"Barefoot Blue Jean Night" is a song written by Dylan Altman,

Eric Paslay Eric Thomas Paslay (born January 29, 1983) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has released one album for EMI Nashville, which contains the hit singles " Friday Night", " Song About a Girl", and " She Don't Love You". In addit ...

and Terry Sawchuk, 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

Jake Owen Joshua Ryan Owen (born August 28, 1981), known professionally as Jake Owen, is an American country music singer, songwriter, and actor. Signed to RCA Nashville in 2006, he released his debut studio album, '' Startin' with Me'', that year. This ...

. It is the seventh single of his career, and was released in April 2011 as the first single and title track from his album of the same name. It reached number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart in September 2011.

History

Owen told Taste of Country that he was "pretty much finished" creating the album, and was given the song about three days before it was supposed to be done. After saying that he "could not get it out of ishead", he decided to record it after a friend told him, "You're crazy if you don't record that song." Owen also said that he identified with the song's beach-related imagery, as he grew up on a beach in Florida. Co-writer

told the same website that he started playing a riff on a high-strung guitar. He and the co-writers decided to make the song a summertime anthem because the first lyrics they thought of "sounded like a summertime anthem."

Critical reception

Matt Bjorke of ''Roughstock'' gave the song a positive review, saying that it "giv soff a fun, good time vibe". He also thought that the use of

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

and drum machine recalled the work of

Mark McGuinn Mark McGuinn (born August 19, 1968) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 2001 with the single " Mrs. Steven Rudy", a Top 10 hit on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. It was the first of three single ...

. Michael Sudhalter, in his review of the album for ''

Country Standard Time ''Country Standard Time'' is a website dedicated to country music and related genres including Americana, bluegrass and rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1993 by Jeffrey B. Remz as a p ...

'', said that the song "has a perfect chorus, and it's just right for the summer time." Kevin John Coyne, reviewing the song for ''Country Universe'', gave it a C+ rating, saying that in order for the "larger-than-life arrangement to have any traction, you've got to paint your memories with at least a nugget of lyrical depth."

Music video

The music video was directed by

Peter Zavadil Peter Zavadil is an American music video director who works primarily in the field of country music. He has directed many music videos since the late 1990s. He has won the Country Music Association Award for Video of the Year twice from seven nomin ...

and premiered in June 2011. It was filmed at Center Hill Lake in Middle Tennessee. It features his then-girlfriend and now ex-wife, Lacey Buchanan. It features Owen and many friends, including his band, having a good time on the lake and singing. It also features him on a boat with Lacey, and water-skiing.

Commercial performance

Many radio station began playing the song before its official release on April 18, 2011. The song gained enough airplay for it to enter Country Airplay at No. 55 as well as Hot Country Songs for the charts dated April 9, 2011. It debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at No. 98 for the chart dated April 30, 2011 after the song release. The song peaked on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at No. 21 on October 22, 2011, as well as No. 1 on the Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts. The song was certified double platinum on May 9, 2013 by the RIAA. The song has sold 2.3 million copies in the U.S. as of September 2015.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2011 singles 2011 songs Jake Owen songs RCA Records Nashville singles Songs written by Eric Paslay Song recordings produced by Joey Moi