Chicken Fried

{{About|the 2008 song|fried chicken in the cuisine of the Southern United States|Fried chicken}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Chicken Fried

| cover = Chicken Fried Zac Brown Band.jpg

| alt =

| caption = "Chicken Fried" cover

| type = single

| artist = Zac Brown Band

| album = The Foundation

| released = {{Start date|2008|06|16}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Country

| length = {{ubl|3:58 {{small|(album version)}}|3:38 {{small|(radio edit)}}}}

| label = {{hlist|Live Nation|Home Grown|Atlantic}}

| writer = {{hlist|Zac Brown|Wyatt Durrette}}

| producer = {{hlist|Zac Brown|Keith Stegall}}

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title = Whatever It Is

| next_year = 2009

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|e4ujS1er1r0|"Chicken Fried"}} }}

}}

"Chicken Fried" is a song by American country music group Zac Brown Band, which frontman Zac Brown co-wrote with Wyatt Durrette. The song was first recorded in 2003 for the 2005 album Home Grown. The Lost Trailers, another country group, released their version in 2006 as a single, but it was withdrawn from radio. Two years later, the Zac Brown Band re-recorded the song and released it as the first single from their album The Foundation.

In late 2008, "Chicken Fried" became the band's first chart single, as well as their first number-one hit on the Billboard country charts. The song has also been placed at number 39 for the Taste of Country{{'}}s "Top 100 Country Songs of All Time" chart. The song was featured in the 2008 comedy film Witless Protection.

History

Brown began co-writing "Chicken Fried" with Wyatt Durrette several years before the song's release. The two met when Brown was playing at a tavern in Atlanta, Georgia. According to Country Weekly magazine, Brown had already started the song, when he and Durrette began listing off "things that are very southern or characteristic of the South to put into this song."{{cite journal |last=Conaway |first=Alanna |date=2009-02-09 |title=Story Behind the Song: Making the South Universal |journal=Country Weekly|volume=16|issue=3|pages=14}} The song was completed gradually over several years. Following the September 11 attacks, Brown decided to add the third verse, which has a patriotic theme ("I thank God for my life / For the stars and stripes…"). Although he had already begun performing the song, he still considered it unfinished until he added a line to the second verse. The patriotic theme and Southern cuisine was the band's inspiration to record this song.{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|239917324}} |last1=Watts |first1=Cindy |title=Zac Brown Band feasts on 'Chicken Fried' music |work=The Tennessean |date=4 April 2009 }}

The Zac Brown Band first recorded "Chicken Fried" in 2003 and later included this version on their self-released 2005 album Home Grown. Later on, in 2006, The Lost Trailers covered the song as their first release for the BNA Records label, with Blake Chancey serving as producer. Although The Lost Trailers' version had entered the country charts, it was soon withdrawn from radio and replaced with "Call Me Crazy", as Brown had changed his mind about licensing the song to BNA.{{cite web |url=http://www.allbusiness.com/services/motion-pictures/4477828-1.html |title= BNA Forced To Swap Trailers' Single |accessdate=2008-10-08 |last=Tucker |first=Ken |date=2006-03-15 |work=Radio Monitor}} "Call Me Crazy" then went on to peak at 43 in mid-2006. In the Nashville episode of Sonic Highways, Zac Brown explained the situation in greater detail: {{Quote|text=We had this song Chicken Fried, we put it on a CD in '05. This band, The Lost Trailers had called and said "We want to record Chicken Fried." I was like "Well, I don't have a problem with you recording the song, but this is our song. As long as you don't release it to radio, if you want to have it on your record, I'm fine with that." Then they get a record deal through Sony with this dude Joe Galante, who like, runs Nashville, basically. He said "THAT'S the single." So The first time I hear "Chicken Fried" on the radio, it wasn't us singing it. It was like, my worst nightmare. So I call my lawyer and was like "Dude, the fucking song is on the radio," and then he says ya know, "Zac, what's the deal with this?" He's like, "You could get blackballed out of Nashville forever for not letting them record the song." I was like, ya know "Fuck that, the dude told me he wouldn't fucking do it, and then he did it!" So they had to call a cease-and-desist, they pulled it off the radio. I came to Nashville to play a show at 3rd and Lindsley and there was a dude in there, they were like "You know who that is? That's the dude that's had 40 Number 1's with Alan Jackson and he's like the dude, Keith Stegall. Keith had come out to hear me play. He sat down at the table, and he's like, ya know staring down at his drink and he said "I had to meet the kid that told Joe Galante to fuck off." And that was the beginning (of our relationship and commercial success). |sign=Zac Brown}}

In 2008, the Zac Brown Band re-recorded "Chicken Fried" for their fourth album, The Foundation, which Keith Stegall produced.{{cite web |url=http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=61807 |title=Short Takes |accessdate=2008-10-08 |last=Wynn |first=Ron |date=2008-08-01 |work=Nashville City Paper |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025112110/http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=61807 |archive-date=2008-10-25 |url-status=dead }} This re-recording was then released in mid-2008 as the band's first single, reaching number one on the country charts in late 2008.

In 2009, Alan Jackson revealed that he was planning to record the song shortly before the Zac Brown Band version was released, but declined because he felt that he had too many other songs that mentioned food.{{cite web|url=http://theboot.com/alan-jackson-chickens-out/|title=ALAN JACKSON 'CHICKENS' OUT|last=Hackett|first=Vernell|date=June 26, 2009|work=The Boot|accessdate=August 1, 2018}}

On some radio stations, the lyric "Turn the radio up" was changed to say the station name or branding instead. Examples includes KNCI in Sacramento, where the lyric was changed to "KNCI up", and stations branded as The Bull, where the lyric was changed to "Turn The Bull on up".

Commercial performance

The Lost Trailers' version of the song reached as high as #52 on the Hot Country Songs chart in 2006 before being withdrawn as a single. The Zac Brown Band's version made its debut at #59 on the same chart for the week of June 28, 2008, peaking at #1 on the chart week of December 6. This song also made the Zac Brown Band the first country music group to reach number one with a debut single since Heartland's 2006 number one hit "I Loved Her First".{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/charts/chart_alert/e3iac81cb9ace3320f8be5a577c0bd8f3ef |title=Beyonce's 'Fierce' Debut Leads Pre-Turkey Day Chart |accessdate=2008-11-27 |date=2008-11-26 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=2008-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227133717/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/charts/chart_alert/e3iac81cb9ace3320f8be5a577c0bd8f3ef |url-status=dead }} The song reached 4 million in sales in the United States by October 2013.{{cite news |url=http://roughstock.com/news/2013/10/13954-country-chart-news-the-top-30-digital-singles-october-16-2013-chase-rice-debuts-2-wready-set-roll-cassadee-pope-chris-young-blake-sheltons-latest-nearly-gold/ |title=Country Chart News – The Top 30 Digital Singles – October 16, 2013: Chase Rice Debuts #2 W/'Ready Set Roll'; Cassadee Pope, Chris Young & Blake Shelton's latest Nearly Gold|author= Matt Bjorke |date= October 16, 2013|work=Roughstock }} As of July 2017, the song has sold 4,913,000 copies in the United States.{{cite news|url=http://www.defjampromo.com/files/2009/10/BB-Digital-Songs-Chart-Wk.-Ending-7-06-17.pdf|title=Nielsen SoundScan charts – Digital Songs – Week Ending: 7/6/2017|publisher=Nielsen SoundScan|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808081251/http://www.defjampromo.com/files/2009/10/BB-Digital-Songs-Chart-Wk.-Ending-7-06-17.pdf|archivedate=August 8, 2017}}

An Applebee's TV advertisement featuring the song was aired on CNN while covering Russia’s military deployment across the border of Ukraine the night of February 24, 2022, causing controversy. Applebee's eventually pulled its advertising from CNN in response to the incident.{{cite web|last=Pesce|first=Nicole Lyn|title=Applebee's says its commercial 'never should have aired' during CNN's Russia-Ukraine coverage|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/cnn-slammed-for-awkward-applebees-ad-that-aired-during-its-live-russia-ukraine-coverage-11645737347|access-date=February 25, 2022|website=MarketWatch}}{{cite web|last=Baragona|first=Justin|date=February 24, 2022|title=Ukraine Air Raid Sirens Transition to Cheesy Applebee's Jingle on CNN|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/ukraine-air-raid-sirens-on-cnn-transition-to-cheesy-applebees-jingle|access-date=February 25, 2022|website=The Daily Beast}}

Charts and certifications

=Zac Brown Band's version=

==Weekly chart==

class="wikitable sortable"

! Chart (2008–2009)

! Peak
position

{{singlechart|Billboardcanadacountry|10|artist=Zac Brown|artistid=920173|accessdate=December 12, 2021|song=|refname=}}

{{singlechart|Canada|52|artist=Zac Brown|artistid=920173|accessdate=January 28, 2011|song=|refname=}}

{{singlechart|Billboardhot100|20|artist=Zac Brown|artistid=920173|accessdate=January 28, 2011|song=|refname=}}

{{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|1|artist=Zac Brown|artistid=920173|accessdate=January 28, 2011|song=|refname=}}

==Year-end charts==

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
scope="col"\|Chart (2008) !scope="col"\|Position
US Country Songs (Billboard){{Cite magazine \| url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2008/hot-country-songs\| title=Best of 2008: Country Songs \| magazine=Billboard \| publisher=Prometheus Global Media \| date=2008\| accessdate=December 13, 2008}} \| align="center" \| 49
scope="col"\|Chart (2009) !scope="col"\|Position
scope="row"\| US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine\|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2009/hot-100-songs/\|title=Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2009\|magazine=Billboard\|date=2 January 2013\|access-date=May 13, 2022}} \| align="center" \| 81
US Country Songs (Billboard){{Cite magazine \| url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2009/hot-country-songs\| title=Best of 2009: Country Songs \| magazine=Billboard \| publisher=Prometheus Global Media \| date=2009 \| accessdate=December 13, 2009}} \| align="center" \| 60

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"

scope="col"|Chart (2008)

!scope="col"|Position

US Country Songs (Billboard){{Cite magazine | url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2008/hot-country-songs| title=Best of 2008: Country Songs | magazine=Billboard | publisher=Prometheus Global Media | date=2008| accessdate=December 13, 2008}}

| align="center" | 49

scope="col"|Chart (2009)

!scope="col"|Position

scope="row"| US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2009/hot-100-songs/|title=Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2009|magazine=Billboard|date=2 January 2013|access-date=May 13, 2022}}

| align="center" | 81

US Country Songs (Billboard){{Cite magazine | url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2009/hot-country-songs| title=Best of 2009: Country Songs | magazine=Billboard | publisher=Prometheus Global Media | date=2009 | accessdate=December 13, 2009}}

| align="center" | 60

==Sales and certifications==

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Zac Brown Band|relyear=2008|title=Chicken Fried|award=Gold|type=single|certyear=2011|digital=true}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Zac Brown Band|relyear=2009|title=Chicken Fried|award=Gold|certyear=2024|type=single|id=17398-5673-1|access-date=June 7, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Zac Brown Band|relyear=2008|title=Chicken Fried|award=Gold|certyear=2009|type=single|digital=true|note=Mastertone}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Zac Brown Band|relyear=2008|title=Chicken Fried|award=Platinum|number=9|certyear=2023|type=single|salesamount=4,913,000|salesref=}}

=The Lost Trailers version=

class="wikitable sortable"
align="left"\|Chart (2006) ! align="center"\|Peak position
{{singlechart\|Billboardcountrysongs\|52\|artist=The Lost Trailers\|artistid=601331}}

class="wikitable sortable"

align="left"|Chart (2006)

! align="center"|Peak
position

{{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|52|artist=The Lost Trailers|artistid=601331}}