus on a beach at sunset. Cyrus is seen in a black T-shirt tossing rocks at the ocean and looking at a picture of a blond woman. The woman is portrayed by Melora Hardin
Melora Hardin
Melora Diane Hardin is an American actress, best known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's The Office and Trudy Monk on USA's Monk.-Early life:...
, who plays Lorelai, Robby Ray's love interest in Hannah Montana: The Movie. As the video progresses, Cyrus is also seen with the blue Ford Ranger, either driving it or leaning against it while playing an acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
. The video also includes clips of Lorelai, Robby Ray, Miley Stewart, and Miley Stewart's love interest, Travis Body. The video ends with Cyrus, looking down, walking next to the seashore.
Live performances
Cyrus performed "Back to Tennessee" as part of the AOL Sessions on April 13, 2009. He also performed the song and several others in a London Apple Store on April 24, 2009. The set, along with some songs by Miley, were recorded and sold exclusively by the United Kingdom iTunes StoreITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
as an extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
titled iTunes Live from London. On August 1, 2009, Cyrus performed the song at the 2009 Hannity Freedom Concert, a concert supporting the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund.
External links
- The official website of Billy Ray Cyrus
- The official website of Hannah Montana: The Movie
- "Back to Tennessee" music video on CMTCMT- Medicine :* California mastitis test* Certified Massage Therapist* Cervical motion tenderness, a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease* Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease* Chemically modified tetracyclines* Circus Movement Tachycardia...