More Than a Memory
| "More Than a Memory" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Garth Brooks | ||||
| from the album The Ultimate Hits | ||||
| Released | August 27, 2007 | |||
| Format | CD single, music download | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:25 | |||
| Label | Big Machine/Pearl | |||
| Writer(s) |
Lee Brice Kyle Jacobs Billy Montana | |||
| Producer(s) | Allen Reynolds | |||
| Garth Brooks singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"More Than a Memory" is a song written by Lee Brice, Billy Montana and Kyle Jacobs, and recorded by American country music singer Garth Brooks. It was released in August 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. 7 years later, Craig Wayne Boyd's "My Baby's Got a Smile On Her Face" became the second song to debut at #1 on the Hot Country Songs list.
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 her possessions and drinking heavily, among other attempts. 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 history
By debuting at Number One on the Hot Country Songs chart, "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 #16.[1][2][3] 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.[4]
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 #8, and after slipping to #10 it began to climb again, eventually rebounding at #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 country singles charts. "More Than a Memory" also debuted at number 73 on the Hot 100 for the chart week of September 15, 2007,[1] peaking at number 53.
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[5] | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[6] | 53 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[7] | 62 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2007) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Country Songs (Billboard)[8] | 43 |
| Preceded by "These Are My People" by Rodney Atkins |
Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one single September 15, 2007 |
Succeeded by "Take Me There" by Rascal Flatts |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cohen, Jonathan (2007-09-06). "Soulja Boy 'Cranks' Hot 100 No. 1 With Debut Single". Billboard magazine. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
- ↑ "Garth Brooks Back on Top", Great American Country, September 5, 2007.
- ↑ "Garth Brooks Makes History at Country Radio", CMT.com, September 5, 2007.
- ↑ Johnson, Fred (2007-09-06). "'More' Is The Most". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
- ↑ "Garth Brooks Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Garth Brooks.
- ↑ "Garth Brooks Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Garth Brooks.
- ↑ "Garth Brooks Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for Garth Brooks.
- ↑ "Best of 2007: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2012.