Roller Coaster (Luke Bryan Song)
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"Roller Coaster" is a song written by Michael Carter and
Cole Swindell Colden Rainey Swindell (born June 30, 1983) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has written singles for Craig Campbell (singer), Craig Campbell, Thomas Rhett, Scotty McCreery, and Luke Bryan, and has released four albums for W ...
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 ...
artist
Luke Bryan Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television personality. Bryan is a five-time "Entertainer of the Year", being awarded by both the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Count ...
. It was released in June 2014 as the fifth single from Bryan's 2013 album ''
Crash My Party ''Crash My Party'' is the fourth studio album by American country music artist Luke Bryan. It was released on August 13, 2013 by Capitol Records Nashville. Its first single, the title track, reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Country Airpla ...
''.


Background and writing

Cole Swindell Colden Rainey Swindell (born June 30, 1983) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has written singles for Craig Campbell (singer), Craig Campbell, Thomas Rhett, Scotty McCreery, and Luke Bryan, and has released four albums for W ...
, who formerly sold merchandise for Bryan, wrote the song with Bryan's guitarist and bandleader, Michael Carter, on October 6, 2011, in
Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, Valdosta metropolitan statistical area, ...
. The inspiration for the song was the
Miracle Strip Amusement Park Miracle Strip Amusement Park was a theme park located in Panama City Beach, Florida, which operated from 1963 to 2004. The highlight of the park was Starliner, an out and back-style wooden coaster designed by John Allen upon the park's initia ...
in
Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Route 98 in Florida, U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee and Pensacola, Florida, Pe ...
, a destination that Bryan, Swindell, and Carter had visited on summer vacations. Swindell and Carter recorded a demo for Bryan, which featured Swindell singing. Upon hearing the demo, Bryan thought that Swindell had the potential to get a record deal of his own; after Swindell became a recording artist himself, Carter produced his self-titled debut album. Swindell said that he considered the song "one of my favorite songs I've ever written" and "special" because of his and Carter's friendships with Bryan.


Content

The song is a mid-tempo ballad about a man who encounters a woman while on vacation in Panama City. The first verse contains details specific to the area, such as Thomas Drive, a road near the former amusement park. In the song, the man befriends the woman, then states that "she's got imtwisted like that old beach roller coaster" after she leaves. Swindell told ''
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 ...
'', "Going down there, you always met a girl — like a day before you had to leave, you got up enough courage to finally talk to her, and then she's got to leave the next day." Tom Roland of ''Billboard'' described the song as "smooth and understated" and "reflective ndmelancholy". Carter noted that the melody of the chorus repeats a single note because he wanted the song to be easily sung along with by fans. The original demo featured a cold open, but Bryan and his producer, Jeff Stevens, decided to create an intro because Bryan felt that " arting with a straight-in lyric, half the time you miss the lyrics." Stevens decided to "start it off with the easy beach feel and let it ride." The song features a bass guitar line performed by
Jimmie Lee Sloas Jimmie Lee Sloas is an American session musician, producer, and songwriter, who plays bass. History Jimmie Lee Sloas, born in Ashland, Kentucky, grew up in Fairborn, Ohio and Isonville, Kentucky. His father, Dave, was a member of the popular ...
, and two backing vocal tracks both sung by session vocalist Perry Coleman. The song is set in the key of
A major A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The A major scale is: Changes needed for the ...
with a moderate tempo and a primary chord pattern of A-E/G-F7-D and a vocal range of D-F.


Critical reception

Country music blog ''
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 ...
'' reviewed the song positively. The review contrasted it with "
'Til Summer Comes Around "Til Summer Comes Around" is a song co-written and recorded by Australian country music singer Keith Urban. It was released in November 2009 as the fourth single from his 2009 album '' Defying Gravity''. The song peaked at number 3 on the US ''Bill ...
" by
Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban ( né Urbahn; 26 October 1967) is an Australian and American country singer, songwriter and guitarist. Recognised with four Grammy Awards, he has also received 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Jim Reeves Int ...
in saying that it was more "positive" than that song, also saying that "The roller coaster metaphor is creative — it’s what separates this song from others that rely on an increasingly used country trope. Once again it’s Bryan’s natural charisma that lifts a lyric that wouldn’t work for someone less lovable. Little details like Thomas Drive feel personal. He’s becoming one of country’s top storytellers." ''
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 ...
'' and ''
American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...
'' ranked "Roller Coaster" at number six and number five, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Luke Bryan songs.


Music video

The official music video for "Roller Coaster" was directed by Michael Monaco and filmed in
Panama City Beach, Florida Panama City Beach is a resort town in the Florida Panhandle, and principal city of the Panama City Metropolitan Area. It is a popular vacation destination, especially among people in the Southern United States, and is located in the "Emerald C ...
in the spring of 2014 as part of spring break festivities. It premiered June 20, 2014.


Chart performance

"Roller Coaster" debuted at No. 60 on 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, ...
chart for the week ending July 5, 2014. The same week, "Roller Coaster" re-entered at No. 47 on the ''Billboard''
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 week ending October 18, the song reached number one on 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, ...
chart, making it Bryan's tenth number one hit. As of November 2014, the song had sold 583,000 copies in the US. sales figure give
here
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Year-end charts


Certifications


References

{{Luke Bryan 2013 songs 2014 singles Luke Bryan songs Capitol Records Nashville singles Songs written by Cole Swindell Songs written by Michael Carter (musician) Country ballads