The modern country anthem “Tennessee Whiskey” was written in the early 1980s by legendary songwriters Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove.
The track was born out of an impromptu late-night writing session after Dillon met Hargrove following a performance at Nashville’s famous Bluebird Cafe. Striking up a creative partnership, the pair stayed up until the early hours of the morning crafting the soulful tune. Interestingly, before the track found its iconic home, Dillon initially pitched it to George Strait, who ultimately passed on recording it.
Instead, the song’s journey to the public began when outlaw country artist David Allan Coe recorded and released the first version in 1981 for his album of the same name. A couple of years later, in 1983, George Jones put his unmistakable stamp on the track, turning it into a major hit that climbed to number two on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.
Decades later, the song experienced a monumental resurgence in 2015 when Chris Stapleton recorded a blues-infused, country-soul cover for his debut solo album, Traveller. Stapleton’s version—cemented by an unforgettable live performance with Justin Timberlake at the CMA Awards—transformed the 1980s deep cut into a modern global phenomenon and one of the defining tracks of 21st-century country music.
Chris Stapleton’s Tennessee Whiskey performance
This video captures the iconic live performance that helped catapult the decades-old song into modern superstardom.
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