"Little Red Rodeo" is a song written by Phil Vassar,

Charlie Black Charles Frank Black (November 23, 1949 – April 23, 2021) was an American country music songwriter and record producer. Biography Black graduated from University of Maryland in 1970 and moved to Nashville, Tennessee the same year. His first c ...

and

Rory Bourke Rory Michael Bourke (born July 14, 1942 in Cleveland, Ohio is an American country music songwriter and music publisher. Bourke moved to Nashville in 1964 and worked for a period in the promotional department of Mercury Records. His songwritin ...

, 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 Collin Raye. It was released in December 1997 as the third and final single from his compilation album '' The Best of Collin Raye: Direct Hits''. The song was a Top 5 hit on the ''

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chart. He sang it on an episode of ''

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''.

Content

The singer spends most of the song chasing his former lover, who has driven off in a "candy apple red" (Isuzu) Rodeo, leaving a note that she did not think he was looking for a permanent relationship. Eventually conceding that he had not been committed enough, he takes chase from Texas to Monterey, stopping at a diner where her sister works, then at a gas station where the attendant acknowledges she had been there and expected him to chase her. By the end of the song, he has not yet caught the Isuzu but was "closing the gap."

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 46 on the

chart dated December 20, 1997. It charted for 22 weeks on that chart, and reached a peak of number 3 on the chart dated March 14, 1998.

Year-end charts

Other versions

* Phil Vassar, who co-wrote the song, later recorded it on his 2006 CD, '' Greatest Hits, Vol. 1''.

References

{{authority control 1997 singles 1997 songs Collin Raye songs Songs written by Phil Vassar Song recordings produced by Paul Worley Songs written by Rory Bourke Epic Records singles Song recordings produced by Billy Joe Walker Jr. Songs written by Charlie Black