The Foundation (Zac Brown Band album)

The Foundation
Studio album by Zac Brown Band
Released November 18, 2008
Genre Country
Length 42:42
Label Atlantic
Home Grown
Southern Ground
Big Picture
Producer Zac Brown
Keith Stegall
Zac Brown Band chronology

Live from the Rock Bus Tour
(2007)		 The Foundation
(2008)		 Live from Bonnaroo
(2009)
Singles from The Foundation
  1. "Chicken Fried"
    Released: June 16, 2008
  2. "Whatever It Is"
    Released: January 24, 2009
  3. "Toes"
    Released: July 6, 2009
  4. "Highway 20 Ride"
    Released: November 23, 2009
  5. "Free"
    Released: April 12, 2010
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Engine 145 [2]
Billboard (favorable)[3]

The Foundation is the first major-label studio album by the Zac Brown Band, an American country music band. It was released on November 18, 2008.[4] Originally slated for release on the Home Grown label and Big Picture Records, the album is distributed by Atlantic Nashville in association with those two labels. The financing for the album was provided by Atlanta, GA entrepreneur Braden Copeland through his investment company Braden Copeland Ventures, LLC. [5] On December 2, 2009, the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Album.[6] and also earned the band the Grammy Award for Best New Artist on January 31. The album also has been nominated for the 2010 Academy of Country Music Awards "Album of the Year" award. As of January 2015, the album has sold 3,370,000 copies in the US.[7]

Content

The album includes five singles, starting with "Chicken Fried," which the band had previously recorded on its 2005 self-released album Home Grown.[8] One year later, The Lost Trailers released this song as a single on BNA Records, but the label withdrew the single after Brown changed his mind about licensing the song.[9] The Zac Brown Band's rendition became a Number One country hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in December 2008.

Four further singles were released from the album — "Whatever It Is," "Toes," "Highway 20 Ride" and "Free" — the latter three of which were also Number One hits. Additionally, "A Different Kind of Fine" also entered the chart as an album cut from unsolicited airplay, where it reached number 55.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Toes"  Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, John Driskell Hopkins, Shawn Mullins 4:21
2. "Whatever It Is"  Brown, Durrette 3:29
3. "Where the Boat Leaves From"  Brown, Durrette 3:44
4. "Violin Intro to Free"  Jimmy De Martini 1:01
5. "Free"  Brown 3:48
6. "Chicken Fried"  Brown, Durrette 3:58
7. "Mary"  Brown, J. Cline 2:50
8. "Different Kind of Fine"  Brown, Durrette, Stokes Nielson 3:18
9. "Highway 20 Ride"  Brown, Durrette 3:51
10. "It's Not OK"  Hopkins 4:10
11. "Jolene"  Ray LaMontagne 4:21
12. "Sic 'Em on a Chicken"  Brown, Hopkins 3:51
Total length:
 42:42

Personnel

Coy Bowles and Chris Fryar, although members of the band, do not play on the album.

Charts & Certifications

Chart performance

Chart (2008) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 2
U.S. Billboard 200 9

Certifications

Region Certification
Canada (Music Canada)[10] Platinum
United States (RIAA)[11] 3× Platinum

End of year charts

Chart (2010) Year-end
2010
US Billboard 200 17[12]
US Billboard Top Country Albums 5[13]
Chart (2013) Year-end
2010
US Billboard 200 144[14]

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions
US Country
[15]		 US
[16]		 US Adult
[17]		 CAN
[18]
2008 "Chicken Fried" 1 20 — 52
2009 "Whatever It Is" 2 26 — 72
"Toes" 1 25 — 60
"Highway 20 Ride" 1 40 — 66
2010 "Free" 1 34 37 59
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

  1. ↑ Deming, Mark. "The Foundation review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  2. ↑ Greenberg, Pierce (2008-11-20). "The Foundation review". Engine 145. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  3. ↑ Tucker, Ken (2008-11-22). "Music reviews". Billboard: 77. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  4. ↑ Billboard.com - Zac Brown Band Signs With Atlantic
  5. ↑ BradenCopeland.com - About
  6. ↑ "The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Nominees List", Grammy.com, December 2, 2009
  7. ↑ Matt Bjorke (January 8, 2015). "Country Album Chart Report For January 8, 2015". Roughstock.
  8. ↑ Wynn, Ron (2008-08-01). "Short Takes". Nashville City Paper. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  9. ↑ Tucker, Ken (2006-03-15). "BNA Forced To Swap Trailers' Single". Radio Monitor. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  10. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Zac Brown Band – The Foundation". Music Canada.
  11. ↑ "American album certifications – Zac Brown Band – The Foundation". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  12. ↑ "Best of 2010 - Billboard Top 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  13. ↑ "Best of 2010 - Top Country Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  14. ↑ "2013 Year-End Charts – Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Zac Brown Band Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Zac Brown Band Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
  17. ↑ "Zac Brown Band Album & Song Chart History - Adult Pop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Zac Brown Band Album & Song Chart History - Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2010.