Format Digital download Genre Country pop | Recorded 2015 Length 3:42 | |
Released 9 June 2015 (2015-06-09) Label Hit Red
Capitol Nashville | ||
"John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16" is a song written by Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, and Josh Osborne and recorded by Australian country music singer Keith Urban. It was released on 9 June 2015 as the lead single to Urban's eighth American studio album, Ripcord. The song has a slow 1970s funk vibe that carries distinct drum loops and several time changes, with production from Urban and longtime co-producer Dann Huff. The song received positive reviews from critics who praised the production, lyrics, and Urban's return to traditional country with a new sound.
Contents
History
Urban debuted the song at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, Tennessee in February 2015. Urban told The Boot that it "was sent to me a few months ago by one of the songwriters, and I loved it immediately". Lyrically, the song uses several name-drops to illustrate the narrator's influences in life, culminating in "I learned everything I needed to know from John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16." Musically, it features a "slowed, almost '70s funk vibe with distinct drum loops and several time changes". Urban recorded the song at Blackbird Studios in Nashville, and co-produced it with longtime producer Dann Huff. Urban told Nash Country Weekly that he was having difficulty creating a suitable vocal track until he took a bass guitar from the studio wall and played a bass line which he had originally intended to replace with one from a session musician, but ultimately left in the final recording.
The song was released to radio on 9 June 2015, and Urban performed it the next day on the CMT Music Awards.
Critical reception
Billy Dukes of Taste of Country reviewed the song with favor, saying that Keith Urban "returns to more traditional country themes while continuing to push his sound in new directions" and that it "has an everyman quality to it that heightens the song’s sharpness. It’s a good, mellow groove that won’t soon get old." Tammy Ragusa of Nash Country Weekly gave the song an "A–" and said that it was "one of the catchiest, most infectious songs of the summer" and "Dann Huff lets the song's arrangement ebb and flow". She also praised the lyrics, saying "there is some depth and a message."
The song was nominated for Best Country Solo Performance at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards but lost to Chris Stapleton's "Traveller".
Personnel
From Ripcord liner notes.
Music video
The music video was directed by Shane Drake and premiered in August 2015.
Commercial performance
The song debuted on the Hot Country Songs chart at number 47 on the week before its official release, and reached number 24 the following week. It also debuted on the Country Airplay chart at number 26, and at number 7 on the Country Digital Songs chart with 36,000 copies sold in the United States. The song peaked at number 2 on the Hot Country Songs chart for the week of 19 September 2015, and number 2 on the Country Airplay chart a week later. It reached number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of 10 October 2015. The song has sold 663,000 copies in the United States as of February 2016. This is Keith's eighteenth top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.