There Ain't Nothin' Wrong With The Radio

Album: Read Between The Lines (1992)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Written by Tippin and country songwriter Buddy Brock, this novelty song is about a ramshackle car that barely runs but still has a working radio that can tune into all the country stations. Good enough for Tippin, who owned a car just like the one in the song.

    "It's my old car Daisy, 1975 Toyota Corolla. When she finally laid down, she had 271,000 miles on her," Tippin told Songfacts. "So Buddy and I have just finished up a song called 'I Wonder How Far it is Over You.' He said, 'What are we going to write next?' I said, 'I got the greatest idea in the world. It's about this guy and he's got this new girlfriend and she just keeps messin' with his radio, twistin' on the knobs, pushin' all the buttons back and forth. He finally says, 'Hey, knock it off, there ain't nothing wrong with my radio.' And Buddy said, 'No, we're not writing it about some guy you made up in your head.' He said, 'We're going to write that about your old beat-up car, Daisy, because the only thing on it that works is the radio.'" (Here's our full interview with Aaron Tippin.)
  • This was Tippin's first #1 hit on the country chart, and his longest-running at three weeks.
  • Tippin performed this with Alvin and the Chipmunks on their 1992 country album, Chipmunks in Low Places. The cover pokes fun at the song's bad grammar, namely the title: "ain't" is an informal contraction and when paired with "nothin'," it forms a double negative, implying there is indeed something wrong with the radio. Simon the stickler tries to fix it by singing, "there isn't anything wrong with the radio."

    Tippin tells the chipmunk that the lax grammar is what makes the song work: "It's a license we songwriters use to get the proper feeling."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

James Williamson of Iggy & the Stooges

James Williamson of Iggy & the StoogesSongwriter Interviews

The Stooges guitarist (and producer of the Kill City album) talks about those early recordings and what really happened with David Bowie.

Jon Anderson

Jon AndersonSongwriter Interviews

Jon Anderson breaks down the Yes classic "Seen All Good People" and talks about his 1000 Hands album, which features Chick Corea, Rick Derringer, Ian Anderson, and many other luminaries.

Bible Lyrics

Bible LyricsMusic Quiz

Rockers, rappers and pop stars have been known to quote the Bible in their songs. See if you match the artist to the biblical lyric.

Andy McClusky of OMD

Andy McClusky of OMDSongwriter Interviews

Known in America for the hit "If You Leave," OMD is a huge influence on modern electronic music.

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)Songwriter Interviews

Steve Cropper on the making of "In the Midnight Hour," the chicken-wire scene in The Blues Brothers, and his 2021 album, Fire It Up.

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.