Love me some Smokey and the Bandit.
Teaming up with Charles Schwab and the Annual Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Texas, Jake Owen is tipping the cap to the great Jerry Reed with a cover of “East Bound and Down,” the theme song from the film Smokey and the Bandit.
Written by Jerry Reed alongside Dick Fuller for the soundtrack to the movie, ‘East Bound & Down” was released in 1977 and went on to reach #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.
So why did Jake team up with a golf tournament to cover the song?
Because this year’s winner of the Charles Schwab Challenge is going to take home the custom built ’79 Firebird featured in the music video:
“Nothing like combining a few of my favorites together…music, classic cars, and golf.
Had way too much fun teaming up with Charles Schwab to cover and make a video of Jerry Reed’s massive hit ‘East Bound and Down.’ We even had Jerry’s grandson playing drums!
We chose this nostalgic song to celebrate the prize that will be awarded to this year’s Charles Schwab Challenge winner – a ’79 Schwab Firebird, built to honor the year that Schwab went all-in on technology.
The Charles Schwab Challenge is the longest-running event on The PGA TOUR to be played in the same location. It is played at Colonial Country Club in Texas every Memorial Day weekend.”
The annual gold tourney gets underway this coming Memorial Day Weekend, May 23-29.
Of course, Jake isn’t the first person to cover the Jerry Reed classic.
We’ve recently heard a version from Midland, as well as Dierks Bentley with Parker McCollum and Riley Green.
