"Rock This Country!" is a song co-written and recorded by Canadian

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, ...

singer

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...

. It was the eleventh single released from her third studio album ''

Come on Over ''Come On Over'' is the third studio album by Canadian country music singer Shania Twain. It was released on November 4, 1997, by Mercury Records. Produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the album became the best-selling country album, the best ...

.'' Written by

Robert John "Mutt" Lange Robert John "Mutt" Lange (born 11 November 1948) is a South African record producer and songwriter, mainly known for his work in rock music as well as his previous marriage to Canadian singer Shania Twain, for whom he wrote and produced several ...

and Twain, "Rock This Country!" was released to North American country radio stations in late 1999. With no promotional performances or CD single, the song was the lowest charting single at country radio from the album. Despite this, Twain has performed the song on every one of her tours: the

Come On Over Tour The Come On Over Tour was the debut concert tour by Canadian singer-songwriter Shania Twain. Visiting North America, Australia and Europe, the tour supported of her third studio album ''Come On Over'' (1997). Deemed one of the most anticipated to ...

Up! Tour The Up! Tour was the second headlining concert tour by Canadian singer-songwriter Shania Twain in support of her fourth studio album '' Up!'' (2002). It began on September 25, 2003, in Hamilton, Ontario and finished on July 10, 2004, in Sunrise, ...

, the tour of the same name and the Now Tour, usually as the opener or closer. She also performed the song on the Let's Go! residency, and in an acoustic version for the Still the One residency.

Background

On "Rock This Country!" Twain said the song is "a very live, fast- driving song. We wrote that one on the beach in Florida. I had had the title a long time". It is the only song to stay the same on both the original and international versions of ''Come On Over''.

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

used "Rock This Country!" as the theme song to his 2000 Presidential Campaign.

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

selected "Rock This Country!" as a candidate theme song for her 2008 Presidential campaign.

Critical reception

'' Billboard'' applauded the song saying it "pushes all the buttons that should make it a natural for today's young country audience" and calling it "a rollicking, fiddle-laced number that should become a weekend anthem".Taylor, Chuck (January 15, 2000), "Reviews & Previews: Singles". '' Billboard''. 112 (3):22

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "Rock This Country!" was taken directly from Twain's 1999 ''

'' special from

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. It was filmed on November 25, 1999, and released on December 23, 1999. Directing credit is given to

Larry Jordan Lawrence Jordan (born 1934 ) is an American independent filmmaker who is most widely known for his animated collage films. In 1970 he received a Guggenheim Fellowship to make ''Sacred Art of Tibet''. Legacy '' Our Lady of the Sphere'', inspire ...

. This video was the second consecutive live video released from the ''Come on Over'' album, and third overall, as both "

Honey, I'm Home "Honey, I'm Home" is a song co-written and recorded by Canadian country music artist Shania Twain. It was released in August 1998 as the sixth single from her album '' Come On Over'', and the fifth to country radio. The song was written by Twain a ...

" and "

" were issued live videos. The video is known for Twain's "space-age" looking outfit. It is available on Twain's DVD '' The Platinum Collection'' (2001).

Chart performance

"Rock This Country!" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart the week of January 15, 2000, at number 58. The single spent 17 weeks on the chart and climbed to a peak position of number 30 on February 26, 2000, where it remained for three weeks. "Rock This Country!" became the first and only single from ''Come on Over'' to miss the top 20. It also became her lowest peaking single since " God Bless the Child", which peaked at number 48.

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2000 singles 1997 songs Shania Twain songs Songs written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange Song recordings produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange Songs written by Shania Twain Mercury Records singles Mercury Nashville singles Songs about the United States