Released August 18, 2003 Recorded 2003 | ||
B-side "I Love This Bar" (album version) Length 5:35 (album version)3:52 (single version) | ||
"I Love This Bar" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Toby Keith. It was released in August 2003 as the lead off single from his album Shock'n Y'all. It became a Number One hit on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, keeping the top spot for five weeks. Keith wrote the song with Scotty Emerick.
Contents
The song's title inspired a chain of restaurants owned by Keith named Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill.
Content
The narrator describes his favorite bar and the people who frequent it.
Critical reception
Ray Waddell, of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, calling it a "beer-joint staple for years to come.""
Music video
The video for this song takes place at a bar in Chatsworth, California called The Cowboy Palace Saloon. It was directed by Michael Salomon.
Chart performance
"I Love This Bar" debuted at number 30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of August 30, 2003. The song has sold 1,033,000 copies in the U.S. as of April 2014.
Covers
In 2006, this song was covered by Sammy Hagar for his album Livin' It Up!.
"I Love NASCAR"
On his 2004 album Bipolar and Proud, country music parodist Cledus T. Judd recorded a parody titled "I Love NASCAR". This parody peaked at number 48 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Although the song featured a guest vocal from Keith, he did not receive chart credit for it.