Mississippi Girl

"Mississippi Girl" is a song recorded by American country music singer Faith Hill. It was released in May 2005 as the lead single from her sixth studio album Fireflies. A number one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in late 2005, it was her first number one on the country music charts since 2000's "The Way You Love Me".

"Mississippi Girl"
Single by Faith Hill
from the album Fireflies
ReleasedMay 28, 2005
FormatDigital download, CD single
RecordedJuly 31, 2004[1]
GenreCountry
Length3:52
LabelWarner Bros. Nashville
Songwriter(s)John Rich, Adam Shoenfeld
Producer(s)Byron Gallimore, Dann Huff, Faith Hill
Faith Hill singles chronology
"Baby You Belong"
(2003)		 "Mississippi Girl"
(2005)		 "Like We Never Loved at All"
(2005)

Content

Written specifically for the Star, Mississippi-bred singer by John Rich (of Big & Rich) and fellow MuzikMafia member Adam Shoenfeld, the uptempo tune was anticipated within the industry[2] and spearheaded Hill's post-Cry "country comeback"[3] by insisting that she had not forgotten her roots:

'Cause a Mississippi girl don't change her ways
Just 'cause everybody knows her name.
Ain't big-headed from a little bit of fame ...

The song also references Hill's forays into acting, in an episode of Touched By An Angel and the 2004 film The Stepford Wives.

"Mississippi Girl" was considered identical in purpose and theme to singer Jennifer Lopez' 2002 hit "Jenny from the Block", a fact noted by a number of commentators at the time.[3][4][5]

Chart performance

The single debuted at #27 on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Songs chart dated for May 28, 2005. It went on to become Hill's first Number One on the country music charts since "The Way You Love Me" in 2000. "Mississippi Girl" peaked at No. 1 September 3, and stayed at No. 1 for two weeks. It also reached at peak of No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also became Hill's first single to chart the Billboard Pop 100, peaking at No. 29 there.

"Mississippi Girl" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance but did not win; however it did win the SESAC Country Song of the Year award for its two writers.[6]

Slant Magazine said the song had the "stench of desperation" about it, with "southern-fried production [meant to] ape shamelessly the things that the women who supplanted her at the top of Nashville's pecking order have been doing."[7]

Mississippi Girl was also the 500 millionth song download via the iTunes Store.[8]

Music video

There is also a music video for the song, directed by Wayne Isham. In It, Hill and her band are seen performing the song in concert (filmed at a concert in July 2005 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY), intercut with shots of Hill walking around rural settings in a white dress as CGI butterflies flutter about. The video received a CMT Awards nomination.[9] At the beginning of the video, it shows Hill diving into the water from a wooden bridge in a long white dress.

Personnel

Compiled from liner notes.[1]

  • Bruce Bouton — steel guitar
  • Bekka Bramlett — background vocals
  • Tom Bukovac — electric guitar
  • Paul Bushnell — bass guitar
  • Perry Coleman — background vocals
  • Eric Darken — percussion
  • Dan Dugmore — steel guitar
  • Dann Huff — electric guitar
  • Tim Lauer — accordion
  • Chris McHugh — drums
  • Jimmy Nichols — keyboards
  • Darrell Scott — mandolin

Chart performance

References
  1. Fireflies (CD booklet). Faith Hill. Nashville, Tennessee: Warner Bros. Records Nashville. 2005. 48794-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. "USA TODAY's Nashville reporter: Brian Mansfield", USA Today, May 24, 2005. Accessed June 23, 2007.
  3. "Faith Hill: Fireflies", Stylus Magazine, August 29, 2005. Accessed June 23, 2007.
  4. "CNN.com - Transcripts". CNN.
  5. BBC - Folk and Country Review - Faith Hill, Fireflies
  6. CMT.com : Kenny Chesney : "Mississippi Girl," Carusoe, Carnival Music Win Top SESAC Honors
  7. "Faith Hill: Firefiles", Slant Magazine, 2005. Accessed June 19, 2007.
  8. "iTunes Music Store Downloads Top Half a Billion Songs". Apple Inc. 2005-07-18. Archived from the original on 2006-02-02. Retrieved 2006-02-17.
  9. Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert each land 3 CMT Awards noms - Reality TV World - News, information, episode summaries, message boards, chat and games for unscripted television programs
  10. "Faith Hill Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  11. "Faith Hill Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  12. "Billboard Top 100 – 2005". billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  13. "Best of 2005: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2005. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
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