“Country Boy” is a song written by Tony Colton, Albert Lee, and Ray Smith of the British band Heads Hands & Feet, and recorded by American country music artist Ricky Skaggs. It was released in February 1985 as the second single and title track from the album Country Boy. The song was Skaggs’ ninth number-one country hit. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of 13 weeks on the country chart.
The music video for “Country Boy” was filmed in New York City. At the beginning of the video, Ricky finishes having a phone conversation, and Uncle Pen (played by Bill Monroe) visits Ricky in his office and talks to him about his country ways. Ricky grabs the guitar and begins to sing. He leads Uncle Pen through New York City’s streets, sights, and subways and shows through song and dance that he’s still a “country boy at heart”. It was directed by Martin Kahan, and produced by Marc Ball. The video includes cameos by Ed Koch, the then-incumbent Mayor of New York City, as a cabdriver, dancer Charlotte d’Amboise, plus actor David Keith who comes in at the end of the video looking for Ricky. The video was one of four nominees for the first “Music Video of the Year” honor presented by the 19th Country Music Association Awards in October 1985. While Skaggs was named “Entertainer of the Year”, the “Country Boy” video lost out to “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight” by Hank Williams, Jr. and director John Goodhue.
B-side “Wheel Hoss”
Released February 1985
Recorded 1984
Genre Country, country rock, bluegrass
Length 3:50
Label Epic
Songwriter(s) Tony Colton Albert Lee Ray Smith
Producer(s) Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs – Country Boy lyrics
I may look like a city slicker
Shinin’ up through his shoes
Underneath I’m just a cotton picker
Pickin’ out a mess of blues
Show me where I start
Find a horse and cart
I’m just a country boy
Country boy at heart
I may look like a bank teller
Pushing facts in a file
But I’d rather be a hog caller
Chewing cud on the sty
Show me where I start
Find a horse and cart
I’m just a country boy
Country boy at heart
I may look like a city slicker
Shinin’ up through his shoes
Underneath I’m just a cotton picker
Pickin’ out a mess of blues
Show me where I start
Find a horse and cart
I’m just a country boy
Country boy at heart
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://whentcowboysings.com/ricky-skaggs-country-boy/&media=https://whentcowboysings.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Country-Music-World-Planet-YouTube-Channel-1.jpg&description="Country Boy" is a song written by Tony Colton, Albert Lee, and Ray Smith of the British band Heads Hands & Feet, and recorded by American country music artist Ricky Skaggs. It was released in February 1985 as the second single and title track from the album Country Boy. The song was Skaggs' ninth number-one country hit. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of 13 weeks on the country chart.The music video for "Country Boy" was filmed in New York City. At the beginning of the video, Ricky finishes having a phone conversation, and Uncle Pen (played by Bill Monroe) visits Ricky in his office and talks to him about his country ways. Ricky grabs the guitar and begins to sing. He leads Uncle Pen through New York City's streets, sights, and subways and shows through song and dance that he's still a "country boy at heart". It was directed by Martin Kahan, and produced by Marc Ball. The video includes cameos by Ed Koch, the then-incumbent Mayor of New York City, as a cabdriver, dancer Charlotte d'Amboise, plus actor David Keith who comes in at the end of the video looking for Ricky. The video was one of four nominees for the first "Music Video of the Year" honor presented by the 19th Country Music Association Awards in October 1985. While Skaggs was named "Entertainer of the Year", the "Country Boy" video lost out to "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" by Hank Williams, Jr. and director John Goodhue.B-side "Wheel Hoss"Released February 1985Recorded 1984Genre Country, country rock, bluegrassLength 3:50Label EpicSongwriter(s) Tony Colton Albert Lee Ray SmithProducer(s) Ricky Skaggs){kind=link}