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Southern Rain is the sixth studio album by country music artist Billy Ray Cyrus. The album sold 14,000 copies in its first week of release and would go on to sell over 160,000 copies. It produced five singles on the Hot Country Songs charts, including the number 17 "You Won't Be Lonely Now". This was his first album for Monument Records after leaving Mercury Records in 1999.

Southern Rain
Studio album by Billy Ray Cyrus
Released	October 17, 2000 (2000-10-17)
Genre	Country
Length	43 mins
Label	Monument
Producer	Billy Ray Cyrus Blake Chancey Dann Huff Terry Shelton
Billy Ray Cyrus chronology
Shot Full of Love (1998) Southern Rain (2000) Time Flies (2003)

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[1]
AllMusic	[2]
Billboard	(favorable) link
Entertainment Weekly	C+[3]
People	(average)[4]

A writer for About.com said, "Billy Ray fans will love this album, and those who may know Billy Ray only from "Achy Breaky Heart" should give him a chance to show that he's more than just a one-hit wonder. He's got a lot more to give, and he gives it here on Southern Rain."[1] William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote that it was "a sturdy collection of average country songs effectively performed by a minor country talent. All of which was fine, unless you were hoping for an album that measured up to Cyrus' early sales figures, which, of course, Monument was."[2] Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly said, "[I]f he gets nearly swallowed up in the power-pop ballads, he shines on the roots rockers — proof that underneath his lightweight, Chippendale reputation, there’s an artist dying to get out."[3] A writer for People called the record "standard Cyrus, which means much of it sounds like the work of a frustrated heavy metal singer." The tracks "Hey Elvis", "We the People", "Love You Back" and "Burn Down the Trailer Park" were picked as highlights.[4]

Track listing

#	Title	Length	Writer(s)	Producer(s)[5]
1.	"You Won't Be Lonely Now"	3:53	Brett James, John Bettis	Dann Huff
2.	"Southern Rain"	5:05	Billy Ray Cyrus, Michael Joe Sagraves, Don Von Tress
3.	"All I'm Thinking About Is You"	3:42	Jeffrey Steele	Huff, Blake Chancey
4.	"We the People" (featuring John Anderson, Waylon Jennings, Danni Leigh, Montgomery Gentry, and Yankee Grey)[5]	4:11	Monty Powell, Jimmie Lee Sloas, Anna Wilson
5.	"I Will"	3:58	Bonnie Baker, Carol Ann Brown
6.	"Love You Back"	3:56	Neil Thrasher, Wendell Mobley
7.	"Burn Down the Trailer Park"	3:18	Paul Thorn, Billy Maddox, Pat McDonald	Huff
8.	"Everywhere I Wanna Be"	3:28	Marty Dodson, Danny Wells
9.	"Crazy 'Bout You Baby"	3:20	Steele, Ed Berghoff	Huff, Chancey
10.	"Without You"	4:05	Cyrus, Jude Cole
11.	"Hey Elvis" (bonus track)	5:58	Bryan Adams, Gretchen Peters	Cyrus, Terry Shelton

Personnel

Adapted from Southern Rain liner notes.[5]

Technical

• Jeff Balding - recording (all tracks except 11), mastering
• Blake Chancey - production (tracks 3-6, 9, 10 only)
• Billy Ray Cyrus - production (track 11 only)
• Dann Huff - production (all tracks except 11)
• Mike Janas - recording (track 11 only)
• Terry Shelton - production (track 11 only)

Musicians on all tracks except 11

• Tim Akers - keyboards
• Matt Basford - electric guitar on "We the People"
• Mike Brignardello - bass guitar
• Pat Buchanan - electric guitar, acoustic guitar (tracks 3-6, 9, 10 only)
• Joe Chemay - background vocals (tracks 3-6, 9, 10 only)
• Lisa Cochran - background vocals
• Eric Darken - percussion
• Paul Franklin - steel guitar
• Vicki Hampton - background vocals
• Dann Huff - electric guitar, acoustic guitar
• Gordon Kennedy - electric guitar, acoustic guitar
• Chris McHugh - drums
• Gene Miller - background vocals
• Steve Nathan - keyboards
• Michael Joe Sagraves - harmonica on "Southern Rain"

Musicians on Track 11

• Billy Ray Cyrus - background vocals
• Steve French - drums, background vocals
• Keith Hinton - electric guitar
• Corky Holbrook - bass guitar
• Michael Joe Sagraves - electric guitar
• Terry Shelton - acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• Barton Stevens - keyboards
• Don Von Tress - acoustic guitar

Chart performance

Album

Charts (2000)	Peak position
Canadian Top Country Albums	24
US Billboard 200[6]	102
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[7]	13

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		US Country	US
2000	"You Won't Be Lonely Now"A	17	80
	"We the People"	60	—
2001	"Burn Down the Trailer Park"	43	—
	"Crazy 'Bout You Baby"	58	—
	"Southern Rain"	45	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

• ^A "You Won't Be Lonely Now" reached #33 when RPM Country Tracks cessed production.

References

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