Shenandoah, Luke Combs Hit No. 1 With “Two Dozen Roses” Remake
Absolute Publicity/David Bergman/Luke Combs/Instagram
For the first time in nearly 30 years, legendary country band Shenandoah has earned a No. 1 single.
On Friday (Sept. 22), Shenandoah released a collaboration with two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year Luke Combs on their 1989 hit song “Two Dozen Roses.” Less than 24 hours after the song’s release, it bumped Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” from the top spot on the iTunes Country Songs chart.
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The feat marks the first time Shenandoah, led by original band members Marty Raybon and Mike McGuire, have topped the streaming chart since iTunes’ chart inception in 2009. It also marks the first time the band has his No. 1 on any chart since 1994 when their single “If Bubba Can Dance (I Can Too)” topped Billboard’s US Hot Country Songs chart.
Shenandoah teased their collaboration with Luke Combs in June by sharing a photo of lead singer Marty Raybon in the studio with the “Beautiful Crazy” singer. Fans reacted with excitement at the potential collab, with some fans predicting that they were likely recording “Two Dozen Roses” sing Combs has long used the song in his own concerts as a way to introduce his band.
Shenandoah Is Often Regarded As One Of The Greatest Bands Of The ’90s (And They Were!), But They Actually Got Their Start In The Late ’80s.
“Two Dozen Roses” became Shenandoah’s third No. 1 single in 1989, following up the success of “The Church on Cumberland Road” and “Sunday in the South.”
Founded in 1984 by Marty Raybon, Ralph Ezell, Stan Thorn, Jim Seales and Mike McGuire, Raybon’s standout vocals and bluegrass influence set Shenandoah apart from other country bands of the time. The band dealt with a number of shakeups over the years, the most notable being the 17 years when Marty Raybon stepped away to pursue a solo career. He returned in 2014 and, with the help of McGuire, rebuilt the band.
They invited Luke Combs to join them on a “Two Dozen Roses” remake after hearing that he had been performing their song at his concerts.
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“People would send us videos of him performing the song live and we thought, ‘How cool would it be to have Luke record the song with us?’” Shenandoah lead singer Marty Raybon told Billboard.
Combs accepted the invite and the song was was re-recorded earlier this summer. According to Raybon, “[Combs] sang the florist bill off of it. It appears ‘Two Dozen Roses’ is as big as it ever was and having Luke’s vocal on there just proves the timelessness of what folks have felt about this song for years.”
Hear Shenandoah and Luke Combs sing “Two Dozen Roses” in the video below.
