Album: Unbelievable (1998)

Charted: 36

License This Song 

Songfacts®:

• This is a tribute to a woman who is "kissable, huggable, loveable, unbelievable" - a tongue-twisted admirably articulated by Diamond Rio front man, Marty Roe. The song was originally written by the coveted songwriters, Al Anderson and Jeffrey Steele, for the country musician, George Jones. Anderson told us: "It's beautiful. We wrote that for George Jones. It was supposed to go, 'she's so kissable,' way down low like that and we did it with a string bass. We did it in a key of A or E or something. Perfect George Jones." Jones never got around to recording the song, so Diamond Rio grabbed it instead. Anderson continued: "I know all of a sudden they liked it and cut it and put it out, and it was the most played Arista record that year. We got an award twice for that, for two years." (Here's our full Al Anderson interview.)
• This was Diamond Rio's first single to crack the Hot 100 chart in the US. It was also a #1 hit on Canada's Country chart.
• The "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music, Cledus T. Judd, parodied this song on his 1999 album, Juddmental, as "She's Inflatable," which is an ode to an inflatable sex toy.
• Unbelievable, Diamond Rio's fifth studio album, spawned a second Top 5 smash, "You're Gone," which peaked at #4 on the US country chart.

Comments: 1

• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn this day in 1999 {February 14th} Diamond Rio's "Unbelievable"* peaked at #2 {for 2 weeks} on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart, for the two weeks it was at #2, the #1 record for both those weeks was "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" by Mark Chesnutt...
  The next day on February 15th, 1999 "Unbelievable" reached #1 {for 2 weeks} on the Canadian RPM Country Singles chart...
  Between 1991 and 2006 the Nashville, Tennessee band had thirty-four records on the Hot Country Singles chart, nineteen made the Top 10 with five reaching #1, "In The Middle" for two weeks in May of 1991, "How Your Love Makes Me Feel" for three weeks in September of 1997, "One More Day" for one week in March of 2001, "Beautiful Mess" for two non-consecutive weeks in September of 2002, and "I Believe" for two weeks in May of 2003...
  One of their thirty-four charted records was a duet with Jed Zeppelin, "Workin' Mans Blues" {#48 in 1994}...
  * "Unbelievable" was Diamond Rio's fifth of five of their records to peak at #2, the other four #2 records were "Norma Jean Riley" {1992}, "In A Week Or Two" {1993}, "Love A Little Stronger" {1994}, and "Walkin' Away" {1996}...
  And from the 'For What It's Worth' department, the remainder of Hot Country Singles' Top 10 on February 14th, 1999:
  At #3. "For a Little While" by Tim McGraw
  #4. "Stand Beside Me" by Jo Dee Messina
  #5. "Hold On To Me" by John Michael Montgomery
  #6. "No Place That Far" by Sara Evans
  #7. "You Were Mine" by Dixie Chicks
  #8. "Wrong Night" by Reba
  #9. "That Don't Impress Me Much" by Shania Twain
  #10. "Busy Man" by Billy Ray Cyrus

More Songfacts:

Paul RevereBeastie Boys

In Beastie Boys' "Paul Revere," the title refers to the name of a horse. They took it from a song in the musical Guys And Dolls where a character sings, "I got the horse right here, the name is Paul Revere."

Somebody That I Used To KnowGotye

45% of the royalties for "Somebody That I Used To Know" go to the estate of the Brazilian classical guitarist Luiz Bonfá, whose song "Seville" Gotye sampled.

In The Air TonightPhil Collins

"In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins was revived when it was used in the first episode of Miami Vice, three years after it was released.

Rolling In The DeepAdele

Adele got the title "Rolling In The Deep" from the British saying "Roll Deep," which means to look after someone. She was "rolling deep" with her boyfriend until he betrayed her.

HeroesDavid Bowie

David Bowie's "Heroes" is about his producer Tony Visconti and his girlfriend, but Bowie didn't admit this until the '00s, since Visconti was married at the time.

TushZZ Top

"Tush" doesn't have to refer to anatomy, according to ZZ Top. It's a word that also means "lavish."

Editor's Picks

PrinceFact or Fiction

Prince is shrouded in mystery, making him an excellent candidate for Fact or Fiction. Is he really a Scientologist? Does he own an exotic animal?

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.

P.F. SloanSongwriter Interviews

P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.

Def Leppard QuizMusic Quiz

Can you name Def Leppard's only #1 hit in America? Get rocked with this adrenalized quiz.

Ralph Casale - Session ProSongwriter Interviews

A top New York studio musician, Ralph played guitar on many '60s hits, including "Lightnin' Strikes," "A Lover's Concerto" and "I Am A Rock."