Fall (Clay Walker song)

"Fall", written by Clay Mills, Sonny LeMaire and Shane Minor, is a song which has been recorded by both country music singer Clay Walker and pop music singer Kimberley Locke, both of whom are signed to Curb Records. Both versions were released within weeks of each other in mid-2007; while Walker's version was released to country radio, Locke's was released to the adult contemporary radio format. Walker's reached number 5 on the U.S. country singles charts, and Locke's reached Number One on the U.S. Dance charts. Go West front man Peter Cox has recorded a version of "Fall" on his 2010 CD "The S1 Sessions".

"Fall"
Single by Clay Walker
from the album Fall
Released	April 9, 2007
Genre	Country
Length	3:37
Label	Asylum-Curb
Songwriter(s)	Sonny LeMaire Shane Minor Clay Mills
Producer(s)	Keith Stegall
Clay Walker singles chronology
"'Fore She Was Mama" (2006) "Fall" (2007) "She Likes It in the Morning" (2008)

Content

"Fall" is a mid-tempo ballad in which the narrator addresses a lover who has had a bad day. The narrator then offers moral support to the lover: "Fall, go on and lose it all / Every doubt, every fear / Every worry, every tear".

Clay Walker version

Walker's version, the first version of the song to be released, was the second single from his 2007 album, which was also titled Fall. A music video was issued on October 17, 2007.[1]

Background

Walker stated that Fall was one of his favorite songs on his album. He also said after recording the track that “Keith stood up and high-fived the engineer when we got done with the vocal and I thought, that’s the first that I’ve ever seen that, maybe he was just glad that I got all the lyrics right, it was refreshing to know there wasn’t a lot of wasted time in the studio with Keith. He knows what he wants and he communicates that with the musicians really well."[2]

In an interview with The Flint Journal Walker said, "'Fall' was a huge hit for us. I think people are going to want to see us and ticket sales are already going up. As long as people want to hear us -- and I feel like they do -- we're going to get out and give it to them."[3]

Critical reception

Chuck Taylor of Billboard wrote "Walker's rich, confident baritone offers all the more reassurance, as does his self-assured smile".[4] Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a B+ rating and wrote, "This is another good single from an artist who has fully come into his own."[5]

Music video

Roman White directed the song's music video.

Live performances

Walker performed the song on The Montel Williams Show on April 11, 2008.[6]

Chart performance

His version of the song debuted at #59 on the Hot Country Songs chart dated April 7, 2007.[7] It charted for 37 weeks and peaked at #5 on the country chart dated November 17, 2007. It became his first Top Ten country hit since "I Can't Sleep", which reached #9 in late 2003-early 2004. This version also peaked at #56 on the Billboard Hot 100, his first peak on that chart since "I Can't Sleep".

Charts Chart (2007) Peak position US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[8] 5 US Billboard Hot 100[9] 55

Year-end charts End of year chart (2007) Peak position U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs[10] 40

Kimberley Locke version

"Fall"
Single by Kimberley Locke
from the album Based on a True Story
Released	February 25, 2008 April 8, 2008 (remixes)
Recorded	2007
Genre	Pop
Length	3:31 (album version) 3:16 (radio edit)
Label	Curb
Songwriter(s)	Sonny LeMaire Shane Minor Clay Mills
Producer(s)	Matthew Gerrard[11]
Kimberley Locke singles chronology
"Frosty the Snowman" (2007) "Fall" (2008) "We Need a Little Christmas" (2008)

Kimberley Locke covered the song as the third single from her album Based on a True Story, which was released only 2 weeks after Clay Walker's album. Locke's version was released to Adult Contemporary radio on February 25, 2008, with club remixes following in April.

Billboard reviewed the single as "a stunning showcase for the versatile vocalist" and suggests this may be her most satisfying single yet along with "8th World Wonder".[12]

Track listings and formats

• US promotional single - CURBD-2073

1. "Fall (radio edit) - 3:16

• US promotional remixes maxi single - CURBD-2087

1. "Fall" (Bimbo Jones extended mix) - 7:22
2. "Fall" (Almighty club mix) - 7:03
3. "Fall" (Piper extended club mix) - 7:48
4. "Fall" (Scotty K vocal Klub mix) - 6:54
5. "Fall" (Almighty dub) - 6:40
6. "Fall" (Bimbo Jones radio edit) - 3:33
7. "Fall" (Almighty radio edit) - 3:21
8. "Fall" (Piper radio edit) - 3:53
9. "Fall" (Scotty K radio edit) - 3:48

• Digital maxi single / The Radio Edits EP

1. "Fall" (Bimbo Jones radio edit) - 3:32
2. "Fall" (Almighty radio edit) - 3:22
3. "Fall" (Piper radio edit) - 3:53
4. "Fall" (Scotty K radio edit) - 3:48

• Digital maxi single / The Extended Mixes EP

1. "Fall" (Bimbo Jones extended mix) - 7:21
2. "Fall" (Almighty club mix) - 7:03
3. "Fall" (Piper extended club mix) - 7:47
4. "Fall" (Scotty K vocal Klub mix) - 6:54

Chart performance

Chart (2008)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	17

Chart (2008)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Top AC Songs of 2008	33
U.S. Billboard Top Dance Songs of 2008	39

See also

• Number-one dance hits of 2008 (USA)

References

1. Curb Records News Archived 2007-10-25 at the Wayback Machine Curb.com
2. "Clay Walker". NashvilleHype!. 2008-11-28. Archived from the original on 2011-08-10. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
3. Rauschert, Jeff The Flint Journal Singer Clay Walker not letting multiple sclerosis slow him down September 03, 2008
4. Taylor, Chuck. "Fall." Billboard 119.21 (2007): 42. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.
5. John, Kevin (2007-04-20). "Country Universe – A Country Music Blog » Review: Clay Walker, "Fall"". Countryuniverse.net. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
6. Transcript - The Montel Williams Show THE FIGHT AGAINST MS (April 11, 2008)
7. Morris, Edward. CMT Willie, Merle, Ray and Bon Jovi Make Chart Surges (March 31, 2007)
8. "Clay Walker Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
9. "Clay Walker Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
10. Billboard 2007 Year-end music charts - Hot Country Songs 2007
11. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2008-03-01. p. 34. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
12. Taylor, Chuck Fall Billboard Magazine

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics