Chicken Fried

"Chicken Fried"
Single by Zac Brown Band
from the album The Foundation
Released	June 16, 2008 (2008-06-16)
Format	CD single, music download
Genre	Country
Length	3:59 (album version)
Label	Live Nation/Home Grown/Atlantic
Writer(s)	Zac Brown Wyatt Durette
Producer	Zac Brown Keith Stegall
Certification	Gold (Music Canada) 2× Platinum (RIAA)
Zac Brown Band singles chronology
"Chicken Fried" (2008) "Whatever It Is" (2009)
Music video "Chicken Fried" on YouTube

"Chicken Fried" is the title of a song which has been recorded by two different bands. The first version was recorded in 2003 by the Zac Brown Band, whose frontman Zac Brown wrote it, for the 2005 album Home Grown. A second version was then released in 2006 by The Lost Trailers, whose version was released as a single but withdrawn from radio. Two years later, the Zac Brown Band re-recorded the song and released it as the first single from their album The Foundation. In late 2008, it became their first chart single, as well as their first number-one hit on the Billboard country charts. The Zac Brown Band version was also featured in the 2008 movie Witless Protection, starring Larry the Cable Guy.

History

Brown began co-writing "Chicken Fried" with Wyatt Durrette several years before the song's release. The two met when Brown was playing at a tavern in Atlanta, Georgia. According to Country Weekly magazine, Brown had already started the song, when he and Durrette began listing off "things that are very southern or characteristic of the South to put into this song."^[1] The song was completed gradually over several years. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Brown decided to add the third verse, which has a patriotic theme ("I thank God for my life / For the stars and stripes…").^[1] Although he had already begun performing the song, he still considered it unfinished until he added a line to the second verse.^[1]

The Zac Brown Band first recorded "Chicken Fried" in 2003 and later included this version on their self-released 2005 album Home Grown.^[2] Later on, in 2006, The Lost Trailers covered the song as their first release for the BNA Records label. Although The Lost Trailers' version had entered the country charts, it was soon withdrawn from radio and replaced with "Call Me Crazy", as Brown had changed his mind about licensing the song to BNA.^[3] "Call Me Crazy" then went on to peak at #43 in mid-2006.

In 2008, the Zac Brown Band re-recorded "Chicken Fried" for their fourth album, The Foundation, which Keith Stegall produced.^[2] This re-recording was then released in mid-2008 as the band's first single, reaching Number One on the country charts in late 2008.

Chart performance

The Lost Trailers' version of the song reached as high as #52 on the Hot Country Songs chart in 2006 before being withdrawn as a single. The Zac Brown Band's version made its debut at #59 on the same chart for the week of June 28, 2008, peaking at #1 on the chart week of December 6. This song also made the Zac Brown Band the first country music group to reach Number One with a debut single since Heartland's 2006 Number One hit "I Loved Her First".^[4]

The Lost Trailers version

Chart (2006)	Peak position
US Country Songs (Billboard)[5]	52

Zac Brown Band version

Chart (2008-2009)	Peak position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[6]	52
US Billboard Hot 100[7]	20
US Country Songs (Billboard)[8]	1

Preceded by "Love Story" by Taylor Swift

Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one single December 6-December 13, 2008

Succeeded by "Roll with Me" by Montgomery Gentry

Sales and certifications

Country	Provider	Certification	Sales
Canada	Music Canada	Gold [9]	40,000+
United States	RIAA	2× Platinum [10]	2,000,000+

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Conaway, Alanna (2009-02-09). "Story Behind the Song: Making the South Universal". Country Weekly 16 (3): 14. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Wynn, Ron (2008-08-01). "Short Takes". Nashville City Paper. http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=61807. Retrieved 2008-10-08. 
3. ^ Tucker, Ken (2006-03-15). "BNA Forced To Swap Trailers' Single". Radio Monitor. http://www.allbusiness.com/services/motion-pictures/4477828-1.html. Retrieved 2008-10-08. 
4. ^ "Beyonce's 'Fierce' Debut Leads Pre-Turkey Day Chart". Billboard. 2008-11-26. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/charts/chart_alert/e3iac81cb9ace3320f8be5a577c0bd8f3ef. Retrieved 2008-11-27. 
5. ^ "The Lost Trailers Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Country Songs for The Lost Trailers. Prometheus Global Media.
6. ^ "Zac Brown Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for Zac Brown. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
7. ^ "Zac Brown Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Zac Brown. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
8. ^ "Zac Brown Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Country Songs for Zac Brown. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
9. ^ "Canadian digital certifications – Zac Brown Band – Chicken Fried". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=Chicken+Fried&sa=Zac+Brown+Band&smt=0. 
10. ^ RIAA Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - "Chicken Fried". Retrieved January 28, 2010.