"Start a Band" is a song written by

Dallas Davidson Dallas Davidson is an American country music singer and songwriter from Albany, Georgia, who has written for artists such as Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Cole Swindell, Jake Owen, Luke Bryan, Randy Houser, Lady Antebellum, and Billy Curringto ...

Ashley Gorley Ashley Glenn Gorley (born April 29, 1977) is an American songwriter, publisher, and producer from Danville, Kentucky, who is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Gorley has written 60 number 1 songs and has over 300 songs recorded by artists including ...

and

Kelley Lovelace John Kelley Lovelace is an American songwriter known mainly for his work with country music artist Brad Paisley. He has written several of Paisley's singles, including the number 1 hits "He Didn't Have to Be" (Paisley's first number 1), "The World ...

. It was recorded as a duet 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

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 ...

and Australian country music artist

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

for Paisley's sixth studio album ''

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

''. Released in September 2008 as the only single from that album, it is also one of only four non-instrumental tracks on the album. It is Paisley's 22nd entry on the ''

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 ...

'' country charts, and Urban's 18th and ranked number one on the US

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

charts in 2009.

Content

"Start a Band" is one of only four non-instrumental tracks on ''Play''. Both Paisley and Urban sing and play guitar on the song, which is a moderate up-tempo in which the narrators decide that they will start a band instead of pursuing more academical ventures. In the chorus, they suggest to others who are "living in a world that they don't understand" that they, too, should "find hemselvesa few good buddies and start a band". According to

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 ...

, Paisley described the song to ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

'' as "probably not what you think, in the sense that it's not a blazing-fast thing…It's more of a rockin'

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

-style tune, like back when

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr B ...

and

Don Felder Donald William Felder (born September 21, 1947) is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 until his termination from the band in 2001. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 with th ...

would play those harmony parts." In the album's liner notes, Paisley writes:

"''People have been asking for years when Keith and I would do something like this. I am so honored to get to finally pick and sing with one of my favorite players in the world. I am so humbled by his talent.''"Paisley, Brad (2008). "Some Special Notes On A Few Songs". ''Play'' D booklet Nashville: Arista Records.

Chart performance

The song reached number one on the US

chart week of January 24, 2009, becoming Paisley's thirteenth number one song (and ninth consecutive), as well as Urban's ninth number one. The song was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals at the

52nd Grammy Awards The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Pe ...

Personnel

*Brad Paisley - lead vocals, background vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar *Keith Urban - lead vocals, background vocals, electric guitar *Randle Currie -

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

*Eric Darken -

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

*Wes Hightower - background vocals *Gary Hooker -

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

*Kenny Lewis -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

*Ben Sesar -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Justin Williamson -

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{CMA Musical Event of the Year 2008 singles 2008 songs Brad Paisley songs Keith Urban songs Male vocal duets Songs written by Kelley Lovelace Songs written by Dallas Davidson Songs written by Ashley Gorley Song recordings produced by Frank Rogers (record producer) Arista Nashville singles