"Bobbie Ann Mason" is a song written by

Mark D. Sanders Mark Daniel Sanders (born September 7, 1950) is an American country music songwriter. He has written 15 No. 1 hits, 50 singles, and over 200 cuts, including the famous Lee Ann Womack single "I Hope You Dance", co-written with Tia Sillers. Earl ...

, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Rick Trevino Ricardo Treviño Jr. (born May 16, 1971) is an American country music artist. Signed to Columbia Nashville in 1993, Trevino began his career that year with the release of his debut single "Just Enough Rope", the first mainstream country music sin ...

. It was released in May 1995 as the second single from the album ''

Looking for the Light Looking for the Light is the third studio album by Hispanic-American country music artist Rick Trevino, released on February 7, 1995. Although its second single "Bobbie Ann Mason" was a Top Ten hit on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Cou ...

''. The song reached number 6 on both the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

and the Canadian ''RPM'' Country Tracks chart.

Content

The song is an uptempo, in which the narrator discusses his high school crush, Bobbie Ann Mason. Songwriter Mark Sanders has written that he was inspired to choose the name "Bobbie Ann Mason" for the character in the song because he loved the books ''

In Country ''In Country'' is a 1989 American drama film produced and directed by Norman Jewison, starring Bruce Willis and Emily Lloyd. The screenplay by Frank Pierson and Cynthia Cidre was based on the novel by Bobbie Ann Mason. The original music score ...

'' and ''

Shiloh and Other Stories ''Shiloh and Other Stories'' is a 1982 collection of short stories written by American author Bobbie Ann Mason. The collection won the Ernest Hemingway Foundation award for fiction. The collection brought Mason her first critical acclaim. The s ...

'' by the novelist

Bobbie Ann Mason Bobbie Ann Mason (born May 1, 1940) is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and literary critic from Kentucky. Her memoir was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Early life and education A child of Wilburn and Christina Mason, Bobb ...

. Sanders wrote that he later received a phone call from Mason, and commented, "It turned out that she was a little put off that I used her name in the song, but I think she got over that."

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of ''

'' magazine reviewed the song unfavorably saying that the song is "slick, safe and not very exciting at all."

Music video

The music video was directed by Martin Kahan and premiered in April 1995.

Personnel

* Paul Franklin –

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

John Jorgenson John Richard Jorgenson (born July 6, 1956) is an American musician. Although best known for his guitar work with bands such as the Desert Rose Band and The Hellecasters, he is also proficient on the mandolin, mandocello, Dobro, pedal steel gu ...

– electric guitar *Larry Marrs – bass guitar *

Steve Nathan Steven Jay Nathan is an American keyboardist. He is known for his session work in Muscle Shoals and Nashville studios. Biography Nathan was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. In 1977, Nathan moved to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. After touring wit ...

– piano *

John Wesley Ryles John Wesley Ryles (born December 2, 1950) is an American country music artist. Ryles recorded a string of hit country songs, beginning in 1968 when he was still a teenager, and continuing through the 1980s. He no longer records as a headline ar ...

– background vocals *

– lead vocals *Blaine Sprouse – fiddle *Steve Turner – drums * John Willis – acoustic guitar *Dennis Wilson – background vocals

Chart performance

"Bobbie Ann Mason" debuted at number 68 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of May 6, 1995.

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1995 singles 1995 songs Rick Trevino songs Songs written by Mark D. Sanders Song recordings produced by Steve Buckingham (record producer) Song recordings produced by Blake Chancey Columbia Records singles