"Callin' Baton Rouge" is a

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, ...

song written by

Dennis Linde Dennis Linde (pronounced LIN-dy, March 18, 1943December 22, 2006) was an American music songwriter based in Nashville who has had over 250 of his songs recorded. He is best known for writing the 1972 Elvis Presley hit, "Burning Love". Rarely w ...

. It was originally recorded by

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was chang ...

on their 1978 album ''

Room Service Room service or in-room dining is a hotel service enabling guests to choose items of food and drink for delivery to their hotel room for consumption. Room service is organized as a subdivision within the food and beverage department of high-end ...

'', and was later recorded by

New Grass Revival New Grass Revival was an American progressive bluegrass band founded in 1971, and composed of Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, Ebo Walker, Curtis Burch, Butch Robins, John Cowan, Béla Fleck and Pat Flynn. They were active between 1971 and 1989, r ...

on their 1989 album ''

Friday Night in America ''Friday Night in America'' is a studio album by progressive bluegrass band New Grass Revival, released in 1989. The album includes the single "Callin' Baton Rouge", the band's only Top 40 hit on Hot Country Songs. Both it and " Do What You Gotta ...

'', and more famously by Garth Brooks on his 1993 album ''

In Pieces ''In Pieces'' is the fifth studio album by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on August 31, 1993, by Liberty Records. It debuted at #1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and the Top Country Albums chart. The album was likewise a ...

''. Brooks' rendition, the fifth single from the album, reached a peak of number two on the U.S. country singles charts in 1994. The number one spot was occupied by " She's Not the Cheatin' Kind" by

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were so ...

Content

"Callin' Baton Rouge" is an up-tempo song with a bluegrass sound. In it, the male narrator, presumably a truck driver, is attempting to make contact with a female ("such a strange combination of a woman and a child") named Samantha, whom he met the night before in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties ...

New Grass Revival version

New Grass Revival recorded the song on their 1989 album ''

'', produced by

Garth Fundis Garth Fundis is an American country music record producer. Active since the 1970s, Fundis has produced albums for several country artists, including Alabama, Don Williams, Trisha Yearwood, Sugarland, and Keith Whitley. He has also served as a ju ...

and

Wendy Waldman Wendy Waldman (born November 29, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Biography Early life Waldman (born Wendy Steiner) grew up in the Los Angeles area. She was raised in a musical environment: her father Fred Steiner ...

for Capitol Records. It was the first of two singles from that album. In addition, it was the band's only Top 40 hit on the '' Billboard'' country singles charts, where it peaked at number 37. "Let Me Be Your Man" was the b-side.

Personnel

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Reviva ...

- fiddle, backing vocals *

Eddie Bayers Eddie Bayers (born January 28, 1949) is an American session drummer who has played on 300 gold and platinum albums. He received the Academy of Country Music 'Drummer of the Year Award' for fourteen years, has three times won the Nashville Music ...

- drums * John Cowan - lead vocals, bass guitar *

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, bringing the instrument from its bluegrass roots to jazz, classi ...

- banjo * Pat Flynn - acoustic guitar, backing vocals

Garth Brooks version

Garth Brooks recorded the song on his 1993 album ''

''. The song was recorded at Jack's Track's Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, produced by Allen Reynolds, and backing Brooks were acoustic guitarists Mark Casstevens and Pat Flynn, electric guitarist Chris Leuzinger, keyboardist Bobby Wood,

resonator guitar A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar that produces sound by conducting string vibrations through the bridge to one or more spun metal cones (resonators), instead of to the guitar's sounding board (top). Resonator guit ...

ist

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. Career In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. As a sideman, he h ...

, drummer Milton Sledge, mandolinist/fiddler/backing vocalist

, bass guitarist Mike Chapman, banjo player

and backing vocalist John Cowan.

Background and recording

Brooks provided the following background information on the song in the CD booklet liner notes from ''

The Hits The Hits was a music video channel broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland, owned by Box Television. On 15 August 2008 it was rebranded as 4Music. Overview and availability The channel showcased a range of pop centred on chart hits and cur ...

'': "''I have always been a fan of "Baton Rouge." I was, still am, and always will be a fan of the members of New Grass Revival, four guys well ahead of their time (even if they came out thirty years from now). "Baton Rouge" was a single for them about the time my first album was released. This song did not even break the top thirty, and I believe it did not get a fair shot. When we recorded it, it seemed only natural to bring in the guys from New Grass Revival – Pat Flynn, Bela Fleck, John Cowan, and Sam Bush, teamed with Jerry Douglas. This was the first time the New Grass Revival had been together since their breakup over a year prior to the recording of this song. It was a very good day and an extremely proud moment, and I think this is reflected in the cut itself.''"Garth Brooks – The Hits: transcription from the CD booklet (bar code 7-2438-29689-2-4)

Chart performance

Brooks's version, the album's fifth single, peaked at number two on the U.S. country singles charts, and number one on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' country charts in Canada.

Year-end charts

Appearances

Brooks's version is the pre-game song for the

LSU football The LSU Tigers football program, also known as the Fighting Tigers, represents Louisiana State University in college football. The Tigers compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and ...

team and run out song for the

LSU Tigers baseball The LSU Tigers baseball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team participates in the West Division of the Southeastern Conference. It ranks seventh overall with 18 College World Series appeara ...

team. It is also the version that is played at 2am when all of the college bars in Baton Rouge's “Tigerland” are closing down. Brooks’ version is also played during the nightly dances at 4-H University, the Louisiana State 4-H Convention, held at LSU. The song is usually the last to be played nightly at the

Pete Maravich Assembly Center The Pete Maravich Assembly Center is a 13,215-seat multi-purpose arena in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The arena opened in 1972. It is home to the Louisiana State University Tigers and Lady Tigers basketball teams, the LSU Tigers women's gymnastics ...

after

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

men's and women's basketball games and gymnastics meets.

References

{{authority control 1978 singles 1989 singles 1994 singles Culture of Baton Rouge, Louisiana The Oak Ridge Boys songs New Grass Revival songs Garth Brooks songs Songs written by Dennis Linde Song recordings produced by Allen Reynolds Liberty Records singles Music videos directed by Michael Salomon Capitol Records Nashville singles Song recordings produced by Garth Fundis 1978 songs Songs about telephone calls Songs about Louisiana