"Break Down Here"… and Here, Too
I was always a big fan of Julie Roberts, right from the get-go. She was cute, sweet and likeable. But she also had a badass edge to her voice that gave her music a little less perk and a lot more depth. Like on "Break Down Here." What a song that was: "Everything I own's in the back in a Hefty bag/I'm out of cigarettes and I'm down to my last drag." Sounds pretty desperate coming from her. But it sounds just as haunting coming from the tall drink of water that is Trace Adkins.
His version was on Comin' On Strong in 2003 and called "I'd Sure Hate to Break Down Here." (Even though we know for a fact that occasionally Adkins does break down here.) And for some reason, I never put it together that Roberts was signing an old Adkins song when she released it on her debut album in 2004. That's probably because his version was never released as a single, so there was never that déjà vu moment where you're hearing an old song become new again.
It's happened before with "Chicken Fried." The Lost Trailers recorded that before Zac Brown Band did it. Tim McGraw was doing "Let's Get Drunk and Fight" in concert for a while before Joe Nichols got a hold of it and recorded it. Josh Gracin released "Telluride" as a single in 2008, long after McGraw put his version out there on his Set This Circus Down album in 2001.
This makes me wonder if artists sift through the unreleased catalogs of big stars and see what songs they should record for themselves. Are there any other examples you can think of that I might have missed?
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Justin says:
There are tons of these. One example is “My Love Will Follow You.” Brooks & Dunn did it, and then Dierks Bentley had it on his debut album. Recently I ran across an unmixed version of “So Not My Baby,” by Blake Shelton. Josh Turner had it on his most recent album.
Muzikal says:
Both Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean put “Asphalt Cowboy” on their albums. And long before Rascal Flatts had “What Hurts the Most”, Mark Wills recorded it, and his version still gets radio play!
Joe says:
Even Rascall Flatts Bless the Broken Road was recorded by 7 different artits even Billy Ray Cyrus recorded it.
Shawn says:
I always think of how Kenny Chesney had “Some People
Change” on When the Sun Goes Down before Montgomery Gentry recorded it.
Zayn Jones says:
Blake Shelton / Gary Allan … What’s On My Mind
Kris H says:
A recent example is “The Truth” by Jason Aldean, which is on Trent Willmon’s most recent album. A lot of Trent songs actually, he also originally recorded “There is a God” that LeAnn Womack just released.
Peter says:
Mark Chesnutt recorded Friends In Love Places around the same time (I think) that Garth Brooks had it out. Also, Asleep At The Wheel cut “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”
Redmaz says:
I can’t get past Alison stating Julie Roberts badass edge to her voice. Yeah Alison I’ve been getting Roberts and Lucinda Williams voices confused for years. (sfip)
agent713 says:
“Let’s Get Drunk and Fight” was a hit single in Canada by Aaron Lines before Joe ever heard it.
How about “Some Days You Gotta Dance” by Keith Urban and Dixie Chicks. I still can’t decide which version I like best.
dierksfan says:
And I call myself a die-hard Dierks fan! hmmpf! Thanks to Justin I just learned one of my all time fav DB songs “My Love Will Follow You” written by Buddy & Julie Miller was actually recorded by B&D first? Noooooo! Say it isn’t so! OK maybe so, but Dierks’ version is still my favorite!