'American Idol' has never been a Friday show (unlike, of course, 'The Dukes of Hazzard').īentley's serious side had never sounded more inspired than it does on this anthemic song about America, on which he sidesteps the chest-beating patriot act you tend to get from country stars in moments as heartfelt as 'Scars, yeah she's got her scars/ Sometimes it starts to worry me/ 'Cause lose, I don't wanna lose/ Sight of who we are.' No wonder Bono liked it. It should be noted, though, that Wildman Willie would not blow him off on Friday 'in the p.m.' because 'Idol' was on TV.

In this one, he can't find anyone to go drinking with on a Friday night and wonders whether he's the only one who wants to have fun tonight. It's another of those story-songs Bentley does so well. 1, this lighthearted honky-tonk throwback sounds like something Jerry Reed or Waylon Jennings might have topped the charts with when a shout-out to 'The Dukes of Hazzard' would have been a whole lot less nostalgic. He tosses in a well-played Bo Duke reference, and that first verse is the stuff of classic country story-songs: 'Becky was a beauty from south Alabama/ Her daddy had a heart like a 9-pound hammer/ Think he even did a little time in the slammer/ What was I thinkin'.'Īnother smile-inducing country No. 1 on Billboard's country charts - in part, because it's infectious and, in part, because he really sells it, shrugging his way through the chorus hook with an audible grin and throwing in some playful spoken-word asides. Here's a look at his 20 best singles (as scientifically chosen by using the Science of What I Like), topped by 'What Was I Thinkin',' the song that sent him on his way 12 years ago.Ī rollicking country-blues track fueled by swampy slide-guitar licks played on what sounds like a Dobro, 'What Was I Thinkin'' was Bentley's first single. 15, for a headlining concert at Ak-Chin Pavilion in support of 'Riser,' the singer's fourth release to top Billboard's country-album charts.

Local country-boy-made-good Dierks Bentley, who launched his career after moving to Nashville in the '90s, is back in the Valley on Saturday, Aug.

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