Songoftheday 3/15/24 - I've found peace of mind I'm feeling good again, I'm on the other side, back among the living
"Stay Gone" - Jimmy Wayne
from the album Jimmy Wayne (2003)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #32 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 6
Today's song comes from singer/songwriter Jimmy Wayne (nee Barber), who grew up in North Carolina, partly in the foster child system because of a fractured and troubled family. Eventually taken under the wing of a couple and working his way up, Wayne moved to Nashville to start a country music career. Wayne first got success as a songwriter, helping pen Tracy Byrd's 1999 hit "Put Your Hand In Mine", which just missed the country radio top-40 and reached #76 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100. After the turn of the century, Jimmy was signed to DreamWorks Records' Nashville division, where he released his self-titled debut album in 2003. The lead single from the record was "Stay Gone", which he wrote with Billy Kirsch. The lyrics has him sad but resolved about a breakup, and needing to keep that other person out of his life. He's gotten over it, but knows if they return it will just bring him more heartbreak. It's a very mature way to handle loss in love, and a hard lesson to learn (trust me). The production from industry pros James Stroud and Chris Lindsey is meaty but doesn't overpower Wayne's strong vocals that crack at just the right times. It's a simple but well-executed sad slow song, and in return Jimmy scored his own first hit. The music video has the singer getting away from it all with the help of a tent and his trust pooch...
"Stay Gone" crossed over to the top-40 on Billboard's Hot 100 in June of 2003, while spending three weeks at #3 on their Country Songs airplay chart. The Jimmy Wayne album, released as the single was cresting that June, came in at #64 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, and #7 on the Country Albums list, spending a hefty 85 weeks on the latter.
Wayne's second single from the record was "I Love You This Much", which he tapped into the pain his familial past had brought. The song climbed to #6 on the Country Songs chart, and peaked at #53 on the Hot 100. That was followed by the power love-ballad "You Are", which rose to #18 on the Country Songs list, and "bubbled under" the Hot 100 at #108. Lastly, the track "Paper Angels", which was a tie-in with the Salvation Army's Christmas charity campaign, also got to #18 on the Country Songs list and again "bubbled under" the Hot 100 at #108.
Jimmy Wayne will be back to the series.
(7/10)
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and lastly, in concert a year later...
Tomorrow I'll roll out my top tunes of this week, then on Monday SOTD will be back with a New Yorker that promises fidelity.
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