Friends in Low Places
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| “Friends in Low Places” | |||||
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| Single by Garth Brooks from the album No Fences |
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| B-side | Nobody Gets Off in This Town | ||||
| Released | August 1990 | ||||
| Format | CD 7" vinyl single |
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| Recorded | 1990 | ||||
| Genre | Country | ||||
| Length | 4:18 (album version) 3:45 (single edit) |
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| Label | Capitol Records | ||||
| Writer(s) | Dewayne Blackwell, Earl Bud Lee (third verse written by Garth Brooks) | ||||
| Producer | Allen Reynolds | ||||
| Garth Brooks singles chronology | |||||
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"Friends in Low Places" is a song released by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was the first single from his second album, No Fences. Its success on the Billboard country charts, on which it spent four weeks at #1, cemented Brooks' place as one of the top new country stars, a status he would maintain for the entire 1990s. The song is often cited as among the top country songs of all time.
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[edit] Origin
According to Earl Bud Lee, one of the songs' co-composers, the idea of the song was born when he and some songwriting friends gathered for lunch one day at Tavern on the Row, a popular Nashville eatery. When the check came, Lee realized he had forgotten his money. He was asked how he was going to pay for the meal, and he replied, "Don't worry. I have friends in low places. I know the cook."[1]
Lee and his songwriting partner, DeWayne Blackwell, immediately recognized that the line "friends in low places" had potential, but they didn't act upon it immediately.[1]
Some months later, Lee and Blackwell were at a party, celebrating a recent #1 hit by another songwriter. They began to talk about the dormant "friends in low places" idea, and "at that very moment, it all started to come together in a song," Lee said.[2] Because nothing else was available, they wrote the song on paper napkins.[2]
The song tells the tale of an unexpected, presumably drunk, guest who made an unscheduled appearance at his ex-lover's formal party, where her new boyfriend is present. The "guest" then presents this toast to her: "Honey, we may be through, but you'll never hear me complain!", before taking solace in his barroom buddies.
When the composers polished "Friends in Low Places", they contacted Garth Brooks to see if he would record a demo for them.[2]
[edit] Brooks' demo
Lee and Blackwell had met Brooks when he was a shoe salesman in a Nashville store, looking for his big break. The two struck up a conversation with the struggling musician, and upon learning his background, they gave him some work making demos of their songs. They were impressed with his voice and talent, but there wasn't much else they could do for him.[2]
When they contacted Brooks to make the "Friends in Low Places" demo, he explained to them that he was newly signed to Capitol Records, and that his first single and first album were already scheduled. After recording the demo, the last he would ever make,[3] Brooks thanked Lee and Blackwell for all their help. He then expressed his liking for the song, wishing aloud that he had heard it several weeks earlier, when he was recording his new album.[2]
[edit] Others get a chance
Brooks claimed that "Friends in Low Places" was held for him,[3] but evidence suggests otherwise. The song was shopped around Nashville, and it ended up with Mark Chesnutt, another up-and-coming country singer.[2] He recorded the song, in a decidedly more downbeat style, for his 1990 album Too Cold at Home. Chesnutt's version was not released as a single, although it did serve as the B-side to his 1991 single "Broken Promise Land".[4]
Meanwhile, after the success of his self-titled debut album, Brooks contacted the composers of "Friends in Low Places" to ask if the song was still available, and they said it was.[2] In keeping with the raucous theme, a large contingent of backing vocalists accompanied Brooks as the chorus was repeated until a fadeout. Among the members of the group were Brooks' then-wife, Sandy, and both composers, Blackwell and Lee.[3] The sound of beer cans opening is audible (supposedly, beer was spilled on one of the microphones). In addition, approximately three minutes and 41 seconds into the song (around the time the single version fades out), Brooks yells, "Push, Marie!". This exclamation is in reference to one of the background singers, who was expecting a baby around the time the song was recorded.[5]
Recognizing the song's potential, producer Allan Reynolds, in consultation with Capitol Nashville president Jimmy Bowen, decided that Brooks' rendition was going to be the first single from his new album, No Fences.[6] In July 1990, Brooks' mother, Colleen Carroll, inadvertently leaked the unreleased song to an Oklahoma radio station, setting off a frenzy and forcing the single and album to be rush-released.[7]
[edit] Success
"Friends in Low Places" entered the Billboard country chart on August 18, 1990. It took only eight weeks to reach #1, where it stayed for four weeks, making it one of the biggest hits of the year.[8]
By then, the song was already causing a stir. Brooks told a reporter from USA Today in October 1990, when the song was still at its chart peak, that he'd received letters from high schoolers saying they wanted to use "Friends in Low Places" as their "class song," only to have it opposed by their principals because the song is about escaping into drink. Brooks agreed with the principals, saying, "We've had a lot of fun with that song, but it's nothing to base your values on."[9]
In April 1991 Brooks' recording won the 1990 Academy of Country Music award for Single of the Year, and on October 2, 1991 it won the same honor from the Country Music Association.
The song's stature has only grown with time. "Friends in Low Places" is arguably Brooks' signature song and a worldwide favorite; it made the top 40 on the British music charts in 1995 as a double-sided reissue hit with "The Dance", a rare feat for a pure country song. It appeared on Brooks' 1994 compilation The Hits. It earned the #6 position on the CMT 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music broadcast [10] and the #1 spot on the network's 40 Greatest Drinking Songs: Morning After. [11]
[edit] The "third verse"
The original version of "Friends in Low Places" has two verses. In 1991, Brooks added a "third verse" to the song in live performances. His spiel leading to the new verse claimed that he thought the song's original verse didn't reflect how he would really act in that situation. It is basically a rewrite of the second verse, with only the last few stanzas changed, culminating in "Just wait til I finish this glass / Then sweet little lady, I'll head back to the bar / And you can kiss my ass".
For many years, this version was hard to find. A rendition recorded at Reunion Arena in Dallas in September 1991 was issued on a VHS videocassette, This Is Garth Brooks, in June 1992. It was also issued to radio on a promotional CD single and to the jukebox trade as a 7-inch vinyl single; this version has also received occasional radio airplay. A version from a different concert, recorded at some point during Brooks' Fresh Horses World Tour (1996-1998), also including the third verse, is on the Double Live album; on this version, however, the audience sings the third verse, with Garth commenting to the crowd "I think the friends in low places should sing that third verse".
[edit] Track listing
US promotional 7" single Capitol Nashville, 1990
- "Friends in Low Places" (Edit) 3:45 7PRO-79216
- "Friends in Low Places" (LP Version) 4:18 7PRO-79239
US promotional CD single Capitol Nashville DPRO-79217, 1990
- "Friends in Low Places" (Edit) 3:45
- "Friends in Low Places" (LP Version) 4:18
US 7" single Capitol Nashville NR-44647, 1990
- "Friends in Low Places" (Edited) 3:45
- "Nobody Gets Off in This Town" 2:17
US 7" single (live) Liberty S7-57883, 1992
- "Friends in Low Places" (Live Version) 7:00
- "Thunder Rolls" (Live Version) 4:45
US promotional CD single (live) Liberty DPRO-79365, 1992
- "Friends in Low Places" (Live Version) 7:00
- "Thunder Rolls" (Live Version) 4:45
UK 7" single Capitol CL 609, 1991
- "Friends in Low Places"
- "Not Counting You"
UK CD single Capitol CDCL 609, 1991
- "Friends in Low Places"
- "Not Counting You"
- "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)"
[edit] References
- ^ a b Collins, Ace (1996). The Stories Behind Country Music's All-Time Greatest 100 Songs. New York: Boulevard, 276. ISBN 1-57297-072-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g Collins, Ace. The Stories Behind Country Music's All-Time Greatest 100 Songs, 277.
- ^ a b c (1994) Album notes for The Hits by Garth Brooks [CD booklet]. Nashville: Liberty (CDP 7243 8 29289 2 4).
- ^ Discographie: Mark Chesnutt. Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
- ^ "Friends In Low Places Easter Egg", eeggs.com, June 28, 2000. Retrieved on 2007-06-06.
- ^ Collins, Ace. The Stories Behind Country Music's All-Time Greatest 100 Songs, 278.
- ^ Harbrect, Gene. "Charting the peaks of country music / Garth Brooks heads for high places", The Orange County Register, December 7, 1990, p. P-6. Accessed via ProQuest 2007-06-06.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2005). Top Country Songs 1944-2005. Menomonee Falls, Wis.: Record Research, 56. ISBN 0-89820-165-9.
- ^ Zimmerman, David. "Riding high with Garth Brooks / Country singer vaults 'Fences' to stardom", USA Today, October 16, 1990, p. D1. Accessed via ProQuest, 2007-06-06.
- ^ CMT's 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music. Retrieved on 2007-06-06.
- ^ CMT's 40 Greatest Drinkin' Songs: Morning After. Retrieved on 2007-06-06.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by "Jukebox In My Mind" by Alabama |
Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks number one single by Garth Brooks October 6-October 27, 1990 |
Succeeded by "You Lie" by Reba McEntire |
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