John Anderson’s Music Surges in Streams, Airplay & Sales Following His Death
The country star’s “Seminole Wind” and “Straight Tequila Night” led, while deep cuts also gained.
Country legend John Anderson's music has experienced a surge in streams, airplay and sales following his death on October 21 at the age of 71. Three of his signature hits, "Seminole Wind," "Straight Tequila Night" and "Swingin'," made the October 31 Billboard Digital Song Sales chart, with "Seminole Wind" leading the pack at No. 9 with 2,000 copies sold in the United States.
In the week following Anderson's passing, his catalog generated 7.2 million streams on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, nearly doubling its previous week's total. On-demand streams more than doubled, while programmed streams increased by 14%. "Seminole Wind" led in streamed plays, with 1.5 million (up 56%), followed by "Straight Tequila Night" (1.4 million, up 49%) and "Swingin'" (1.2 million, up 44%).
Anderson's music also saw a significant increase in country radio play. His songs drew 357 spins on the Billboard Country Airplay panel from October 16-22, a 166% increase. The number of titles receiving airplay grew from seven to 18, while stations playing at least one of his songs increased from 72 to 94. "Straight Tequila Night" led the airplay, with 138 spins, nearly quadrupling its previous week's total, while "Seminole Wind" followed with 79 spins, more than five times its previous amount.
Other recordings that went unplayed the previous week, including "Black Sheep," "Chicken Truck," "1959" and "I Just Came Home to Count the Memories," were also noticed, with the strongest response coming from stations in the South.
Written by urgent.news from Billboard's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
