"I Love This Bar" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Toby Keith. It was released in August 2003 as the first single from his 2003 album Shock'n Y'all. The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, keeping the top spot for five weeks. Keith wrote this song with Scotty Emerick.
| "I Love This Bar" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Toby Keith | ||||
| from the album Shock'n Y'all | ||||
| B-side | "I Love This Bar" (album version)[1] | |||
| Released | August 2003 | |||
| Recorded | 2003 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length |
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| Label | DreamWorks Nashville | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| Toby Keith singles chronology | ||||
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The song's title inspired a chain of restaurants owned by Keith named Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill.
Content
editThe narrator describes his favorite bar and the people who frequent it.
Critical reception
editRay Waddell, of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, calling it a "beer-joint staple for years to come.""[2]
In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at #98 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.[3]
Music video
editThe video for this song was filmed at a bar in Chatsworth, California called The Cowboy Palace Saloon. It was directed by Michael Salomon, and premiered on CMT on August 21, 2003.
Chart performance
edit"I Love This Bar" debuted at number 30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of August 30, 2003. The song has sold 1,033,000 copies in the U.S. as of April 2014.[4]
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[5] | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[6] | 26 |
Year-end charts
edit| Chart (2003) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Country Songs (Billboard)[7] | 44 |
| Chart (2004) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Country Songs (Billboard)[8] | 52 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[9] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Covers
editIn 2006, this song was covered by Sammy Hagar for his album Livin' It Up!.
"I Love NASCAR"
editOn his 2004 album Bipolar and Proud, country music parodist Cledus T. Judd recorded a parody titled "I Love NASCAR". This parody peaked at number 48 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Although the song featured a guest vocal from Keith, he did not receive chart credit for it.[10]
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 48 |
References
edit- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. pp. 219–220. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
- ^ Billboard, November 15, 2003
- ^ "The 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. May 24, 2014.
- ^ Grein, Paul (April 16, 2014). "Chart Watch: "Happy" tops 4M". Yahoo! Music. Yahoo!.
- ^ "Toby Keith Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Toby Keith Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Best of 2003: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2003. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
- ^ "Best of 2004: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2004. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
- ^ "American single certifications – Toby Keith – I Love This Bar". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- ^ Whitburn, p. 217