Baby Girl
Encyclopedia
"Baby Girl" is the debut single of American
country music group Sugarland. Released in July 2004, the single reached a peak position of #2 on the Billboard
Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs
) charts in April 2005. The song spent a total of 46 weeks on the country music charts, setting a new record for the longest chart run since the inception of Nielsen SoundScan
digital chart tabulation in 1990. In addition, "Baby Girl" became the highest-peaking debut single for a country music group in 14 years.
in 1990, spending 46 weeks on the charts. Joel Whitburn
's book Hot Country Songs 1944-2008 contradicts this record, citing Gary Allan
's "Right Where I Need to Be
" as the record-holder for this era with a 48-week run. In the same book, "Baby Girl" is tied with Diamond Rio
's 2002 single "Beautiful Mess
" and Carrie Underwood
's "Before He Cheats
" as the second-longest chart run in this era, Underwood's chart run having come in 2006 and 2007.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country music group Sugarland. Released in July 2004, the single reached a peak position of #2 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
) charts in April 2005. The song spent a total of 46 weeks on the country music charts, setting a new record for the longest chart run since the inception of Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
digital chart tabulation in 1990. In addition, "Baby Girl" became the highest-peaking debut single for a country music group in 14 years.
Content
In a 2010 interview with Songfacts, Nettles stated that the song was autobiographical. She added: "It was not only autobiographical, but it was also a self-fulfilling prophecy in the sense that it was the first single, and it manifested itself in a way of showing that success. And granted, every artist – every person, really – can relate to having a dream and wanting to go after it, and wanting to make your folks proud, and having that be part of the joy of it. I know that for me, definitely a big part of the joy of my success is being able to share that enjoyment and that excitement with my family. And they're so proud. I love the story of that song and how it unfolded and how art definitely imitated life in that sense."Chart performance
"Baby Girl" entered the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart at number 56 on the chart week of July 24, 2004. The single reached its peak position of number 2 on the chart week of April 2, 2005, a position that it held for two weeks. "Baby Girl" became the highest-charting debut single for a country group since 1991. It also set a new record for the longest chart run since the inception of Nielsen SoundScanNielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
in 1990, spending 46 weeks on the charts. Joel Whitburn
Joel Whitburn
Joel Carver Whitburn is an American author and music historian.Whitburn founded Record Research Inc. in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, in 1970, and put together a team of researchers to examine in detail all of Billboards music and video charts...
's book Hot Country Songs 1944-2008 contradicts this record, citing Gary Allan
Gary Allan
Gary Allan Herzberg is an American country music artist, known professionally as Gary Allan.Signed to Decca Records in 1996, Allan made his debut on the United States country music scene with the release of his single "Her Man", the lead-off to his gold-certified debut album Used Heart for Sale,...
's "Right Where I Need to Be
Right Where I Need to Be
"Right Where I Need to Be" is a song written by Casey Beathard and Kendell Marvel and recorded by country music artist Gary Allan. It is the last single released from his 1999 album Smoke Rings in the Dark. It reached #5 in June 2001, thus becoming his first top 5 hit, as well as his third top 10 hit...
" as the record-holder for this era with a 48-week run. In the same book, "Baby Girl" is tied with Diamond Rio
Diamond Rio
Diamond Rio is an American Country music/Christian music band formed in 1984 in Nashville, Tennessee. Since its foundation, the group has comprised the same six members: Gene Johnson , Jimmy Olander , Brian Prout , Marty Roe , Dan Truman , and Dana Williams...
's 2002 single "Beautiful Mess
Beautiful Mess
"Beautiful Mess" is the title of a song recorded by the American country music band Diamond Rio. It was co-written by Shane Minor, Clay Mills, and former Exile member Sonny LeMaire, and was the first single from Diamond Rio's 2002 studio album Completely...
" and Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...
's "Before He Cheats
Before He Cheats
"Before He Cheats" is a song written by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear and the third wide-release single from Carrie Underwood's debut album, Some Hearts. It was the fifth release from the album overall. It was named the 2007 Single of the Year by the Country Music Association...
" as the second-longest chart run in this era, Underwood's chart run having come in 2006 and 2007.
| Chart (2004-2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
64 |
Personnel
As listed in liner notes.- Tom Bukovac – electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Brandon Bush – organ
- Kristian BushKristian BushKristian Merrill Bush is an American folk rock and country musician. From 1990 to 2001, Kristian was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim along with Andrew Hyra...
– mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, background vocals - Chad CromwellChad CromwellChad Cromwell is an American drummer, best known for his work with Neil Young and with Mark Knopfler.- Personal life :Cromwell was born in Paducah, Kentucky, and three years later moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee...
– drums - Dan Dugmore – electric guitar, pedal steel guitarPedal steel guitarThe pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
, lap steel guitarLap steel guitarThe lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, an instrument derived from and similar to the guitar. The player changes pitch by pressing a metal or glass bar against the strings instead of by pressing strings against the fingerboard.... - Kristen HallKristen HallKristen Alyson Hall is an American folk rock singer/songwriter. In 2002, she was a founding member of the country music group Sugarland. She left the group in December 2005.-Lawsuit:...
– acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, background vocals - Greg Morrow – tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
- Jennifer NettlesJennifer NettlesJennifer Nettles is an American country music artist. She is known primarily for her role as lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush. Before Sugarland's inception, she also fronted Atlanta, Georgia-based bands called Soul Miner's Daughter and Jennifer Nettles Band...
– lead vocals, background vocals - Glenn WorfGlenn WorfGlenn Worf is one of the premier Nashville session bassists. He was born in Dayton, Ohio but grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and has concentrated on the bass guitar since he was thirteen. He majored in music at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. Inevitably his talents forced him to abandon the...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....