American Ride (song)
"American Ride" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Toby Keith | ||||
from the album American Ride | ||||
Released | July 28, 2009 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 2:49 3:27 (remix) | |||
Label | Show Dog Nashville | |||
Songwriter(s) | Dave Pahanish Joe West | |||
Producer(s) | Toby Keith | |||
Toby Keith singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"American Ride" at CMT.com |
"American Ride" is a song written by Joe West and Dave Pahanish and recorded by American country music artist Toby Keith. It was released in July 2009 as the first single and title track from Keith's 2009 album of the same name, and was the only track from the album that he did not have a hand in writing. The song became Keith's 19th number one hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of October 10, 2009. A remix of this song was featured on his fourth greatest hits album, Greatest Hits: The Show Dog Years in 2019.
Content
The song is an up-tempo song in which the narrator lists off various politically oriented issues in the
Dave Pahanish and Joe West, the writers, had originally titled the song "American Life" when they submitted the demo to Keith.[2] Pahanish and West talked about "the funny, but irritating, things in life that really tick people off." Keith also had the song on his iPod a year before recording it.[2]
Critical reception
The song has received mixed reviews from music critics. Dan Milliken of Country Universe said that the intro sounded like a "
Music video
The song's music video debuted on the television network CMT on August 13, 2009. Directed by
The song's reference to Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants and the common misconception that the lawsuit was frivolous led to a clip of the music video being used in an episode of Adam Ruins Everything which deals with the case.[8][9]
Chart performance
"American Ride" debuted at number 38 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of July 18, 2009, and reached number one the week of October 10, becoming Keith's 19th number one hit.
Chart (2009) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada | 37 |
Swedish Singles Chart[17] | 60 |
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[11] | 1 |
US Billboard Hot 100[18] | 35 |
Year-end charts
Chart (2009) | Position |
---|---|
US Country Songs (Billboard)[19] | 22 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[20] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ a b c Paxman, Bob; Larry Holden (October 12, 2009). "This American Ride: Toby Keith lays it on the line about his controversial new single, the good and bad of American life and his agony over the death of a friend". Country Weekly. 16 (35): 34–38.
- ^ a b Horner, Marianne (November 9, 2009). "Story Behind the Song: Hit Filled with Ticked-Off Moments". Country Weekly. 16 (39): 22.
- ^ Dan Milliken (July 10, 2009). "Toby Keith – "American Ride"". Country Universe. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
- ^ Gottlieb, Jed (July 23, 2009). "Alpha Dog: Country singer Toby Keith exceeds expectations". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Review: American Ride". Allmusic. Retrieved October 4, 2009.
- CMT. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
- ^ Roland, Tom (October 9, 2009). "Toby Keith on quite the ride". Great American Country. Archived from the original on October 12, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
- ^ Conover, Adam (December 14, 2016). "The Truth About the McDonald's Coffee Lawsuit". CollegeHumor. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
- ^ Lopez, German (December 16, 2016). "What a lot of people get wrong about the infamous 1994 McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit". Vox.com. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
- ^ "Hot Country Songs: July 18, 2009". Billboard. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- ^ a b "Toby Keith Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ "The Hot 100: August 15, 2009". Billboard. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- ^ "The Hot 100: October 24, 2009". Billboard. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- ^ "American Ride (song) by Toby Keith". aCharts.co. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- ^ "Sweden Singles Top 100 (November 26, 2009)". aCharts.co. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- ^ "Toby Keith Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard.
- ^ Swedish Singles Chart – Sverigetopplistan Archived June 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Toby Keith Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ "Best of 2009: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
- ^ "American single certifications – Toby Keith – American Ride". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 3, 2023.