"Cheer Down" is a 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...

 song with music written by George Harrison

George Harrison

George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...

 and lyrics written by Harrison and Tom Petty

Tom Petty

Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...

. The title is attributed to Olivia Harrison, who would tell her husband, "Okay, cheer down, big fellow," when he would get too enthusiastic. The song was first produced in 1989 for the film and accompanying soundtrack to Lethal Weapon 2

Lethal Weapon 2

Lethal Weapon 2 is a 1989 action comedy film directed by Richard Donner, and starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Patsy Kensit, Joe Pesci, Derrick O'Connor and Joss Ackland...

and released as a single to promote the film. It was later included in Harrison's Dark Horse

Dark Horse Records

Dark Horse Records is a record label founded by George Harrison in 1974.-History:Harrison had recorded for EMI under a contract which expired in 1976. All his subsequent recordings were released through Dark Horse Records, starting with Thirty Three & 1/3 in 1976 and ending with Live in Japan in 1992...

 greatest hits

Greatest hits

A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...

 album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 Best of Dark Horse 1976–1989 as the final track. Although the compilation is no longer in print, "Cheer Down" was included on the 2009 career-spanning best of album Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison

Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison

Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison is the third compilation of George Harrison's music, and the first to span his entire solo career after The Beatles era...

. The song was produced by George Harrison and Jeff Lynne

Jeff Lynne

Jeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...

.

It is unknown who the correct personnel are, but Harrison and Lynne's vocals are clearly evident. Tom Petty

Tom Petty

Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...

 may also be providing background vocals, as the style of vocal sound similar to what the trio were doing in the Traveling Wilburys

Traveling Wilburys

The Traveling Wilburys were an English–American supergroup consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, accompanied by drummer Jim Keltner...

. The drums were most likely performed by Wilbury drummer Jim Keltner

Jim Keltner

James Lee "Jim" Keltner is an American drummer known primarily for his session work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists...

, while rhythm guitars were probably Harrison, Lynne and Petty. The slide guitar is all Harrison, but there are a few parts that sound similar to Petty's guitarist, Mike Campbell.

Track listings

• 7" 7-22807, cassette 4-22807

1. "Cheer Down"
2. "That's What It Takes"
   • 7" W2696
3. "Cheer Down"
4. "Poor Little Girl"
   • 12" W2696T, CD W2696CD, cassette W2696C
5. "Cheer Down"
6. "Poor Little Girl"
7. "Crackerbox Palace
   Crackerbox Palace
   "Crackerbox Palace" is the ninth track on George Harrison's 1976 album, Thirty Three & 1/3. The song was released as the second single from the album and reached #19 on the American pop charts.-History:...
   
   "

Cover versions

American dobro

Dobro

Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...

 player, Rainer Ptacek

Rainer Ptacek

Rainer Ptacek was a Tucson, Arizona based guitarist and singer-songwriter. His guitar technique, which incorporated slide, finger-picking, tape loops and electronic manipulation, earned him admiration of some notable musicians such as Robert Plant and Billy Gibbons...

 performed this song in 1997 – it was later issued on Live at the Performance Center album in 2001