Released August 27, 2007 Genre Country Label Big Machine
Pearl | Format CD
digital download Length 3:25 | |
Writer(s) Lee Brice
Kyle Jacobs
Billy Montana | ||
"More Than a Memory" is a song written by Lee Brice, Billy Montana and Kyle Jacobs and recorded by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released in August 27, 2007 as his 51st single and first single from his third compilation album The Ultimate Hits. On the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated for September 15, 2007, it became the first song to debut at number one in the entire history of that chart. The song was also Brooks' first number-one hit since "To Make You Feel My Love" in 1998. Seven years later, Craig Wayne Boyd's "My Baby's Got a Smile On Her Face" became the second song to debut at number one on the Hot Country Songs list.
Contents
Content
"More Than a Memory" is a mid-tempo ballad, featuring accompaniment primarily from piano, pedal steel guitar and a string section. In it, the male narrator describes his attempts to forget about a lover who has left him, by destroying anything that reminds him of her and drinking heavily. Despite his attempts to forget her, he still finds himself attempting to call her on the telephone, and tries to stay awake so as not to dream of her. He states that since he still thinks of her, she is "more than a memory," even though he has been told by others that he will forget about her.
Chart performance
By debuting at number one on the Hot Country Songs, "More Than a Memory" set a new record for the highest debut on that chart, beating the previous record set only one week earlier by Kenny Chesney's "Don't Blink", which debuted at number 16. Brooks' chart debut was described by Billboard as "almost impossible", since most number one debuts on other singles charts (such as the Billboard Hot 100) are tabulated by sales, and not on radio airplay alone. Since airplay usually builds at a more gradual rate than record sales do, very high debuts are less likely to occur on airplay-only charts such as Hot Country Songs.
In addition to its chart debut, this song was Brooks' first number-one hit single on Billboard since "To Make You Feel My Love" in 1998 (see 1998 in country music). After its debut week, "More Than a Memory" fell to number 8, and after slipping to number 10 it began to climb again, eventually rebounding at number 2 for the chart weeks of December 8 and 15 before falling out of the top 10. The song spent a total of 20 weeks on the Hot Country Songs. "More Than a Memory" also debuted at number 73 on the Hot 100 for the chart week of September 15, 2007, peaking at number 53.