Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven

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"Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven"
Single by Kenny Chesney with The Wailers
from the album Lucky Old Sun
Released August 11, 2008 (2008-08-11)[1]
Format CD single
Genre Country
Length 4:17 (album version)
2:40 (radio edit)
Label Blue Chair/BNA
Writer(s) Jim Collins, Marty Dodson
Producer(s) Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney
Kenny Chesney chronology
"Better as a Memory"
(2008)		 "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven"
(2008)		 "Down the Road"
(2008)
Music video
"Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" on YouTube

"Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" is a country music song co-written by American songwriters Jim Collins and Marty Dodson. The song was initially to have been recorded by singer George Strait for his 2008 album Troubadour, but after Strait decided not to include the song on this album, it was recorded by Kenny Chesney instead. Released in August 2008, Chesney's rendition is his thirty-eighth Top 40 country hit and his fifteenth Number One hit. Chesney's version is the first single from his album Lucky Old Sun, which was released on his own Blue Chair label in association with BNA Records.

The song is part of the tracklist for Now That's What I Call Country Volume 2.

History and content

"Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" was co-written by Marty Dodson and Jim Collins, the latter of whom has previously co-written two other singles for Chesney: "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" from late 1999-early 2000, and "The Good Stuff" from mid-2002.[2] Initially, George Strait had recorded the song for his 2008 album Troubadour.[3] Although Strait's version did not make the album's final cut, he nonetheless made his own rendition available as a digital download.[4] Chesney then recorded his own version of the song, and released it as the first single from his studio album Lucky Old Sun, his first project for his personal Blue Chair label (in association with BNA Records, the label to which he has been signed since 1995).[5]

Chesney's rendition of the song is a mid-tempo, set in a calypso orchestration[2] with a slight reggae feel, and is backed by the The Wailers, who also sing the final chorus on the album version. Its lyrics find the narrator detailing his life to a preacher who has told him to forgo a lifestyle of drinking alcohol and pursuing sexual desires, in favor of a more religious-oriented style.[6] In the chorus, the narrator responds with "Everybody wants to go to heaven / But nobody wants to go now".

Reception

Matt C., a reviewer for the country music blog Engine 145, gave "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" a "thumbs down" rating. Although his review makes note of the song's "carefree sentiment that characterizes standards like 'Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young'", he considered the calypso orchestration "patently offensive".[3]

Alison Bonaguro, who contributes to the blog for the television network CMT, gave the song a more positive review. Although she referred to the instrumentation as "not-so-country", she described the song's sentiment favorably, comparing it to Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying", but without a "preachy feel".[6]

Kevin John Coyne, reviewing the song for Country Universe, gave it a B rating. He said the only problem with the song is the production. He went on to say "the calypso trimmings used to be a distinctive trademark of Kenny Chesney records, but by now, they’re a crutch." [7]

Music video

In August 2008, Chesney traveled to Jamaica to film the song's music video. The Wailers are featured in the video as well.[8]

Charts

"Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" debuted at number 22 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated for the week of August 16, 2008.[9] For the chart week of October 18, 2008, it has become his fifteenth Number One hit. The next week, its second and final week at Number One, the song was credited as "Kenny Chesney with The Wailers". Prior to this, it had been credited to Chesney alone.

Chart (2008) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[10] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 41
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[12] 49

Year-end charts

Chart (2008) Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)[13] 15
Preceded by Billboard Hot Country Songs
number-one single
October 18-October 25, 2008		 Succeeded by
"She Never Cried in Front of Me"
by Toby Keith

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[14] Gold 500,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Song charted before its announced release date.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  10. ↑ "Kenny Chesney – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Kenny Chesney.
  11. ↑ "Kenny Chesney – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Kenny Chesney.
  12. ↑ "Kenny Chesney – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Kenny Chesney.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links

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