Diamond-certified songwriter Chase Rice is celebrating the friendships that stand the test of time with his new song “Joe” out now. Opening with the famed “Good Better Best” chant that originated with Rice’s state champion high school football team and has since been embraced by the Chicago Bears, as chronicled on ESPN’s “NFL Countdown,” the solo-written song offers a nostalgic, story-driven tribute to fall. Listen BELOW.
Inspired by Rice’s own circle of longtime friends from North Carolina, “Joe” draws from the traditions and shared experiences that have kept the group connected through the years. What begins as a nostalgic look back at those memories gradually reveals a more meaningful truth, with each chorus delivering a different variation of the same realization: turns out the damn thing wasn’t about football, ducks, baseball at all.
“I wrote ‘Joe’ exactly a year ago, sitting in a duck blind,” recalls Rice. “I was watching the sun come up with a bunch of buddies from Carolina and I just felt gratitude. Grateful for the years I’ve lived and all the people who have made my life so awesome. Grateful for the ducks, the dogs that get ’em and all the conversations had sitting in that blind. I realized I still have friends in my life from the time we were teenagers, and I realized how rare that is, and even more so how much of a blessing it is. I thank God every day that I get to do music for a living, and that I can turn these stories into songs.”
That moment of gratitude ultimately became the foundation for a song that celebrates not just the memories made along the way, but the friendships that make them worth holding onto. While ‘Joe’ is a tribute to the group as a whole, its title nods to the one person who holds it all together most.
“Everybody needs a Joe in their life – that person who brings everyone together, who shows up when it matters most and who you know you can count on through the good times and the hard times,” adds Rice. “I’m lucky to have this group of guys in my corner, and I hope everybody listening can think about who their ‘Joe’ is, too.”
For more information, visit ChaseRice.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter/X and TikTok @ChaseRiceMusic and on Instagram @ChaseRice.
About Chase Rice
Few artists have had the enduring impact on country music Chase Rice can claim – fewer still possess the courage to leave it in the past and blaze a new trail. A true singer-songwriter with success in both disciplines, Rice’s 15-year career has taken the Florida-born North Carolina native to chart peaks and global stages… but with his eighth studio album, ELDORA, his only destination is the American West. As a 10x Platinum artist who burst onto the scene as a Diamond-certified songwriter (“Cruise”), hits like “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen.” and “Eyes On You” helped Rice post two No. 1s of his own at Country Radio, igniting a movement through chest-thumping euphoria and bold romantic passion. He sold out international tours and shared stadium billing with Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney before leaving the major label system for good. Now, with full independence and over 3 billion streams to his credit, ELDORA signals Rice’s dedication to the storytelling craft. Written in Colorado and inspired by a hidden mountainside town, the 12-song set is easily the most raw, unguarded expression of Rice’s talent to date – born in the afterglow of an epic show at the storied Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Working hand-in-hand with co-writer/producer Oscar Charles, Rice adopts the unfiltered, rough-hewn approach of an off-the-grid maverick, embodying the Western mystique and boldly going where few of his stature would dare. That artistic evolution continues with “Connie Lou,” a joyful, deeply personal tribute inspired by the true story of his parents’ romance, and “Joe,” a nostalgic tribute to fall and Rice’s lifelong friendships, further cementing his commitment to authentic, character-driven songwriting rooted in his own life and the American West.
