Last Song Syndrome: Josh Turner’s “Hometown Girl”

Josh Turner’s “Hometown Girl” was off his multi-platinum-selling sixth studio album “Deep South.” It was released in May 2016 as the second single of the album, which earned him his fifth number-one single. Not to mention that over 87.5 million streams were recorded for the song.

The comeback hit was co-penned by veteran songwriter Marc Beeson who had a running list of hits since the early ’90s, which include Restless Heart’s “When She Cries.” Alongside him was Daniel Tashian, son of Barry and Holly Tashian, who also wrote songs for country artists like Tim McGraw.

“Hometown Girl” was inspired by Marc’s old high school crush and his childhood days in rural Illinois. In an interview with The Boot, Beeson recalled Dan was just playing out some music for him and thinking about this girl; he just kind of threw something at him. Then, the whole song came together easily after that.

The song was about a girl who didn’t forget how she was raised. And it was definitely something that listeners could relate to. As the lyric goes, “She couldn’t hide her beauty with a baseball cap/Couldn’t help but shine with a heart like that/ New York called when she turned 21/ But she never forgot where she came from.”

When Josh Turner first heard the song, it sounded like a hit to him. He noted that it had a vibe that would hold your attention. It was something different for him, but it still had the classic Josh Turner song’s ingredients – lyrics with a good message and a melody that catered to his voice. And that was exactly what he was looking for.

“Hometown Girl” by Josh Turner was a cliché country music concept but flavored with Turner’s deep baritone; the song got a different kind of charm. And it was the kind of song that gets stuck in a loop inside your head.

Enjoy Josh Turner’s “Hometown Girl” in the video below.