Watch Ashley McBryde and Zach Top Perform an Acoustic Version of Mark Chenutt’s ’90s Hit “Bubba Shot the Jukebox”

Ashley McBryde showed her appreciation for songwriting legend Dennis Linde with her 2022 collaboration album Lindeville. She gathered some of her singer/songwriter friends and created a collection of songs written in the storytelling style Linde became famous for. Zach Top, on the other hand, showed his appreciation for ‘90s country with his sophomore album Cold Beer & Country Music. So, it only seems natural to see the pair coming together for a Linde-penned ‘90s banger.

Recently, McBryde took to social media to share a video of her and Top hanging out backstage. As she strums her guitar, the “Girl Going Nowhere” singer asks Top if he knows the words to “Bubba Shot the Jukebox.” With a laugh, he says, “A good bit of them probably,” before McBryde begins playing the song.

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Ashley McBryde and Zach Top Cover “Bubba Shot the Jukebox”

They get off to a rough start as they try to remember the opening lines of the song. Then, when Zach Top nails the opening, Ashley McBryde falls in line behind him, strumming and singing along. They make it through the first verse and chorus before humming the lead guitar break. Top adds, “There’s a key change every damn verse.” He’s right. The key moves up a half step with each verse. It starts in the key of G and ends in the key of A which makes the song challenging for singers and musicians alike.

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Mark Chesnutt Scores a Hit with the Dennis Linde-Penned Classic

Mark Chesnutt released “Bubba Shot the Jukebox” on September 15, 1992, as the third single from his album Longnecks & Short Stories. It went to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, giving Chesnutt his third hit from the album. However, he nor his label MCA planned to release the song as a single.

Chesnutt released “I’ll Think of Something” as the second single from the album on June 2, 1992, However, according to a Billboard column, some DJs started playing “Bubba” because they liked the song.

Mickey Deerstone, music director for Knoxville, Tennessee-based radio station WIVK was among the early adopters of the song. “I added ‘Bubba’ on June 2 and we got a lot of requests for it. I have actually had to hold it back,” he told the publication. MCA apparently told Deerstone and programmers at radio stations across Oklahoma and Texas to hold the song back because they didn’t want stations to “burn” the song before they could give it an official release.

Featured Image by Geoffrey Clowes