"Southern Voice" is a song written by

Bob DiPiero Robert John DiPiero (born March 3, 1951) is an American country music songwriter. He has written 15 US number one hits and several Top 20 single for Tim McGraw, The Oak Ridge Boys, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Shenandoah, Neal McCoy ...

and Tom Douglas 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

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 ...

. It was released in September 2009 as the second single and title track from McGraw's 2009 album of the same name. For the week dated January 30, 2010, the song reached Number One on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart, becoming his 23rd number one hit and his first since "

Last Dollar (Fly Away) "Last Dollar (Fly Away)" is a song written by Big Kenny, one half of the duo Big & Rich, and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released in January 2007 as the first single from his album '' Let It Go''. "Last Dollar (Fl ...

" in April 2007.

Content

This song is an up-tempo that lists off various influential natives of the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

who all embody a "southern voice." Many are referred to not by full name but direct allusion, including civil rights leader

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

("Dr. King") and

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

driver Dale Earnhardt ("Number Three"). Furthermore,

Jack Daniel Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel ( January 1849 – October 9, 1911) was an American distiller and businessman, best known as the founder of the Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey distillery. Early life Daniel was the youngest of ten children born ...

is incorrectly referred to as "Jack Daniels". Regarding the song, McGraw told

Great American Country Great American Family is an American cable television network. Owned by Great American Media, it broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. It was originally established in ...

, "I hope it’s a record that you can put on and just sort of melt into. And that’s what the purpose was for it. We wanted a sort of earthiness that when you put this thing on, it just sort of kicks out all over you."

Music video

The video was directed by

Sherman Halsey Sherman Brooks Halsey (February 22, 1957 – October 29, 2013) was an American music video and television director, producer, and artist manager. Sherman Halsey produced and directed hundreds of television shows and music videos for artists ...

, McGraw's usual director of choice. It premiered on CMT on October 2, 2009 and was ranked No. 33 on GAC's Top 50 Videos of the Year 2009. It was filmed on East Main St. in Watertown, Tn.

Critical reception

Matt Bjorke of Roughstock also criticized the song's lyrics, saying, "one can’t help but think of the song as but another laundry list of things that quantify why something is or isn’t great," but adding that McGraw's vocal and the "catchy chorus" "save 'Southern Voice' from the scrap-heap." Country Universe reviewer Kevin J. Coyne gave the song a B rating, saying, "collectively, the people he mentions do indeed rule, making this a reasonable exercise in regional pride."

In popular culture

"Southern Voice" is one of the songs played over the end credits of the film '' The Blind Side'', which co-stars McGraw.

Notable Performances

McGraw performed the song on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' on October 12.

Chart performance

On the week ending November 7, 2009, "Southern Voice" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 61 and at No. 49 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart in September 2009. Later on Hot Country Songs, for the week of January 30, 2010, the song became McGraw's 23rd number one hit and his first since "

", which topped the chart dated April 14, 2007.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Tim McGraw singles 2009 singles Tim McGraw songs Songs written by Bob DiPiero Songs written by Tom Douglas (songwriter) Song recordings produced by Byron Gallimore Song recordings produced by Tim McGraw Curb Records singles Music videos directed by Sherman Halsey 2009 songs