''I'll Stay Me'' is the debut studio album 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

Luke Bryan Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television personality. Bryan is a five-time "Entertainer of the Year", being awarded by both the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Count ...

. The album was released on August 14, 2007 by

Capitol Records Nashville Capitol Records Nashville is a major United States–based record label located in Nashville, Tennessee, operating as part of the Music Corporation of America. From 1991 to 1995, Capitol Nashville was known as Liberty Records. While under the ...

. The album produced three singles with "

All My Friends Say "All My Friends Say" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Luke Bryan. It originally appeared on his 2006 self-titled EP, and was released in January 2007 as his debut single and the first for his 2007 debut album '' I ...

", " We Rode in Trucks", and " Country Man". The album has been certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA).

Content

Prior to signing with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

as a recording artist, Luke Bryan co-wrote

Billy Currington William Matthew Currington (born November 19, 1973) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Universal Music Group Nashville, Mercury Records Nashville in 2003, he has released seven studio albums for the label: his Billy Cur ...

's late 2006-early 2007 single " Good Directions". Bryan made his debut as a singer with the single "

". Released in 2007, it peaked at number five 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 advertis ...

'' country music charts. Bryan co-wrote the song with

Lonnie Wilson Lonnie Wilson is an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer, known primarily for his work in country music. Life and career Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Wilson was originally the lead singer of the band Bandana, which charted ten single ...

and Jeff Stevens, the latter of whom also produced the album. Following as singles were " We Rode in Trucks" and " Country Man". "We Rode in Trucks" is Bryan's lowest-charting single, reaching number 33 on Hot Country Songs. "Country Man" peaked at number ten.

Critical reception

Thom Jurek of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

rated the album three stars out of five, stating that "Despite the calculating, swing for the fences nature of Bryan's debut, he is genuinely gifted, and executes nearly flawlessly." Michael Sudhalter of

Country Standard Time ''Country Standard Time'' is a website dedicated to country music and related genres including Americana, bluegrass and rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1993 by Jeffrey B. Remz as ...

gave the album a mostly positive review, stating that Bryan "proves his versatility on an album that combines twangy vocals and fiddles with catchy melodies."

Track listing

Personnel

* Luke Bryan – lead vocals *

John Barlow Jarvis John Barlow Jarvis (born January 2, 1954, in Pasadena, California)Paul Kingsbury, editor"The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music" 2004 is an American songwriter, composer, session pianist and recording artist. Before mo ...

– acoustic piano,

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

Gordon Mote Gordon James Mote (born October 25, 1970) is an American Christian country/ southern gospel singer, piano player, and worship leader. He was born blind. He has released eight studio albums. His album ''Don't Let Me Miss the Glory'' (2007) was hi ...

– acoustic piano, organ * Mike Rojas – acoustic piano,

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...

, organ * J. T. Corenflos – electric guitars,

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Sche ...

* Jeff King – electric guitars * B. James Lowry – acoustic guitars * Mike Johnson –

dobro Dobro () is an American brand of resonator guitars owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally a gui ...

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

Mike Brignardello Giant is an American melodic rock band that was formed in 1987. The band originally consisted of founding members Dann Huff (lead vocals and guitar) and Alan Pasqua (keyboard), and had Dann's brother David Huff on drums and Mike Brignardello o ...

– bass guitar, tic tac bass *

Paul Leim Paul William Leim (born December 29, 1950) is an American drummer and recording session musician based in Nashville. Biography Leim was born in Port Huron, Michigan and raised in Troup, Texas. He was inspired to take up drumming as a child a ...

– drums, percussion * Joe Spivey –

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

* Russell Terrell – backing vocals

Production

* Jeff Stevens – producer * Herb Tassin – recording, mixing * Jay Fenstermaker – recording assistant, mix assistant * Bryan Graban – recording assistant, mix assistant * Taylor Pollert – recording assistant, mix assistant * Jim DeMain – mastering at Yes Master (Nashville, Tennessee) * Scott Johnson – production assistant * Joanna Carter – art direction * Lee Wright – design * Denise Arguijo – art production * Michelle Hall – art production * Colourworks – digital imaging * Jeremy Cowart – photography * Michelle Babbitt – hair, make-up * Lee Moore – stylist * Kerri Edwards and Greg Hill at Red Light Management – management

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2007 debut albums Capitol Records Nashville albums Luke Bryan albums