Pop a Top

"Pop a Top" is a country song written and originally recorded by Nat Stuckey in 1966. The first hit version was released by Jim Ed Brown in May 1967 as the third and final single from his album Just Jim. The song was a number 3 Billboard country single for Brown in late 1967. It was later revived by Alan Jackson as the lead-off single from his 1999 album Under the Influence. Jackson's version peaked at number 6 on the United States Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, and number 2 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.^[2]

"Pop a Top"
Single by Jim Ed Brown
from the album Just Jim
B-side	"Too Good to Be True"
Released	May 1967
Genre	Country
Length	2:16
Label	RCA Victor
Songwriter(s)	Nat Stuckey
Producer(s)	Felton Jarvis
Jim Ed Brown singles chronology
"You Can Have Her" (1967) "Pop a Top" (1967) "Bottle, Bottle" (1967)

"Pop a Top"
Single by Alan Jackson
from the album Under the Influence
B-side	"Revenooer Man"
Released	October 4, 1999
Recorded	1999
Genre	Country, Western swing^[1]
Length	3:04
Label	Arista Nashville 13183
Songwriter(s)	Nat Stuckey
Producer(s)	Keith Stegall
Alan Jackson singles chronology
"Little Man" (1999) "Pop a Top" (1999) "The Blues Man" (2000)

Content

The narrator, a bar patron, asks the tender to open another bottle of beer for him, and then he'll go. He commences to tell the bartender about his grief because his girl left him, and either he'll hide it with beer, or he'll be at home remembering heɾ. The sound of a metal "pop-top" can being opened was a novelty, and that is a significant factor in the creating of this song. The metallic click and hiss sound of opening this type of container is featured several times in the song.

Music video

The music video for Jackson's version was directed by Steven Goldmann, and features Cledus T. Judd. The video begins with Cledus singing a parody of "Here in the Real World", which is titled as "Here in the Beer World". He opens the refrigerator door to grab a bottle of beer called "POP A TOP", and suddenly finding himself at a black tie event, while Alan Jackson performs the song onstage. The video switches between shots of Jackson and his band performing, Cledus socializing, and various people transforming into country versions of themselves whenever a glass passes in front of the camera. At the end of the video, Cledus finds himself back in his kitchen, and frantically opens too many beers to "get the magic back."

Chart performance

Jim Ed Brown

"Pop a Top" debuted at number 71 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles for the week of May 20, 1967.

Chart (1967)	Peak position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[3]	3

Alan Jackson

"Pop a Top" debuted at number 49 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of October 9, 1999.

Chart (1999)	Peak position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)^[4]	2
US Billboard Hot 100^[5]	43
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[6]	6

Year-end charts

Chart (2000)	Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)^[7]	51

Drinking Game

"Pop a Top" is a popular drinking game in the American south. In this game, the song is played as a cue to tell players when to drink. When the lyric "pop a top, again" is sung, the player must then open and drink a beer before the next time the lyric repeats. When played to completion, the player will consume three beers during the course of the song.

References

1. Parton, Chris (October 9, 2015). "Readers' Poll: The 20 Best Alan Jackson Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
3. "Jim Ed Brown Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
4. "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 10004." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. December 20, 1999. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
5. "Alan Jackson Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
6. "Alan Jackson Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
7. "Best of 2000: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2000. Retrieved August 16, 2012.