"Made in America" is a song co-written 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 ...

singer

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (July 8, 1961 – February 5, 2024) was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and businessman. Keith released his chart-topping debut single, "Should've Been a Cowboy", in 1993. During the 1990s ...

. It was released in June 2011 as the first single from his 2011 album '' Clancy's Tavern''. Keith wrote this song with

Bobby Pinson Bobby Olen Pinson (born August 10, 1972) is an American country music artist. Signed to RCA Records Nashville, RCA Nashville in 2005, Pinson made his debut that year with his album ''Man Like Me''. Its lead-off single, "Don't Ask Me How I Know ...

and

Scott Reeves Gregory Scott Reeves (born May 16, 1966) is an American actor, musician, and songwriter. He is known for playing the roles of Ryan McNeil on the CBS Daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' (1991 to 2001), Steven Webber on the ABC Day ...

Background and writing

Keith wrote the song with frequent collaborator

and actor/singer

. Keith told ''Billboard'' magazine that they wrote the song in early 2010 and he almost left it off the album because of the number of other patriotic songs he has recorded. Pinson told ''Taste of Country'' that he and Reeves started talking about buying American-made merchandise to support the country. After writing part of the song, they thought it sounded like something Keith would record, so Pinson took what he had finished to Keith, who helped him complete the song.

Content

The song is an uptempo, in which an older farmer (Keith's own father, according to the song), a retired

United States Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

, and his schoolteacher wife, who will only buy American products, are disgusted by the influx of foreign goods, from cars to cotton.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of ''Taste of Country'' gave the song three stars out of five. He thought that Keith "sings with plenty of passion", but criticized the lyrics by saying, "While the song doesn’t feel like a remake of his previous anthems, it doesn’t live up to their high watermark, either." Matt Bjorke of ''Roughstock'' rated it four stars out of five, saying that while it is a 'list song', it had "strongly constructed lyrics". Former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

fighter

Dan Henderson Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American former mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a Middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champi ...

used the song as his entrance music.

Music video

Keith filmed the video in

Cedarburg, Wisconsin Cedarburg ( ) is a city in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located about north of Milwaukee and in close proximity to Interstate 43, it is a suburb in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The city incorporated in 1885, and at the tim ...

during an

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

parade, at a farm and family fourth of July picnic in

Addison, Wisconsin Addison is a town in Washington County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,341 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated communities of Addison, Allenton, Aurora, Nenno, and Saint Anthony are located with the town. The unincorporated ...

and in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

during his performance at

Summerfest Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's Third Ward business district. Summerfest is known ...

. It was directed by

Michael Salomon Michael Salomon (born in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, United States) is an American music video/film director, who has directed many music videos, including many of Toby Keith's music videos. He directed the video for Metallica's "One", which was no ...

Chart performance

"Made in America" reached number one on the ''

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 ...

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. ...

chart dated October 15, 2011, becoming Keith's twentieth and final number one single during his lifetime. It also peaked at number 40 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2011 singles 2011 songs Toby Keith songs Songs written by Toby Keith Songs written by Bobby Pinson Music videos directed by Michael Salomon Show Dog-Universal Music singles American patriotic songs Songs about the United States