New country acts rarely land at the top of the charts with their first single. It didn't happen with Alan Jackson, Sugarland, Kenny Chesney or even Garth Brooks.
But it just might happen for Atlanta's Zac Brown Band thanks to its infectious first single "Chicken Fried," a slab of Southern goodness praising the love of cold beer, sweet tea, the American flag and "a pair of jeans that fit just right." According to Mediabase 24/7, the single is the second most popular song in country radio this week, blocked only by Nashville's hottest singer, Taylor Swift.
"We're waiting," said Zac Brown, a heavily bearded 30-year-old Dahlonega native who's been working as a professional musician for 12 years. "It's tough battling that gal for the No. 1 spot!"
Even if "Chicken Fried" ends up peaking in the runner-up position, Brown feels blessed. Tuesday, his band's first big-label album with Atlantic Records is out. "The Foundation" blends traditional country with jam band-style Southern rock, bluegrass and even a touch of reggae.
Atlantan Wyatt Durrette, Brown's writing partner, said he hopes they can be known as great musicians period: "We'd love to cross over to rock. We love Bob Marley and Jimmy Buffett. We're a mixture of all this music."
And like acts such as the Dave Mathews Band and Hootie & the Blowfish, the Zac Brown Band over the past four years has tirelessly toured, hitting venues 250 dates a year. The result? A growing grass-roots fan base even before country radio picked up "Country Fried."
"I just figured the big break would happen," Brown said. "I've given it everything I got. I tried to do people right along the way and surround myself with great musicians."
Locally, the Zac Brown Band spent many a night playing at Dixie Tavern in Marietta. "It's my home," Brown said. "I met Wyatt. I met my wife. I've met family and friends there."
Brown picked up a guitar at age 7 and hasn't put it down since. As a kid, he'd listen to the Eagles and the Allman Brothers while his buds jammed to Nirvana and Pearl Jam. "They used to laugh at me for listening to rocking chair music," he said. His reaction? "I just turned up my Walkman!"
He grew up strumming his guitar any chance he got, be it lunch hour, at his desk in class or after football practice. At age 15, he realized music was his destiny after opening for Atlanta musician Shawn Mullins ("Lullaby") at a coffee house in Dahlonega.
After high school, the 18-year-old started his own band Far From Einstein, where he learned rock and country hits galore, fueled by a "photographic memory" for songs and lyrics.
"It's muscle memory," he said. "It's just stored in my head."
Nonetheless, he was still trying to finish college at West Georgia, switching majors three times. Then Sept. 11 came along. "I decided life's to short doing stuff you don't want to do," he said.
As "Chicken Fried" burns up the FM airwaves, the band will keep touring nonstop — just bigger venues. So the next major Atlanta stop won't be the Dixie Tavern but, on Jan. 2, Duluth's Wild Bill's, which is about 20 times bigger.
"I was put here to play music," Brown said. "It's just home to me behind a microphone."
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