Have You Heard?: Brothers Osborne "Stay A Little Longer" (2015)

Sometimes things don't work out the first time we try them. Often, we give up, say its a lost cause or chalk it up to experience, a lesson learned and move on.  Other times, we roll up our sleeves and go back to the drawing board and start all over or simply, stubbornly, just try it again.  And for whatever reason, things work out after that second or third or fourth attempt.  It works that way in music sometimes.  David Bowie's "Space Oddity" Bubbled Under the Hot 100 at number 124 upon its original release in 1969.  When it was re-released in 1973, it peaked at number 15.  Aerosmith's "Dream On" stalled at number 59 when it was first released in 1973.  Re-issued three years later, it climbed into the Top 10 at number 6.  These are but two of my many favorite second chance songs.

The latest song earning that distinction in my book is "Stay A Little Longer" by the Brothers Osborne.  After their first single "Let's Go There" made the Top 40 on the Country Airplay chart in 2013 and their second single "Rum" achieved the same feat early in 2014, EMI Nashville issued a five song digital EP in September 2014 simply titled Brothers Osborne and containing the latter tune and four other songs.  Among those others was a song called "Stay A Little Longer" which had become a crowd favorite at the Brothers live shows and radio station appearances.  The boys re-cut the song with producer Jay Joyce in late 2014/early 2015 and he coaxed a longer solo out of John Osborne.  The earlier, shorter recording of the song was labeled a demo to avoid confusion with the new version, which was released as the third single in early March 2015.

Click on dates below to watch and listen as John and his brother T.J. perform and perfect "Stay A Little Longer" at various venues over the past two years:

• 07/29/13
• 09/27/13
• 11/21/13
• 06/12/14
• 06/19/14
• 08/18/14
• 09/05/14
• 11/10/14
• 04/11/15
• 05/15/15
• 06/05/15
• 06/12/15 "Hold on to your hats and hold on to your panties"
• 06/23/15
• 08/07/15

I first heard "Stay A Little Longer" driving back from a brief solo scenic three hour round trip to Sierra Vista.  I maintain a Spotify playlist of songs I want to listen to based on mentions and recommendations from any number of sources including blogs, other playlists, television appearances and magazines. As I sat at a stoplight just before getting on the highway to bring me home, I pulled up the playlist, took a breath and pressed Shuffle Play.  A light rain began to fall as the light changed from red to green and I drove up to the left turn that led me onto the entrance ramp.  I cannot tell you how many songs I listened to that day or what they were or how many I skipped though I am fairly certain the numbers were fairly equal.  There is a part of the highway (Interstate 10)  that is one big dipping left turning curve into a canyon valley and across a short bridge about half an hour from my front door. 

"Stay A Little Longer" was playing as I neared that part of the road and just as I began the gentle turn the rain increased and I flipped my intermittent wipers up two notches.  As I did this, the back of my meaty hand (more like a paw, really) twisted the volume knob (lower left, above) on the Blueberry's audio system and the volume jumped from about my usual highway cruising volume of 14 to 20 "jigawatts" just as the guitar solo began at about 2:50 into the song.  The rain, my good mood and the driving music all came together in what turned out to be a three minute climatic musical moment, one of those rare times when it just feels too damn good to be alive, when everything becomes crystal clear and everything is beautiful beyond comprehension.  I know it was Tuesday, March 24, the day before my 28th Wedding Anniversary.  That Friday, Mike Lefsetz wrote about "Stay A Little Longer" in his weekly Rhinofy column, obviously feeling much the same way I did and do about the song.  I added the song to at least two maybe three other playlists and deleted it from the one I originally heard it on over the next week,  By my birthday in late April, I had all but forgotten about "Stay A Little Longer" and had not listened to it since that initial burst of excitement.  While out in Missouri in late May, dealing with my father's passing, I dug my iPad out of my bag one day, went out to the front porch as the sky darkened and the air cooled, sat down on the gliding bench, put my trusty Grado SR 80 cans on my ears and fired up Spotify.  Other than the four songs heard at Dad's memorial service, this would the first time in nearly two weeks I had listened to music.  The first playlist I hit was Good Mood Toons, always a winner.  As the clouds burst and the rain fell hard and heavy on the tin roof (RUSTED!) I listened to song after song, almost all of which reminded somehow someway of my father.  Maybe ten songs in, "Stay A Little Longer" (a song I have no idea if my Dad ever heard) came on and that was all she wrote, mister. I opened up like the clouds and tears rained down my cheeks, dripping onto the iPad much like they are now onto the keyboard as I type.  I got that crazy, wonderful feeling again and I am addicted to it, want it as much as I can get it.  Its not as good as loving on Mrs. HERC but man oh man it's so damn good.

Even without an official music video, "Stay A Little Longer" has manged to simultaneously land on three Billboard Charts as I type this:

#12 on Bubbling Under The Hot 100

#28 on Country Airplay

#30 on Hot Country Songs

November 17, 2015 UPDATE:
Music video released a month ago!

there's even a "making of" video of the video

#73 on Hot 100
#10 on Country Airplay
#12 on Hot Country Songs


UPDATE January 19, 2016
Billboard 2015 Year End Charts
#59 on Country Airplay
#54 on Hot Country Songs

chart update 1/23/16
#55 on Hot 100 (14 weeks on chart)
#4 on Country Airplay (41 weeks on chart)
#6 on Hot Country Songs (40 weeks on chart)
#12 on Country Digital Songs (30 weeks on chart)
#23 on Radio Songs (12 weeks on chart)

FINAL CHART UPDATE 4/6/16

peak chart positions and dates

"Stay A Little Longer"

#46 on Hot 100 (2/6/16)

#2 on Country Airplay (2/6/16)

#4 on Hot Country Songs (1/16/16)

#9 on Country Digital Songs (11/14/15)

#17 on Radio Songs (2/6/16)

#15 on Country Streaming Songs (2/20/16)

#26 on Canada Country (5/30/15)

#68 on Canadian Hot 100 (2/6/16)

PAWN SHOP (LP)

#17 on Billboard 200 (2/6/16)

#3 on Top Country Albums (2/6/16)

#19 on Digital Albums (2/6/16)

#4 on Tastemaker Albums (2/6/16)

#10 on Top Album Sales (2/6/16)