Unbelievable

Album: Unbelievable (1998)
Charted: 36
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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
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