"Chasin' That Neon Rainbow" is a song written 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

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...

and Jim McBride, and recorded by Jackson. It was released in September 1990 as the fourth single from Jackson's first album, ''

Here in the Real World ''Here in the Real World'' is the debut studio album by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released on February 27, 1990, and produced five singles: "Blue Blooded Woman", "Here in the Real World", "Wanted", "Chasin' That Neon R ...

''. The song peaked at number 2 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 chart, and number 5 on the Canadian ''

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 Tracks chart.

Background and writing

Jackson recounts the song's origins in the album notes. "Jim McBride and I were writing together for the first time. We were talking about my life in Georgia and the experience of playing the honky tonk circuit. I remembered a radio that my daddy won when I was a young child and how my mama used to sing to my sisters and me. I also remembered how my mama hated for me to play in the bars. All those things set the story in motion, and within a few sessions, my life chasing that neon rainbow was set to music."

Content

The song recounts the narrator's life of trying to make it big as a country music artist.

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song an A grade," calling the song "memorable" due to "an exuberant melody and decidedly country production, but the lyrics are anything but lightweight." He goes on to say that the song is "sung with a humble innocence, exudes boundless gratefulness and optimism for a budding career."CountryUniverse.net
Review by Kevin John Coyne

Music video

The music video was directed by Jack Cole and premiered on CMT on September 12, 1990. It depicts Jackson going to a bar to audition as a musical act for the bar. The ending of Jackson's next single (and first Number One), " I'd Love You All Over Again", is heard in the beginning of the video at the bar.

Peak chart positions

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1990 singles Alan Jackson songs Songs written by Alan Jackson Song recordings produced by Scott Hendricks Song recordings produced by Keith Stegall Songs written by Jim McBride (songwriter) Arista Nashville singles 1990 songs