"Days of Gold" is a song written by

Jaren Johnston Jaren Ray Johnston (born October 4, 1980) is an American country music and rock singer and songwriter. He is a member of the group The Cadillac Three. Career Jaren is a multiple time Grammy nominated songwriter and producer. Johnston was former ...

and Neil Mason, two-thirds of the 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

The Cadillac Three The Cadillac Three, originally known as The Cadillac Black, is an American rock band consisting of Jaren Johnston (lead vocals, guitar), Kelby Ray (lap steel guitar, bass guitar, vocals), and Neil Mason (drums, vocals). All three members were ...

, and originally recorded by them on their 2012 self-titled debut album. It was covered by American country music artist

Jake Owen Joshua Ryan Owen (born August 28, 1981), known professionally as Jake Owen, is an American country music singer. Signed to RCA Nashville in 2006, he released his debut studio album, '' Startin' with Me'', that year. This album produced three ...

. It was released in August 2013 as the first single and title track from his fourth studio album of the same name. The song, about the singer's description of a summer night, garnered positive reviews from critics. "Days of Gold" peaked at No. 15 and No. 19 on both the ''Billboard''

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since October 20, 2012, although the magazine also retrospectively recognizes the Hot Country Songs charts from January 20, 1990, through October 13, 2012, ...

and

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 respectively. It also reached No. 83 on the Hot 100 chart. The song also charted in Canada, reaching No. 28 on the

Canada Country The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart. A music video, directed by Mason Dixon, was created for the single.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of ''

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

'' gave the song four and a half stars out of five, saying that "‘Days of Gold’ isn’t a song, it’s a statement. It’s a show-closer, and if Owen’s new album comes with songs that match this authority, he’ll be soon closing shows for much larger audiences." Giving it an "A", Tammy Ragusa of ''

Country Weekly ''Country Weekly'' (known as ''Nash Country Weekly'' from 2015–16) was an American magazine about country music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site Nash Country Daily. O ...

'' said that it "has an in-your-face grit and texture that suits his natural vocal and endless energy." She also wrote that the lyrics are "less about a season and more an about an attitude" and "

ake Ake (or Aké in Spanish orthography) is an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the municipality of Tixkokob, in the Mexican state of Yucatán; 40 km (25 mi) east of Mérida, Yucatán. The n ...

a less overt approach while still staying true to a rural lifestyle."

Music video

The music video was directed by Mason Dixon and premiered in September 2013.

Chart performance

"Days of Gold" debuted at number 48 on the U.S. ''

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 ...

chart for the week of August 17, 2013, and debuted at number 37 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

chart for the week of August 24, 2013. It also debuted at number 91 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

chart for the week of October 26, 2013.

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2012 songs 2013 singles Jake Owen songs RCA Records Nashville singles Song recordings produced by Joey Moi Songs written by Jaren Johnston The Cadillac Three songs