Tim McGraw photo courtesy of Curb Nashville.
When Gregg Allman showed up Tuesday with Tim McGraw on “The Jay Leno Show,” it was a bit of an event, though maybe not quite as unusual an event as it would have been in years gone by.
Gregg was an appropriate musical partner — after all, Tim’s current single “Southern Voice,” which he performed on “Leno,” namechecks the Allman Brothers along with Tom Petty and Chuck Berry.
But Gregg’s hardly the only pop star or rocker with an attachment to country these days. The Zac Brown Band’s “Toes” is co-written with singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins, who referred to Los Angeles as “Nashville with a tan” in his 1998 pop hit “Lullaby.” Carrie Underwood’s “Cowboy Casanova” counts Mike Elizondo, who’s worked with Maroon 5 and Snoop Dogg, among its writers. Brooks & Dunn’s “Honky Tonk Stomp” gets a signature vocal stamp from ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. Jimmy Wayne enlisted Daryl Hall & John Oates to back him on his remake of “Sara Smile.” And Darius Rucker came to country music after first establishing himself in Hootie + The Blowfish.
Then there’s Kenny Chesney, who brought Dave Matthews in to sing on his current Top 10 hit “I’m Alive.”
“It was a good message for me, to me, about priorities,” Kenny says of the song. “You know, remembering what matters, keeping perspective, trying not to get so lost in running after whatever, that you forget what it is you’re chasing. And that’s really reinforced for me by having my friend Dave Matthews on this record. He’s someone I respect and I never get enough time to visit with, and that’s not the way we all oughta live. Every time I hear his voice, I smile and remember.”
That’s not where the pop influences end. Canadian rock band Nickelback got covered in Bucky Covington’s latest single, a remake of “Gotta Be Somebody.”
“When my producer came to me with this I said, ‘I’m not really sure about that idea.’” Bucky told BlogCritics.com. “Trying to put a banjo and a fiddle on a Nickelback song to a lot of people sounds unheard of. But we did do it, and it’s an amazing song. I’m very fortunate to have done the song, and I just love it to death.”
And Nickelback brings it all back to Tim McGraw, whose previous single, “It’s A Business Doing Pleasure With You,” was written by Nickelback vocalist Chad Kroeger and producer Joey Moi.
For the record, Tim was not the first to jump on the Allman bandwagon. Willie Nelson recorded Gregg’s “Midnight Rider” for the soundtrack to The Electric Horseman way back in 1980. And the Allmans’ “Ramblin’ Man” was mentioned in the lyrics of a couple of recent hits: the Eli Young Band’s “Always The Love Songs” and Brad Paisley’s duet with Keith Urban, “Start A Band.”
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Who cares who sings the song first, its all about the final product and the spint hey put on it to make it their own. I like Gotta Be Somebody by Nickleback, but I love Bucky's version the best of the song. Dont get me wrong, I love Nickleback too!
Bucky sing great and The video Gotta Be Somebody is Great I'm a big fan of Bucky Covington Meet him two times he nice.
I saw Bucky's video of "Gotta Be Somebody" Wow, that boy sure has an infectious smile. I'm loving the sound of his voice on this.
I love Tim's Southern Voice, saw him and Gregg on Leno, it was fantastic. Tim says in one of his songs…"its just good music if you can feel it in your soul." He is so right, as long as the artist stays true to themselves, I love it when they mix it up with other good music. I love Jimmy doing Sara Smile, I have not heard Buckys song yet.
Bucky isn't looking for it to be better than Nickelback's, this is his own version and I LOVE it!
I love Bucky's version of "Gotta Be Somebody" and hope it's a huge hit for him
Bucky's voice is fantastic, unlike that fake Swifty…she sucks and then some…
What a great article!! Thanks for showing us this rock trend in country. Love Bucky's "Gotta Be Somebody" ….the song and the video.
I love Tim- Southern Voice- awesome album. I recently saw Tim in concert at The M Resort in Las Vegas. Tim ut his heart and soul into that concert, I love seeing Tim interaction with his Dance Hall Doctors. The Coyote Country DJ's had a pre-party for Tim in Ravello Lounge before the concert- The DJ's- Tom, Rick, Rob, Cadillac Jack and Melissa were great, giving away prizes of Tim. Tim came on stage with them, he presented a lucky woman with his autographed guitar. I'm still reliving the whole day in my mind! Thank You Tim and Coyote Country.
I've been so looking forward to Tim's Southern Voice cd.I have not been disapointed.Long over due but difentently worth waiting for.best album I have heard from all the new onea out.Tim comes thru everytime.THANK GOD
brad paisleys and keith urbam's start a band was very good, it reminds us that you will always remember things you did with a friend that you will never forget, and you would like to see that friend again some time in your life and do somthing crazy, like start a band.
I saw the video of Bucky's "Gotta Be Somebody" and loved it !! Can't wait for his next CD to come out. Would love to see more of him on TV (hint, hint)
Don't get me wrong, Bucky does fine with his take on Gotta Be Somebody. Nobody, however, will ever come close to the original. It is what it is.
I have heard Bucky's version of Gotta Be Somebody and it sounds great! What a perfect fit for his voice!
I love Bucky Covington — I am no youngster, but I admire his non-attitude and friendliness to his fans. I want to hear more of him! I loved the interview on GAC with Bucky and Jake Owen — he is another one that doesn't get enough recognition, love the smile, the positiveness he portrays when he sings, would rather hear and see them than Taylor Swift "the darling of the Country Scene" she may be sweet and cute but can't sing worth a darn!