"Freedom Was a Highway" is a song 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, ...

singers

Jimmie Allen James Edward Allen (born June 18, 1985) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is signed to Broken Bow Records imprint Stoney Creek, for which he has released the two singles "Best Shot" and " Make Me Want To" and the 2018 album ...

and

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album ''Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashvil ...

, released on February 1, 2021 as the second single from Allen's second studio album ''

Bettie James Gold Edition ''Bettie James Gold Edition'' is the second studio album by American country music singer Jimmie Allen. It was released on June 25, 2021, via BBR Music Group. Prior to the album's release, seven songs from the album were released in 2020 as an ext ...

''. Allen co-wrote the song with Matt Rogers and

Ash Bowers Ashley Walton "Ash" Bowers is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and manager. Between 2003 and 2013, he was a recording artist: first as the lead singer of the band Forty5 South, then as a solo artist on Broken Bow Reco ...

, and co-produced it with the latter.

Background

Allen and Paisley revealed on ''

The Bobby Bones Show ''The Bobby Bones Show'' is an American nationally syndicated country music radio show aired during the morning drive. The Bobby Bones Show originated in Austin, Texas, but now originates from studios at WSIX-FM in Nashville. The show is syndica ...

'' that the idea for the duet "was born after a hangout with Allen, Paisley,

Darius Rucker Darius Carlos Rucker (born May 13, 1966) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Ca ...

and

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

". Allen also commented: "When I was writing this song with my co-writers, I imagined myself driving down my favorite roads in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. This song takes me back to simpler moments such as an innocent, childhood crush on the next-door neighbor or feeling freedom in the wind as you drive with the windows down. I've loved this song from the creation." Paisley said: "I was honored when Allen asked me to join him on the song. It's a magical combination – it doesn't sound like a typical record for me at all and when I come in, I try my best not to ruin Jimmie's song, I use my guitar to make a record sort of sound like I'm on it even before you hear me sing, and I love this guitar solo. I'm really proud to be a part of 'Freedom Was A Highway' and I'm excited for people to hear it."

Critical reception

Tom Roland of ''

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 ...

'' commented "Freedom Was a Highway" has a yearning, driving power that would fit the soundtrack of a 1980s coming-of-age movie.

Music video

The music video was released on July 29, 2021, co-directed by Allen and Christopher Beyrooty.

Chart performance

"Freedom Was a Highway" reached number one 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 dated February 19, 2022, becoming Allen's third number one single on that chart, and Paisley's twentieth, as well as his first since "

Perfect Storm A perfect storm is a meteorological event aggravated by a rare combination of circumstances. The term is used by analogy to an unusually severe storm that results from a rare combination of meteorological phenomena. Origin The Oxford English Dic ...

" in January 2015. This accomplishment also tied Paisley with

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 solo ...

and

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...

for the tenth most number one singles on the chart.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Brad Paisley singles 2021 singles 2021 songs Jimmie Allen songs Brad Paisley songs Songs written by Ash Bowers BBR Music Group singles Male vocal duets