Last Dollar (Fly Away)

Infobox Single
Name = Last Dollar (Fly Away)


Artist = Tim McGraw
from Album = Let It Go
Released = January 13, 2007
Format = CD single, digital download
Recorded = 2007
Genre = Country
Length = 4:30 (album version)
3:57 (radio edit)
Label = Curb
Writer = Big Kenny
Producer = Tim McGraw, Darran Smith, Byron Gallimore
Certification =
Last single = "My Little Girl"
(2006)
This single = "Last Dollar (Fly Away)"
(2007)
Next single = "I Need You" (w/ Faith Hill)
(2007)

"Last Dollar (Fly Away)"is the name of a country song written by Big Kenny of the country duo Big & Rich, and recorded by Tim McGraw for his 2007 album "Let It Go". Released as that album's debut single in early 2007, "Last Dollar (Fly Away)" reached Number One on the "Billboard" Hot Country Songs charts, becoming McGraw's first Number One country hit since "Back When" in late 2004.

Background

William Kenneth Alphin, otherwise known as Big Kenny, one-half of country rock duo Big & Rich, wrote "Last Dollar" after a disastrous night of gambling in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve in 2002.

He and his manager were in the city as part of the Alabama farewell tour. Alphin had $200 to his name and $140,000 in credit card debt, and in hopes of increasing his cash on hand, he went to the blackjack tables. At one point, he had won nearly $1,000, but instead of stopping, he continued to play. Eventually, he lost all but $21. He gave the dealer a $20 tip, leaving Alphin with literally his last dollar. "That night as I looked down at the sole breaking off of my shoe it hit me like a ton of bricks," Alphin said. "But with that realization came the freedom of knowing that I also had nothing to lose."cite web |title='Big Kenny' of Smash Country Duo Big & Rich, Reveals the Surprising Personal Story of His 'Last Dollar' that Inspired the Writing of Country Radio's Hit Single, 'Last Dollar (Fly Away)'|publisher=PR Newswire |date=April 2, 2007 |url=http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,83908.shtml |accessdate=2007-05-31]

From that point, Alphin's career took off, both as a songwriter and as part of the duo Big & Rich. Several years after the incident, he played some of his songs for McGraw. "I'll never forget the day I played him the song," Alphin said. "We were at Blackbird Studio and Tim was making a new album. As we sat together in my truck, I played him a couple of the songs that I was recording. The second song I played was "Last Dollar." He looked over at me and said, "Are you gonna let me record that?"

The song is an up-tempo in the key of A Major. Its lyrics take the point of view of a man who is "down to his last dollar", but still in a positive mood ("One, two, three, like a bird I sing / 'Cause you've given me the most beautiful set of wings").

McGraw's daughters, Gracie, Maggie, and Audrey, sing on the song's final chorus. When Alphin heard McGraw's final version, with the children joining in at the end, "I nearly lost it," he said. "That moment of reflection in Las Vegas all that time ago gave me the hope to keep going and now five years later, that hope is a hit song for my friend Tim McGraw."

Chart performance

The song reached Number One on the "Billboard" US Hot Country Songs chart dated April 14, 2007. [ [http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/newsitem.asp?xid=498 "Country Standard Time: Tim McGraw checks in at number one on Billboard overall, country music charts"] ]

"Last Dollar" also entered the US Hot 100 at #81 on April 7, 2007; one week later, it reached its peak at #13 on that chart.

Track listing

US promotional CD single Curb CURBD-2015
# "Last Dollar (Fly Away)" Album Version 4:29
# "Last Dollar (Fly Away)" Radio Edit 3:57
# Suggested Callout Research Hook :10

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References

External links

* [http://cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/mcgraw-tim/last-dollarfly-away-19704.html Lyrics from CowboyLyrics.com]
* [http://www.cmt.com/videos/tim-mcgraw/125671/last-dollar-fly-away.jhtml "Last Dollar (Fly Away)"] video at CMT.com