''The Foundation'' is the first major-label studio album 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, ...

band

Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini ( fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukul ...

. It was released on November 18, 2008. Originally slated for release on the Home Grown label and Big Picture Records, the album is distributed by Atlantic Nashville in association with those two labels. The financing for the album was provided by Atlanta, GA entrepreneur Braden Copeland through his investment company Braden Copeland Ventures, LLC. On December 2, 2009, the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Album. and also earned the band the

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 pr ...

for Best New Artist on January 31. The album also has been nominated for the 2010

Academy of Country Music Awards The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The academ ...

"Album of the Year" award. As of September 2015, the album has sold 3.4 million copies in the US.

Content

The album includes five

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, starting with "

Chicken Fried "Chicken Fried" is a song by American country music group Zac Brown Band, which frontman Zac Brown co-wrote with Wyatt Durrette. The song was first recorded in 2003 for the 2005 album ''Home Grown''. A second version was then released in 2006 by ...

," which the band had previously recorded on its 2005 self-released album ''Home Grown''. One year later, The Lost Trailers released this song as a single on BNA Records, but the label withdrew the single after Brown changed his mind about licensing the song. The Zac Brown Band's rendition became a Number One country hit 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 adverti ...

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 sa ...

charts in December 2008. Four further singles were released from the album – "

Whatever It Is "Whatever It Is" a song recorded by Zac Brown Band, an American country music group. It is the second single release from the 2008 album '' The Foundation'' and the band's second Top 3 hit on the ''Billboard'' country singles charts. The song is ...

," "

Toes Toes are the digits (fingers) of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plan ...

," "

Highway 20 Ride "Highway 20 Ride" is a song recorded by American country music group Zac Brown Band, written by lead singer Zac Brown and Wyatt Durrette. The song was released in November 2009 as the fourth single from the band's 2009 album '' The Foundation'' ...

" and " Free" – the latter three of which were also Number One hits. Additionally, "Different Kind of Fine" also entered the chart as an album cut from unsolicited airplay, where it reached number 55.

Track listing

Personnel

* Zac Brown – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, background vocals * Jimmy De Martini –

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, the ...

, background vocals * Greenwood Hart – keyboards, Hammond B-3 organ, accordion * John Driskell Hopkins – bass guitar, background vocals, second lead vocals on "It's Not OK" * Brent Mason – electric guitar * Marcus Petruska – drums, percussion, background vocals * Gary Prim – keyboards, Hammond B-3 organ * Joel Williams – electric guitar

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foundation (Zac Brown Band album) 2008 albums Zac Brown Band albums Atlantic Records albums Albums produced by Keith Stegall Bigger Picture Music Group albums