"He Didn't Have to Be" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Brad Paisley Brad Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His first success came in 1997 as the writer of David Kersh's "Another You (David Kersh song), Another You". After this, he signed with ...

. It was released in August 1999 as the second single from his debut album, '' Who Needs Pictures''. In December 1999, it became his first number one single, holding the top spot for one week.

Background

The song was based on Paisley's frequent co-writer and best friend,

Kelley Lovelace John Kelley Lovelace is an American songwriter known mainly for his work with country 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" ...

's stepson McCain Merren, who attended the 2000

ACM 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 academy ...

as Paisley's guest. According to Lovelace, Paisley said to him, "Let's make a song about you two that will make your wife cry."

Content

This song is written from the perspective of a son of a single mother. The single mother begins dating a new man who almost immediately includes the child in things like going to the movies. In the final verse, the son now is about ready to become a father himself, standing in the hospital next to his stepfather and hoping that he can be "at least half the dad" that his stepfather "didn't have to be." This song is set in the key of

A major A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The A major scale is: Changes needed for the ...

common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

, and has a vocal range from A3 to D5.

Music video

The music video was directed by

Deaton Flanigen Deaton-Flanigen Productions is an American film company based in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., headed by Robert Deaton. The company has between 10 and 50 employees. Overview The company was named after the surnames of founders Robert Deaton III ...

and premiered on August 17, 1999 on CMT.

Chart performance

"He Didn't Have to Be" debuted at number 72 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs for the week of September 4, 1999. "He Didn't Have to Be" spent 30 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs, peaking at number one in December 1999 and holding that position for one week.

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:He Didn't Have To Be 1999 singles 1999 songs 1990s ballads Arista Nashville singles Brad Paisley songs Country ballads Music videos directed by Deaton-Flanigen Productions Song recordings produced by Frank Rogers (record producer) Songs about fathers Songs written by Brad Paisley Songs written by Kelley Lovelace