"My Old Man" is a song 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 ...

band

Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini (fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukulele, ...

. The song is the lead single to their fifth major-label studio album, '' Welcome Home''. The song was written by

Zac Brown Zachry Alexander Brown (born July 31, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the co-founder and lead singer of the country Zac Brown Band, as well as electronic dance music group Sir Rosevelt. In 2019, Brown ...

Niko Moon Niko Moon (born Nicholas Cowan; September 20, 1982) is an American country pop singer and songwriter formerly signed to RCA Nashville. He has written songs for Dierks Bentley, Zac Brown Band, Rascal Flatts, and Morgan Wallen. He was also a membe ...

and Ben Simonetti.

Content and history

The song is a ballad about

's own father, and the lifestyle examples set by him. It features "the band's harmony-heavy vocals, which drive forward a scaled-back arrangement of unplugged guitar, fiddle and light strings". In the song's first verse, the narrator reflects on his own childhood, while the second focuses on the narrator's adulthood, and the third "reveals that his father is hearing this tribute from heaven, not earth." The song is the band's first release through the

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

label, in partnership with their own label, Southern Ground. It is also their first release to be produced by record producer

Dave Cobb Dave Cobb (born July 9, 1974) is an American record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee, best known for producing the work of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen, Take That, Rival ...

. Along with the release of the single, the band released a lyric video to

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

which includes pictures of the band members with their fathers.

Music video

The music video was directed by Markus Blunder and premiered on CMT,

GAC Gac or GAC may refer to: *Gấc, pronounced �ək̚˧˦ a Southeast Asian fruit of the species ''Momordica cochinchinensis'' *Gać (disambiguation), a common Polish place-name Acronyms Companies and organisations * GAC Group, a Chinese automo ...

and

VEVO Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

in May 2017.

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 a favorable review, saying that "The raw, acoustic ballad has flaws and genuine emotion" and "It’s difficult to hear 'My Old Man' as anything less than a confessional — never have the Zac Brown Band released a single this personal." Kevin John Coyne of ''Country Universe'' rated the song "A", praising the lyrics and Brown's vocal performance, adding, "I appreciate Brown’s ability to capture deep and difficult feelings without descending into maudlin sentimentality. I think he gets at an essential truth about losing a parent. In one way, they’re gone, but in another way, they’re more present than they’ve ever been, because they are always in your mind and in your heart." The song earned the band a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

Chart performance

The song debuted at No. 26 on the

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, ...

chart dated for February 18, 2017, and No. 49 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. ...

chart for the same date. It is their second-highest debut on the former chart, behind " Homegrown", which entered at the No. 23 position in January 2015. The song has sold 197,000 copies in the United States as of June 2017.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2017 songs 2017 singles Elektra Records singles Songs about fathers Songs written by Zac Brown Songs written by Niko Moon Zac Brown Band songs Song recordings produced by Dave Cobb Country ballads