{"id":1744566,"date":"2026-01-12T19:14:58","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T16:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1744566"},"modified":"2026-01-12T19:14:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T16:14:58","slug":"chris-stapletons-tennessee-whiskey-is-the-biggest-country-song-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1744566","title":{"rendered":"Chris Stapleton\u2019s \u201cTennessee Whiskey\u201d Is the Biggest Country Song of All Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/media.pitchfork.com\/photos\/696533b0c017e01759cc0e1e\/16:9\/w_1280,c_limit\/Chris-Stapleton.jpeg”]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
News<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Chris Stapleton\u2019s \u201cTennessee Whiskey\u201d Is the Biggest Country Song of All Time<\/h1>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
Stapleton\u2019s rendition of the modern country standard has become the third single ever to obtain a double-diamond certification from the RIAA<\/div>\n
\n
\n
By <\/span>Walden Green<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Chris Stapleton, November 2025 (Jason Kempin\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Chris Stapleton\u2019s \u201cTennessee Whiskey\u201d is officially the biggest country song of all time in terms of sales. His rendition of the modern country standard\u2014written by Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove in 1981\u2014has sold over 20 million units in the United States, making it only the third single ever to be certified double diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Stapleton now joins Bruno Mars\u2019 \u201cJust the Way You Are\u201d and Post Malone and Swae Lee\u2019s \u201cSunflower\u201d in the exclusive club.<\/p>\n

Dillon and Hargrove first offered \u201cTennesse Whiskey\u201d to George Strait, who turned it down. David Allen Coe ended up recording the original version for his album of the same name, and in 1983, George Jones\u2019 cover went to No. 2 on the Billboard Country Singles chart. Stapleton\u2019s take on the song first appeared on his 2015 debut Traveler<\/em>, peaking at No. 20 on the Hot 100 after he and Justin Timberlake played it live at the 2015 Country Music Awards.<\/p>\n

\u201cChris Stapleton\u2019s undeniable vocal grit and storytelling have connected deeply – driving chart successes, earning major awards, and most importantly, resonating with fans,\u201d RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier said in a statement shared by Stapleton\u2019s label, MCS. \u201cRIAA is proud to celebrate him alongside MCA as \u2018Tennessee Whiskey\u2019 today makes history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
The Story of Outlaw Country in 33 Songs<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/pitchfork.com\/news\/chris-stapletons-tennessee-whiskey-is-the-biggest-country-song-of-all-time\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/media.pitchfork.com\/photos\/696533b0c017e01759cc0e1e\/16:9\/w_1280,c_limit\/Chris-Stapleton.jpeg”] News Chris Stapleton\u2019s \u201cTennessee Whiskey\u201d Is the Biggest Country Song of All Time Stapleton\u2019s rendition of the modern country standard has become the third single ever to obtain a double-diamond certification from the RIAA By Walden Green January 12, 2026 Chris Stapleton, November 2025 (Jason Kempin\/Getty Images) Chris Stapleton\u2019s \u201cTennessee Whiskey\u201d is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,54],"class_list":["post-1744566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-pitchfork-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1744566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1744566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1744566\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1744566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1744566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1744566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}