Stay Home

Big & Rich 2020

The country duo John Rich (b. 1974) and William Kenneth “Big Kenny” Alphin (b. 1963), known as Big & Rich, has been a force in country music since 2004. They followed their debut album, the triple-platinum Horse of a Different Color, with five studio albums and numerous chart-topping singles, garnering many awards and award nominations. Among their best-known songs are the witty breakout hit “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” and “Comin’ to Your City,” which is the theme song for ESPN College Game Day.

Big & Rich

In addition to their music careers, both artists are entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and humanitarians. Alphin is founding partner of a luxury resort in South Dakota, and Rich owns a Nashville club called Redneck Riviera, as well as Redneck Riviera lines of boots, whiskey, and beef jerky that are sold across the country. Rich was also a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice, which he won, and he hosts the Fox Nation show The Pursuit. In 2013 the Country Radio Broadcasters recognized the duo for their humanitarian efforts with the Artist Humanitarian Award.

In all aspects of their careers, the artists aim to bring people together in a spirit of positivity and unity. This is exemplified in the song “Stay Home,” which they wrote during the first peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States. On March 16, 2020, President Donald Trump released guidelines developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that aimed to slow the spread of the illness by encouraging people to stay home as much as possible, avoid large gatherings, and follow state and local orders. Big & Rich wrote “Stay Home” as many states and localities issued orders closing businesses and schools, leading to a period of relative “lockdown” for most people considered “non-essential” or non-life-sustaining workers.

In this unusual time, people across the country experienced things they had never experienced before, at least not collectively or on such a large scale. The song uses humor to rally people around the idea of staying home and lets listeners know that everyone is “in this together.” Big & Rich sing about some of the unusual challenges people faced while stuck at home, including boredom, parenting, homeschooling, hand hygiene, and buying toilet paper and other supplies.