American Honky-Tonk Bar Association

"American Honky-Tonk Bar Association" is a song written by Bryan Kennedy and Jim Rushing and recorded by American country music singer Garth Brooks. It was released in September 1993 as the second single from his album In Pieces. The song reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) chart.

Background

The song was originally titled "American Redneck Bar Association.".^[1] Brooks provided the following background information on the song in the CD booklet liner notes from The Hits:

"'AHBA' is definitely one of the livelier moments in our live show. The two writers of this song are not only great artists but have been extremely good friends to me since I moved to Nashville. Jim Rushing's style of music like 'Sometimes Silence Says It All," I think, is what country music is all about. Bryan Kennedy is one of the first guys I met at The Bluebird Cafe and he introduced me to his dad, Jerry Kennedy, who has been very, very good to me. Here's to Jim Rushing at his great country music. Here's to Bryan Kennedy... for his great friendship. And here's to great horses, firm handshakes and great cods."^[2]

Content

This song is a mid-tempo honky-tonk anthem that compares bars to fraternal organisations or support groups for blue collar people. The song's title name is a pun on the name American Bar Association.

Critical reception

Mike Greenblatt of Modern Screen's Country Music referred to the song as a "modern day redneck classic sung with a snarl and a smile— except that ill-advised line about welfare recipients."^[3]

Chart positions

Chart (1993)	Peak position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)^[4]	2
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[5]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1993)	Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)^[6]	100

Chart (1994)	Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)^[7]	47

References

↑ ASCAP page for this song
↑ Garth Brooks - The Hits: transcription from the CD booklet (bar code 7-2438-29689-2-4)
↑ Greenblatt, Mike (April 1994). "Juke Box Jury". Modern Screen's Country Music 88 (5): 34.
↑ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 2331." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. December 18, 1993. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
↑ "Garth Brooks – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Garth Brooks.
↑ "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1993". RPM. December 18, 1993. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
↑ "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1994". RPM. December 12, 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2013.

Preceded by "Reckless" by Alabama	Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks number-one single December 4, 1993	Succeeded by "My Second Home" by Tracy Lawrence

Garth Brooks singles

Garth Brooks	"Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" "If Tomorrow Never Comes" "Not Counting You" "The Dance"

No Fences	"Friends in Low Places" "Unanswered Prayers" "Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House" "The Thunder Rolls" "Wild Horses" (released in 2001)

Ropin' the Wind	"Rodeo" "Shameless" "What She's Doing Now" "Papa Loved Mama" "The River"

The Chase	"We Shall Be Free" "Somewhere Other Than the Night" "Learning to Live Again" "That Summer"

In Pieces	"Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)" "American Honky-Tonk Bar Association" "Standing Outside the Fire" "One Night a Day" "Callin' Baton Rouge" "The Red Strokes"

Fresh Horses	"She's Every Woman" "The Fever" "The Beaches of Cheyenne" "The Change" "It's Midnight Cinderella" "That Ol' Wind"

Sevens	"Longneck Bottle" "She's Gonna Make It" "Two Piña Coladas" "You Move Me" "Do What You Gotta Do" (released in 2000)

The Limited Series	"To Make You Feel My Love"

Double Live	"It's Your Song"

Greatest Hits (as Chris Gaines)	"Lost in You" "It Don't Matter to the Sun" "That's the Way I Remember It"

Scarecrow	"When You Come Back to Me Again" (released in 2000) "Wrapped Up in You" "Squeeze Me In" (with Trisha Yearwood) "Thicker Than Blood" "Why Ain't I Running"

The Lost Sessions	"Good Ride Cowboy" "Love Will Always Win" (with Trisha Yearwood) "That Girl Is a Cowboy"

The Ultimate Hits	"More Than a Memory" "Workin' for a Livin'" (with Huey Lewis) "Midnight Sun"

Man Against Machine	"People Loving People" "Mom"

Guest singles	"Whatcha Gonna Do with a Cowboy (with Chris LeDoux; uncredited) "In Another's Eyes" (with Trisha Yearwood) "One Heart at a TIme" (charity single) "Burnin the Roadhouse Down" (with Steve Wariner) "Where Your Road Leads" (with Trisha Yearwood) "Katie Wants a Fast One" (with Steve Wariner) "Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)" (with George Jones)

Other songs	"Hard Luck Woman" "Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy" "The Call" (with Trisha Yearwood)

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