"Bless the Broken Road" is a song that has been recorded by several 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, ...

artists. Co-written by

Marcus Hummon Marcus Spencer Hummon (born December 28, 1960) is an American country music artist. He is the father of country singer Levi Hummon. Early life Hummon was born in Washington, D.C.. He graduated from Williams College. Career After several years o ...

, Bobby Boyd, and

Jeff Hanna Jeffrey R. Hanna (born July 11, 1947) is an American singer-songwriter and performance musician, best known for his association with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. His professional music career has spanned six decades. Early life Hanna was born in D ...

in 1994, it tells how the journey through relationship heartbreak and disappointment was an important series of lessons along the broken road to finding one’s true love. It was first recorded by the

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band. Constant ...

in 1994, followed by Hummon on his 1995 album '' All in Good Time''. Since then, many artists have recorded the song with

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...

' version being the highest-charting, becoming a number 1 hit on the ''Billboard'' country music charts in 2005 and earning the songwriters a

Grammy Award for Best Country Song The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, except if the artist is also the songwriter. There ha ...

History

Singer-songwriter

co-wrote the song with Jeff Hanna (of

) and Bobby Boyd. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band recorded it for the 1994 album '' Acoustic''. One year later, Hummon covered the song for his debut album '' All in Good Time'' for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. His rendition includes backing vocals from Hanna and

Matraca Berg Matraca Maria Berg Hanna (; born February 3, 1964, in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and ...

. Michael McCall of ''New Country'' magazine thought that Hummon's rendition was the best track on the album.

Sons of the Desert A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

recorded its own version of the song, for a planned second album on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

that would have been released in 1998. This album was not released, due to a dispute between the band and its label. Since then, many artists have recorded the song including

Melodie Crittenden Melodie Crittenden (born 1968) is an American country and Christian music artist. Her first album was recorded at the age of nine in Norman, Oklahoma, and was titled ''Melodie Sings''. She traveled around Oklahoma with her family band "The Crit ...

Geoff Moore Geoff Moore (born February 22, 1961) is an American contemporary Christian music singer. He began recording as a solo artist in 1984. In 1987, he formed Geoff Moore and The Distance, his touring band, which released eight albums generating a st ...

Selah (; hbo, סֶלָה, selā) is a word used 74 times in the Hebrew Bible. Its etymology and precise meaning are unknown, though various interpretations are given. It is probably either a liturgical-musical mark or an instruction on the reading ...

Jamie Slocum Jamie Slocum was an American Christian worship leader, singer, songwriter and producer from Grants Pass, Oregon. He was raised in Phoenix, Arizona and moved to Nashville in the 1990s. Slocum succumbed to injuries after being run over by a bus in S ...

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...

Buddy Greene Buddy Greene (born October 30, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, guitar player and harmonica player. Most of his recordings consist of gospel music with a distinctly Southern gospel flavor. Much of his music is influenced by country music ...

, and

Melodie Crittenden version

Also in 1998,

recorded the song under the title "Broken Road," and included it on her self-titled debut album for

Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/As ...

. Released as the first of two singles from it, this version was a number 42 single on 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 (now

Hot Country Songs 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 ...

) charts. This version was featured on an episode of ''Dawson's Creek''.

Critical reception

''Billboard'' gave Crittenden's version a positive review in the January 17, 1998, issue, calling it "sheer poetry with a moving message."

Chart positions

Rascal Flatts version

The highest-charting rendition is by the country music group

, who cut the song for the ''

Feels Like Today ''Feels Like Today'' is the third studio album by American country music group Rascal Flatts. It was released on September 28, 2004, via Lyric Street Records. The album has sold 5.274 million copies in the United States as of July 2014, and it ha ...

'' album. Released in November 2004, this version spent five weeks at number one on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. It also won a

Whitburn, p. 339 and earned a platinum

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

from the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. The song topped the 2 million mark in paid downloads on September 18, 2010. It's Rascal Flatts' third song to reach that mark, following "

Life Is a Highway "Life Is a Highway" is a song by Canadian musician Tom Cochrane from his second studio album, ''Mad Mad World'' (1991). The song became a number-one hit in Canada in late 1991. "Life Is a Highway" also peaked at number six on the US ''Billboard'' ...

" and "

What Hurts the Most "What Hurts the Most" is a song written by American songwriter Jeffrey Steele and English songwriter Steve Robson. Initially recorded by country music artist Mark Wills in 2003 on his album '' And the Crowd Goes Wild'', it was covered by Bell ...

". As of January 2020, the song has sold 3,719,000 copies in the US. On May 25, 2005, during a live performance on ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' by

and Rascal Flatts, an additional version was recorded. While not in wide release, and never included on an album, the version received enough radio airplay to enter the country music charts at number 50. In 2009, an acoustic version recorded by Rascal Flatts was included in the soundtrack of '' Hannah Montana: The Movie''. On May 19, 2012, "Bless the Broken Road" debuted at number 76 and went to number 41 next week on the UK Singles chart (The Official Charts Company), the band's first and only appearance on the chart. On February 26, 2020, the song received renewed attention after California-based artist RMR sampled the piano melody for his debut song Rascal. The song and music video would go on to be a viral hit.

Song information

Rascal Flatts' version of the song is set in the key of

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

, with a vocal range from C4 to A5.

Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Selah version

, a

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

band, covered the song in 2006 on the album '' Bless the Broken Road: The Duets Album'' featuring a duet vocal from Crittenden. Also released as a single, Selah's version peaked at number five on the

Hot Christian Songs Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs c ...

charts.

Charts

Accolades

In 2007, this version of the song was nominated for a

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

for Song of the Year at the

38th GMA Dove Awards The 38th Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on April 25, 2007 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2006. The show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Brian Littrell, Natalie Grant, and Donn ...

Film version

A feature film based on the song, titled ''

God Bless the Broken Road ''God Bless the Broken Road'' is a 2018 American Christian drama film directed by Harold Cronk. A loose interpretation of the 1994 song "Bless the Broken Road," the plot follows a mother who loses her husband in the War in Afghanistan and must c ...

'', began filming in 2015, and was originally announced to be released in 2016. The actual release was September 7, 2018.

References

{{authority control 1994 songs 1998 debut singles 2004 singles 2006 singles Melodie Crittenden songs Nitty Gritty Dirt Band songs Rascal Flatts songs Carrie Underwood songs Sons of the Desert (band) songs Selah (band) songs Songs written by Marcus Hummon Lyric Street Records singles Asylum Records singles Curb Records singles Country ballads Song recordings produced by Mark Bright (record producer) Songs written by Jeff Hanna Songs written by Bobby Boyd (songwriter) Vocal collaborations