Shut Up and Drive (Chely Wright song)

"Shut Up and Drive"
Single by Chely Wright
from the album Let Me In
Released July 14, 1997
Format CD single
Recorded 1997
Genre Country
Length 3:49
Label MCA Nashville
Writer(s) Rivers Rutherford, Sam Tate, Annie Tate
Producer(s) Tony Brown
Chely Wright singles chronology
"The Love He Left Behind"
(1996)		 "Shut Up and Drive"
(1997)		 "Just Another Heartache"
(1998)

"Shut Up and Drive" is a song written by Rivers Rutherford, Annie Tate and Sam Tate, and recorded by American country music singer Chely Wright. It was released in July 1997 as the first single from her album Let Me In, her first album for MCA Nashville. The song brought Wright to the country top 40 for the first time, with a peak of #14 on Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs).

Critical reception

Brian Wahlert of Country Standard Time described the song favorably in his review of the album, saying that it "simmers with a combination of sympathy and quiet urgency until Wright wails demandingly on the chorus, 'I'm the voice you never listen to/And I had to break your heart to make you see.'"[1]

Music video

The music video was directed by Charley Randazzo and premiered in mid-1997.

Chart performance

With its number 14 peak on the U.S. country singles charts, "Shut Up and Drive" is Wright's first top 40 country hit.[2]

Charts

Chart (1997) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[3] 21
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[4] 12
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[5] 14

References

  1. ↑ Wahlert, Brian. "Let Me In review". Country Standard Time. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  2. ↑ allmusic ((( Chely Wright > Biography )))
  3. ↑ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 3366." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. October 27, 1997. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Chely Wright Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 for Chely Wright.
  5. ↑ "Chely Wright Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Chely Wright.