The Foundation (Zac Brown Band album)

The Foundation is the first major-label studio album by American country music band Zac Brown Band. It was released on November 18, 2008.[4] Originally slated for release on the Home Grown label and Big Picture Records, the album is distributed by Atlantic Nashville in association with those two labels. The financing for the album was provided by Atlanta, GA entrepreneur Braden Copeland through his investment company Braden Copeland Ventures, LLC.[5] On December 2, 2009, the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Album.[6] and also earned the band the Grammy Award for Best New Artist on January 31. The album also has been nominated for the 2010 Academy of Country Music Awards "Album of the Year" award. As of September 2015, the album has sold 3.4 million copies in the US.[7]

The Foundation
Studio album by Zac Brown Band
Released	November 18, 2008
Recorded	Brighter Shade Studio, Atlanta, GA; Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas; The Sound Station Nashville, TN; Wedgewood Sound.
Genre	Country
Length	42:42
Label	Atlantic Home Grown Southern Ground Big Picture
Producer	Zac Brown Keith Stegall
Zac Brown Band chronology
The Foundation (2008) You Get What You Give (2010)
Singles from The Foundation
"Chicken Fried" Released: June 16, 2008 "Whatever It Is" Released: January 24, 2009 "Toes" Released: July 6, 2009 "Highway 20 Ride" Released: November 23, 2009 "Free" Released: April 12, 2010

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Engine 145	[2]
Billboard	(favorable)[3]

Content

The album includes five singles, starting with "Chicken Fried," which the band had previously recorded on its 2005 self-released album Home Grown.[8] One year later, The Lost Trailers released this song as a single on BNA Records, but the label withdrew the single after Brown changed his mind about licensing the song.[9] The Zac Brown Band's rendition became a Number One country hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in December 2008.

Four further singles were released from the album – "Whatever It Is," "Toes," "Highway 20 Ride" and "Free" – the latter three of which were also Number One hits. Additionally, "Different Kind of Fine" also entered the chart as an album cut from unsolicited airplay, where it reached number 55.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Toes"	Zac Brown; Wyatt Durrette; John Driskell Hopkins; Shawn Mullins	4:21
2.	"Whatever It Is"	Brown; Durrette	3:29
3.	"Where the Boat Leaves From"	Brown; Durrette	3:44
4.	"Violin Intro To Free"	Jimmy De Martini	1:01
5.	"Free"	Brown	3:48
6.	"Chicken Fried"	Brown; Durrette	3:58
7.	"Mary"	Brown; Joseph Cline	2:50
8.	"Different Kind of Fine"	Brown; Durrette; Stokes Nielson	3:18
9.	"Highway 20 Ride"	Brown; Durrette	3:51
10.	"It's Not OK"	Hopkins	4:10
11.	"Jolene"	Ray LaMontagne	4:21
12.	"Sic 'em on a Chicken"	Brown; Hopkins	3:51
Total length:			42:42

Personnel

• Zac Brown – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, background vocals
• Jimmy De Martini – fiddle, background vocals
• Greenwood Hart – keyboards, Hammond B-3 organ, accordion
• John Driskell Hopkins – bass guitar, background vocals, lead vocals on "It's Not OK"
• Brent Mason – electric guitar
• Marcus Petruska – drums, percussion, background vocals
• Gary Prim – keyboards, Hammond B-3 organ
• Joel Williams – electric guitar

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak position U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 2 U.S. Billboard 200 9 Singles Year Single Peak chart positions US Country [10] US [11] US Adult [12] CAN [13] 2008 "Chicken Fried" 1 20 — 52 2009 "Whatever It Is" 2 26 — 72 "Toes" 1 25 — 60 "Highway 20 Ride" 1 40 — 66 2010 "Free" 1 34 37 59 "—" denotes releases that did not chart

End of year charts Chart (2010) Year-end 2010 US Billboard 200 17[14] US Billboard Top Country Albums 5[15] Chart (2013) Year-end 2010 US Billboard 200 144[16] Decade-end charts Chart (2010–2019) Position US Billboard 200[17] 107

Certifications

Region	Certification
Canada (Music Canada)[18]	Platinum
United States (RIAA)[19]	5× Platinum

References

1. Deming, Mark. "The Foundation review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
2. Greenberg, Pierce (2008-11-20). "The Foundation review". Engine 145. Archived from the original on 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
3. Tucker, Ken (2008-11-22). "Music reviews". Billboard: 77. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
4. Billboard.com - Zac Brown Band Signs With Atlantic
5. BradenCopeland.com - About
6. "The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Nominees List", Grammy.com, December 2, 2009
7. Caulfield, Keith (September 4, 2015). "Billboard 200 Chart Moves: Bon Jovi Earns 15th Top 20 Album". Billboard.
8. Wynn, Ron (2008-08-01). "Short Takes". Nashville City Paper. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
9. Tucker, Ken (2006-03-15). "BNA Forced To Swap Trailers' Single". Radio Monitor. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
10. "Zac Brown Band Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
11. "Zac Brown Band Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
12. "Zac Brown Band Album & Song Chart History - Adult Pop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
13. "Zac Brown Band Album & Song Chart History - Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
14. "Best of 2010 - Billboard Top 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
15. "Best of 2010 - Top Country Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
16. "2013 Year-End Charts – Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
17. "Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
18. "Canadian album certifications – Zac Brown Band – The Foundation". Music Canada.
19. "American album certifications – Zac Brown Band – The Foundation". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.