"Bob That Head" is a song written by

Gary LeVox Gary LeVox (born Gary Wayne Vernon Jr., July 10, 1970) is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for being the lead vocalist of the contemporary country music band Rascal Flatts, and his stage name was taken from the studio-console l ...

Neil Thrasher Joe Neil Thrasher Jr. (born July 13, 1965) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1995 and 1997, he and Kelly Shiver comprised the duo Thrasher Shiver, which recorded a studio album for Asylum Records in 1996 and charted ...

, and Michael Dulaney and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

group

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American Country music, country music band formed in 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background voc ...

. It was released in July 2008 as the fourth single from their album ''

Still Feels Good ''Still Feels Good'' is the fifth studio album by American country music group Rascal Flatts. It was released September 25, 2007 as their fifth album for Lyric Street Records. The album sold 2,192,000 copies in the United States up to May 2009 an ...

''. With a peak of number 15 in late 2008, the song became their first single not to reach Top 10.

Content

The song is an up-tempo

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

-influenced song, accompanied by

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

, describing a male character who has saved up for expensive stereo equipment to place in his truck, so he can drive around town and "bob that head every Friday night" while playing his music loudly. The verses are largely spoken-word. Rascal Flatts debuted the song in April 2008 at the CMT Music Awards. Before the performance, the group held a contest, asking for fans to submit videos of themselves "bobbing their heads" while singing the song's chorus. Videos were then selected from those submitted, and aired on video monitors behind the group as they performed the song at the awards show. Rascal Flatts also named its 2008 tour the Bob That Head Tour.

Critical reception

Singer

Billy Joe Shaver Billy Joe Shaver (August 16, 1939 – October 28, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. Billy Joe was a prominent figure in the outlaw country genre. He is considered one of the great American songwriters of his generation. He has recei ...

, in an interview for Engine 145, stated that the song's title reminded him of an act of

fellatio Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act consisting of the stimulation of a human penis, penis by using the mouth. Oral stimulation of the scrotum may also be termed ''fellat ...

. In his review of the album, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' reviewer Rob Sheffield said of the song, "don't get the wrong idea from that title — it's a song about a truck". Ken Tucker of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' said that the song "is likely to become a Friday night cruising favorite".

Music video

The music video for "Bob That Head" was directed by Shaun Silva, and was created from assorted clips shot by fans at two performances in 2008 during the Bob that Head tour. Fans were given "fan cams" and pulled up on stage to shoot the videos. The video made its debut on October 9, 2008, after the single had peaked and after the release of their next single, "

Here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...

Chart performance

"Bob That Head" reached its peak position at number 15 on the ''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

charts for the week of September 13, 2008. It became the first official country single of Rascal Flatts' career to miss the Top Ten on the country charts. It is also the first single of their career not to enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts, although it peaked at number 2 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

References

External links

Lyrics
at CMT {{authority control 2008 singles 2007 songs Rascal Flatts songs Songs written by Gary LeVox Songs written by Neil Thrasher Music videos directed by Shaun Silva Song recordings produced by Dann Huff Lyric Street Records singles Songs written by Michael Dulaney