Rocky Top by lazarus57

lazarus57 - Rocky Top

lazarus57

Feb 28, 2025 10:19am

THE DIAMOND CLUB - FEBRUARY EDITION<img src="https://singsnap-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/message-board/threads/RNBJ/fffdfafa95_759O_media.gif"> "Rocky Top" is an American <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_music" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">country</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluegrass_music" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">bluegrass</a> song written by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felice_and_Boudleaux_Bryant" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Felice and Boudleaux Bryant</a> in 1967 and first recorded by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_Brothers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Osborne Brothers</a> later that same year. The song, which is a city dweller's lamentation over the loss of a simpler and freer existence in the hills of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tennessee</a>, is one of Tennessee's eleven official <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_song" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">state songs</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top#cite_note-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[1]</a> and has been recorded by dozens of artists from multiple musical genres worldwide since its publication. In U.S. college athletics, "Rocky Top" is associated with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Volunteers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tennessee Volunteers</a> of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Tennessee" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">University of Tennessee</a> (UT), whose <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_of_the_Southland_Band" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pride of the Southland Band</a> has played a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marching_band" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">marching band</a> version of the song at the school's sporting events since the early 1970s.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top#cite_note-williams-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[2]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top#cite_note-3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[3]</a>The Osborne Brothers' 1967 bluegrass version of the song reached No. 33 on the U.S. Country charts, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Anderson" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lynn Anderson</a>'s 1970 version peaked at No. 17 on the U.S. Country charts and No. 33 in Canada.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top#cite_note-4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[4]</a> In 2005, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Atlanta_Journal-Constitution" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</a> ranked "Rocky Top" number seven on its list of 100 Songs of the South.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top#cite_note-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[5]</a>Background[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rocky_Top&action=edit&section=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">edit</a>]"Rocky Top" was written by married songwriting duo Boudleaux Bryant (1920–1987) and Felice Bryant (1925–2003) in 1967. At the time, the Bryants were working at The Gatlinburg Inn in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatlinburg,_Tennessee" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gatlinburg, Tennessee</a> on a collection of slow-tempo songs for a project for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Campbell_(comedian)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Archie Campbell</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chet_Atkins" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chet Atkins</a>. Writing the fast-paced "Rocky Top," which took 15 minutes, served as a temporary diversion for them.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top#cite_note-williams-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[2]</a>While the song became a staple of the Osborne Brothers concerts in the late 1960s, the song did not achieve mass popularity until the early 1970s, when Lynn Anderson's version reached number seventeen on the Billboard Country Top 100. In 1972, UT's Pride of the Southland Band first played the song as part of one of its drills, the idea and arrangement being primarily the work of band arranger Barry MacDonald. The song was deemed popular enough to be played at a halftime country music show by guest saxophone soloist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_Randolph" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Boots Randolph</a> at a game in Knoxville against Alabama on October 21, 1972, gaining fans' attention. Randolph reprised his jazzy "Rocky Top" solo when Tennessee played LSU on New Year's Eve, 1972 in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl at the Houston Astrodome. UT recognized the song's appeal and the band started playing Rocky Top at every game.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top#cite_note-6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[6]</a> Long-term band director W.J. Julian stated that if Rocky Top was ever not played, then there would be a mutiny among Vol fans, reflecting the song's deep-rooted foundation in UT sports.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top#cite_note-7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[7]</a>The song was officially adopted as the fifth Tennessee state song in 1982, passing in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_House_of_Representatives" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tennessee House of Representatives</a> in a unanimous 97–0 vote and in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Senate" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tennessee Senate</a> with a 30–1 vote.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top#cite_note-8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[8]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top#cite_note-9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[9]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top#cite_note-10" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[10]</a> In the 1970s, the song achieved such popularity among bar crowds that the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_Hill,_North_Carolina" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chapel Hill, North Carolina</a>–based <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old-time_music" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">old-time</a> band the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Clay_Ramblers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Red Clay Ramblers</a>' national tours included a crowd-pleasing satire informally titled "Play 'Rocky Top' (or I'll Punch Your Lights Out.)"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top#cite_note-11" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[11]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top#cite_note-12" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[12]</a> The Bryants' children currently own the rights to the song under the corporate name "House of Bryant."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top#cite_note-13" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[13]</a> <img src="https://i.imgur.com/R60B54j.gif"> <img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/06FB8_wh8qE/hqdefault.jpg" alt="Osborne Brothers -- Rocky Top (LIVE) - YouTube">