Bless the Broken Road

History

Singer-songwriter Marcus Hummon co-wrote the song with Jeff Hanna (of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) and Bobby Boyd. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band recorded it for the 1994 album Acoustic. One year later, Hummon covered the song for his debut album All in Good Time for Columbia Records. His rendition includes backing vocals from Hanna and Matraca Berg. Michael McCall of New Country magazine thought that Hummon's rendition was the best track on the album.

Sons of the Desert recorded its own version of the song, for a planned second album on Epic Records that would have been released in 1998. This album was not released, due to a dispute between the band and its label.

Since then, many artists have recorded the song including Deborah Joy Winans, Melodie Crittenden, Geoff Moore, Selah, Jamie Slocum, Carrie Underwood, Buddy Greene, Boyce Avenue, and Rascal Flatts.

Melodie Crittenden version

Also in 1998, Melodie Crittenden recorded the song under the title "Broken Road" and included it on her self-titled debut album for Asylum Records. Released as the first of two singles from it, this version was a number 42 single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts.

This version was featured on an episode of Dawson's Creek.

Critical reception

Billboard gave Crittenden's version a positive review in the January 17, 1998, issue, calling it "sheer poetry with a moving message."

Chart positions

Rascal Flatts version

• Country pop
• Christian country 3:38 (Single Version) The highest-charting rendition is by the country music group Rascal Flatts, who cut the song for their third studio album Feels Like Today. Released in November 2004, this version spent five weeks at number one on Hot Country Singles & Tracks. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Country Song and earned a seven-times platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. The song topped the 2 million mark in paid downloads on September 18, 2010. It's Rascal Flatts' third song to reach that mark, following "Life Is a Highway" and "What Hurts the Most". As of January 2020, the song has sold 3,719,000 copies in the US.

On May 25, 2005, during a live performance on American Idol by Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts, an additional version was recorded. While not in wide release, and never included on an album, the version received enough radio airplay to enter the country music charts at number 50.

In 2009, an acoustic version recorded by Rascal Flatts was included in the soundtrack of Hannah Montana: The Movie.

On May 19, 2012, "Bless the Broken Road" debuted at number 76 and went to number 41 next week on the UK Singles chart (The Official Charts Company), the band's first and only appearance on the chart.

On February 26, 2020, the song received renewed attention after California-based artist RMR sampled the piano melody for his debut song "Rascal". The song and music video would go on to be a viral hit.

Song information

Rascal Flatts' version of the song is set in the key of C major, with a vocal range from C to A.

Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Selah version

Selah, a contemporary Christian music band, covered the song in 2006 on the album Bless the Broken Road: The Duets Album featuring a duet vocal from Crittenden. Also released as a single, Selah's version peaked at number five on the Hot Christian Songs charts.

Charts

Accolades

In 2007, this version of the song was nominated for a Dove Award for Song of the Year at the 38th GMA Dove Awards.

Film adaptation

A feature film based on the song, titled God Bless the Broken Road, began filming in 2015, and was originally announced to be released in 2016. The actual release was September 7, 2018.

References

References

1. Morris, Edward. (10 March 2005). "Rascal Flatts Takes Bow for "Broken Road"". [[Country Music Television.
2. (1995). "All in Good Time". Columbia Records.
3. McCall, New Country. (November 1995). "Album reviews". New Country.
4. Bjorke, Matt. "Matt's Songwriter Spotlight - Marcus Hummon". [[About.com]].
5. Whitburn, Joel. (2008). "Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008". Record Research, Inc.
6. (17 January 1998). "Singles".
7. (2004). "Feels Like Today". Lyric Street Records.
8. Whitburn, p. 339
9. "Week Ending Sept. 5, 2010: Rihanna Leads The Pack". Chart Watch.
10. Bjorke, Matt. (January 7, 2020). "Top 30 Digital Country Songs Chart: January 7, 2020". Rough Stock.
11. "USA Today Underwood Wins Idol".
12. (2 March 2020). "RMR's Rascal Flatts Homage 'Rascal' Is a Viral Hit — As Long As It Can Stay Online".
13. (17 January 2005). ""Bless the Broken Road" sheet music". Musicnotes.com.
14. (February 18, 2005). "Canada Country Top 30".
15. "Singles Top 40 from the Official UK Charts Company". [[Official Charts Company]].
16. (2005). "Best of 2005: Country Songs". [[Prometheus Global Media]].
17. "''Bless the Broken Road: The Duets Album''". Allmusic.
18. "Chart history for Selah".
19. [http://christianmusic.about.com/od/doves/a/gma07awards.htm 38th Annual GMA Awards] {{Webarchive. link. (2009-04-26 on About.com)
20. Bond, Paul. (2017-01-03). "NFL Great LaDainian Tomlinson to Star in Movie Based on Country Song". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
21. Busch, Anita. (2016-05-16). "Kim Delaney, Jordin Sparks Join 'God Bless The Broken Road'". [[Deadline Hollywood]].