"Wanted" is a song written 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
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...
and
Charlie Craig, and recorded by Jackson. It was released in May 1990 as the third single from Jackson's first album, ''
Here in the Real World
''Here in the Real World'' is the debut studio album by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released on February 27, 1990, and produced five singles: "Blue Blooded Woman", "Here in the Real World", "Wanted", "Chasin' That Neon R ...
''. The song peaked at number 3 on both 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 (now
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 and the Canadian ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' Country Tracks Chart.
Background and writing
The front cover resembles a western "wanted" poster. Jackson was inspired to write the song after seeing a wanted poster in an old
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
movie.
Content
The song is a mid-tempo ballad in which the male narrator decides to place a
classified ad
Classified may refer to:
General
*Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive
*Classified advertising or "classifieds"
Music
*Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper
*The Classified, a 1980s American roc ...
to describe what he wants from a lover: "Wanted, one good hearted woman / To forgive imperfection / In the man that she loves".
Critical reception
Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a B− grade," saying that the song contains "heartfelt vocal and sincere delivery." He goes on to say that "if a lesser singer was at the mic, the sheer implausibility of the lyric would be nakedly evident, but Jackson will have you looking in the classified section, expecting the chorus to be there."
CountryUniverse.net
Review by Kevin John Coyne
Music video
The music video was directed by Bing Sokolsky and premiered in mid-1990.
Peak chart positions
Year-end charts
References
{{Alan Jackson singles
1990 singles
Alan Jackson songs
Songs written by Alan Jackson
Songs written by Charlie Craig
Song recordings produced by Keith Stegall
Song recordings produced by Scott Hendricks
Arista Nashville singles
1990 songs