"Drinkin' Town with a Football Problem" is a song written by Elizabeth Elkins, Aaron Henningsen, Brian Henningsen, Clara Henningsen, and

Vanessa Olivarez Vanessa Denae Olivarez (born April 7, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is the vocalist, songwriter, and autoharpist for the country bands Granville Automatic and Mama's Blue Dress, has written songs for the country duo ...

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

Billy Currington William Matthew Currington (born November 19, 1973) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Mercury Records Nashville in 2003, he has released seven studio albums for the label: his self-titled debut (2003), '' Doin' Someth ...

. It was released to radio on June 8, 2015 as the second single from Currington's 2015 album, ''

Summer Forever ''Summer Forever'' is the sixth studio album by American country music singer Billy Currington. It was released on June 2, 2015 via Mercury Nashville. The album includes the number one singles "Don't It", "It Don't Hurt Like It Used To", and "Do ...

''.

Content

"Drinkin' Town with a Football Problem" is an anthem about a small town whose residents are passionate about

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

, referring to the town as a "drinkin' town with a football problem". It uses "lyrics with a series of snapshots that are familiar in every U.S. community, including cheerleaders, old men in bleachers and national-anthem performances." Currington said that the song was nostalgic for him: "That song reminded me of my high school hometown football team...But, at the same time, there are so many towns we have played in that resemble that, too. It reminds me of so many places I’ve been a part of. I think a lot of people will relate to it.” The song was inspired by the town of

Atwood, Illinois Atwood is a village in Douglas and Piatt counties in Illinois, United States. Main Street runs along the county line with Douglas County to the east and Piatt County to the west. The population was 1,116 at the 2020 census. Geography According ...

, the hometown of co-writer Brian Henningsen (of

The Henningsens The Henningsens is an American country music trio consisting of Brian Henningsen, his son Aaron, and daughter Clara. The trio released their debut single, " American Beautiful", for Arista Nashville in late 2012. History The Henningsens, consistin ...

), who played on the town's high school football team in the late 1970s.

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...

produced the song, which was recorded at Blackbird Studios, owned by

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and relocat ...

and her husband, John. It opens with a sung "hey, y'all" hook sung by Currington in six overdubbed vocal lines, with assistance from session vocalist Russell Terrell. This was the first song on which Currington had ever overdubbed his own harmonies. Kenny Greenberg plays

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

, using a

B-Bender A B-Bender is a guitar accessory that enables a player to fluidly alter the pitch of a guitar's B-string. This works by mechanically bending the B-string through the use of a series of levers and/or pulleys attached to an external lever that is ...

on the solos.

Commercial reception

Although the song debuted at number 41 on the

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

chart, it fell to #54 in its second week before climbing. It ultimately reached a peak of number 30.

Charts

References

{{authority control 2015 songs 2015 singles Billy Currington songs Mercury Nashville singles Song recordings produced by Dann Huff