"Vidalia" is a song written by

Tim Nichols Tim Nichols (born in Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Active since the late 1980s, Nichols has written for several country music singers, including Keith Whitley, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messi ...

and Mark D. Sanders, 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

Sammy Kershaw Samuel Paul Kershaw (born February 24, 1958) is an American country music artist. He has released 16 studio albums, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications among them. More than 25 singles have entered the Top 40 on the ...

. It was released in July 1996 as the second single from the album ''

Politics, Religion and Her ''Politics, Religion and Her'' is the fourth studio album by American country music artist Sammy Kershaw. The album launched several charting singles and itself charted at number 115 on The Billboard 200, also peaking at number 17 on Top Country A ...

''. The song reached number 10 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 ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks 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 ...

chart.

Content

The song is a wordplay on

Vidalia onion A Vidalia onion ( or ) is one of several varieties of sweet onion grown in a production area defined by law of the U.S. state of Georgia since 1986 and the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Varieties include the hybrid Yellow Gr ...

s and a woman named Vidalia.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of ''

'' magazine reviewed the song favorably, calling it a "nice blend of cuteness and country boy wit rolled into a song of love and longing. She goes on to say that it is the kind of left-of-center love song that Kershaw has "always excelled at."''

'', July 27, 1996

Music video

The music video was directed by Michael Merriman and premiered in mid-1996. It was filmed during Kershaw's 1996 tour, and in

Vidalia, Georgia Vidalia ( ''vye-DAYL-yə'' , ) is a city located primarily in Toombs County, Georgia, United States. The city also extends very slightly into Montgomery County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,473. Vidalia is the principal ...

, and features Kershaw performing to a large crowd, and scenes of farmers harvesting Vidalia onions.

Chart performance

"Vidalia" debuted at number 57 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of July 27, 1996.

Year-end charts

References

1996 singles Sammy Kershaw songs Songs written by Tim Nichols Songs written by Mark D. Sanders Song recordings produced by Buddy Cannon Song recordings produced by Norro Wilson Mercury Records singles 1996 songs {{1996-country-song-stub