Country Boy (Ricky Skaggs song)

"Country Boy"
Single by Ricky Skaggs
from the album Country Boy
B-side	"Wheel Hoss"
Released	February 1985
Recorded	1984
Genre	Country-pop, bluegrass
Length	3:30
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	Tony Colton Albert Lee Ray Smith
Producer	Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs singles chronology
"Something in My Heart" (1984) "Country Boy" (1985) "You Make Me Feel Like a Man" (1985)

"Country Boy" is a 1985 single recorded by Ricky Skaggs and written by Tony Colton, Albert Lee, and Ray Smith of the British band Heads Hands & Feet. "Country Boy" was Ricky Skaggs' ninth number-one country music hit. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of thirteen weeks on the country chart.^[1]

Music video

The music video for "Country Boy" was set in New York City. Bill Monroe played "Uncle Pen". The video has Uncle Pen visiting Ricky in his New York City office and being upset that Ricky has shed his country ways. Ricky leads Uncle Pen through New York City's streets, sights, and subways and shows through song and dance that he's still a "country boy at heart". It was directed by Martin Kahan. The video includes cameos by Ed Koch, the then-incumbent Mayor of New York City, as a cabdriver, dancer Charlotte d'Amboise, plus actor David Keith as a disgruntled New Yorker trying to ignore the dancers.^[2] The video was one of four nominees for the first "Music Video of the Year" honor presented by the 19th Country Music Association Awards in October 1985.^[3][4] While Skaggs was named "Entertainer of the Year", the "Country Boy" video lost out to "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" by Hank Williams, Jr. and director John Goodhue.^[3]

Chart performance

Chart (1985)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1

References

1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 315. 
2. ^ Kirby, Kip (March 2, 1985). "Nashville Scene". Billboard: p. 53. http://books.google.com/books?id=WyQEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PT52&ots=fSeoO4T6q_&dq=%22country%20boy%22%20%22ed%20koch%22%20video&pg=PT52#v=onepage&q=%22country%20boy%22%20%22ed%20koch%22%20video&f=false. Retrieved July 20, 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "19th Annual CMA Awards". CMT. MTV Networks. http://www.cmt.com/microsites/cma/archives/1985.jhtml. Retrieved July 20, 2010. 
4. ^ Stambler, Irwin; Landon, Grelun; Stambler, Lyndon (November 1997). Skaggs, Ricky. St. Martin's Press. p. 441. ISBN 978-0312151218. http://books.google.com/books?id=QAPi0EaJo4wC&lpg=PA441&ots=xx3whYKyIP&dq=%22country%20boy%22%20%22ed%20koch%22%20video&pg=PA441#v=onepage&q=%22country%20boy%22%20%22ed%20koch%22%20video&f=false. Retrieved July 20, 2010. 

Preceded by "Natural High" by Merle Haggard	Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single June 15, 1985	Succeeded by "Little Things" by The Oak Ridge Boys
Preceded by "Don't Call Him a Cowboy" by Conway Twitty	RPM Country Tracks number-one single June 22, 1985	Succeeded by "She's a Miracle" by Exile