Billy B. Bad
| "Billy B. Bad" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by George Jones | ||||
| from the album I Lived to Tell It All | ||||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:01 | |||
| Label | MCA Nashville | |||
| Writer(s) | Bobby Braddock | |||
| Producer(s) | Norro Wilson | |||
| George Jones singles chronology | ||||
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"Billy B. Bad" is a song by American country artists George Jones. It was included on his 1996 LP I Lived to Tell It All. Written by Bobby Braddock, who had co-written George's biggest hit "He Stopped Loving Her Today," the song takes aim at the youth-obsessed Nashville music establishment of the time.
Composition
Boasting a robust country sound, "Billy B. Bad" addressed the issue head on, taking aim at country music industry trend setters. A cynical spin on Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode," the song tells the story of Billy, a Texas suburban boy who "didn't have much soul or country roots" but "sure looked cute in his cowboy suit." The song's second verse specifically zeros in on country radio and record company executives:
- He sounds like everybody on the radio
- He's building up his biceps for his video
- The people at the label said, 'We like to start 'em young
- We know you're 23 but we'll say you're 21
- They played him some Strait, they played him some Jones
- Now he's got that country music deep down in his bones
Unsurprisingly, the single did not chart. In an interview with Joseph Hudak of Country Weekly not long before his death, Jones opinion of the business had mellowed somewhat, with the singer observing, “These kids nowadays, they’re liking this halfway pop-rock stuff. I don’t blame them. Everything changes every few years. But I’ll always love the traditional country music. And they have a right to like what they like. But I’m sorry, I don’t like it—I like some of it, I really do, but most of it, it sounds a lot alike."