Let’s Play Ball! Ole Miss Rebels’ Walk-Up Songs for 2022

OXFORD, Miss. — Along with preseason team rankings and All-American and All-SEC lists comes the long-awaited release of Ole Miss baseball’s “Walk-Up Songs.” These are the songs you hear playing when each player steps up to bat or takes the mound.

Why each chooses the song he does we may never know, but it might offer a little window into their personality as a player.  

Here is this year’s list for the Diamond Rebs and a little about each song

No. 1 Peyton Chatagnier – “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive” – Travis Tritt

According to countrythangdaily.com, Tritt released the song in 2000 as the second single off his album, “Down the Road I Go.” It then reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. The feel-good song is considered a fan-favorite among Travis Tritt songs.

No. 2 Derek Diamond – “Bam” – Jay-Z

“Bam” is a song by Jay-Z from his thirteenth studio album, 4:44 (2017). The song samples Sister Nancy’s “Bam Bam,” and it charted in the United States and United Kingdom in 2017. Songfacts.com says: “Jay-Z links up with reggae star Damian Marley for this cut,” with Jay telling iHeart Radio, “The song ‘Bam’ with Damian Marley, it’s just jammin,’ it’s just like the song. But it’s secretly Shawn Carter saying, ‘Man, you need a bit of ego.’ It was because of me and the things that I’ve done, this is JAY-Z saying you needed a bit of ego for us to arrive at this point.”

No. 3 Hudson Sapp – “Devil Eyes” – Hippie Sabotage

Hippie Sabotage are an electronic dance music duo from Sacramento, California, consisting of brothers Kevin and Jeff Saurer. The brothers began working on music at the age of 12 where their focus was hip-hop. The name Hippie Sabotage was inspired by their fathers’ initials H.S,Ryan McMahon of the Colorado Rockies also used “Devil Eyes” by Hippie Sabotage as his walk-up song in 2020.

No. 4 Knox Loposer – “Through the Late Night” – Travis Scott

Travis Scott links up with his idol Kid Cudi on this late-night party anthem. It is the first time the pair have collaborated despite talking about working together a lot. “Kid Cudi was my guy,” Scott said in a 2015 Complex interview according to songfacts.com.

No. 6 Reagan Burford – “Dirty Diana” – Michael Jackson

The King of Pop brings “Dirty Diana,” the fourth of five consecutive number-one Billboard singles released from the 1987 ‘Bad’ album. “Dirty Diana” was written and composed by Michael Jackson and co-produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson.

No. 7 Jacob Gonzalez – “Friends in Low Places” – Garth Brooks

A classic in every sense of sense of the word. “Friends in Low Places” was THE song that transitioned many a 1980’s teenager from pop to country. If you attend a Brooks concert, all Garth has to do is play the first four notes and the crowd goes bonkers.

No. 8 Justin Bench – “Desperado” – Rihanna

“Desperado” is a song recorded by Rihanna for her eighth studio album, Anti. “Desperado” debuted inside the top 50 of the United States Billboard Dance Club Songs chart at number 42 on August 12, 2017. Rihanna’s hit was listed on President Barack Obama’s Summer Playlist for 2021.

No. 9 Hayden Leatherwood – “Mississippi” – Afroman

According to mswritersandmusicians.com, Afroman cites his influences as TooShort, Big Daddy Kane, and 2 Live Crew. “He began his rap career in the eighth grade when he started making homemade tapes of his own songs and passing them out to his classmates.”

No. 12 Kemp Alderman – “Way I Talk” – Morgan Wallen

A hit in 2017 for Wallen, bigloudrecords.com, says the song “…plays off the young star’s dynamic vocal delivery and features a sound straight out of the modern South, combining elements of both country and rock.”

No. 13 Hayden Dunhurst – “10k” – KB

355daysofinspringmedia.com writes, “With the song paying homage to Matt Redman’s hit worship song ’10 000 Reasons (Bless The Lord),’ in that song lyrics are used with permission, as in taken verbatim; we are introduced fairly early on to a musically eclectic and diverse atmosphere.”

No. 14 Tim Simay – “Really Really” – Kevin Gates

Gates states on this organ-led cut that he “…won’t apologize for his ballin’ and being out of his mind.” His response to the haters and doubters is “really, really,” says songfacts.com

No. 16 TJ McCants – “Down To The Honkytonk” – Jake Owen

Rolling Stone described the song as “a barroom sing-along. With its cheeky, nonchalant allusions to honky-tonk heroes like Waylon Jennings and Garth Brooks, the song proves a hit with fans, who howl their approval as Owen throws his voice and makes pantomime gestures to mimic the song’s comedic turns.”

No. 17 John Kramer – “World-A-Raggae” – Ini Kamoze & Salaam Remi

“World-A-Raggae” did not chart for Kamoze who is better known for another walk-up song on the list.

No. 18 Mitch Murrell – “Mississippi Queen” – Mountain

In popular culture, according to songfacts.com, “Mississippi Queen” is used in The Simpsons in the 1996 “Homerpalooza” episode, The Dukes of Hazzard movie in 2005, Guitar Hero III in 2007, Rock Band in 2007 and The Expendables movie in 2010.

No. 19 Matt Parenteau – “Swag Surfin” – FLY

The New Yorker writes, “Swag Surfin’ announces itself with regal synth horns and then crawls at a pace that seems far too slow for any sort of club anthem. A chime signals the chorus: “Man I got that swag,” it opens, the word “swag” stretching out for three paces. “My hat matchin’ my bag”—count another three on “bag.” By now, everyone within arm’s reach of one another is touching and swaying, even though the bass hasn’t kicked in yet—and it won’t for another twenty seconds.”

No. 20 Calvin Harris – “Small Town USA” – Justin Moore

Interestingly, songfacts.com says, “This was the third Country #1 song with “USA” in its title. The previous two chart-toppers were Kitty Wells’ “Heartbreak U.S.A.” (1961) and Donna Fargo’s “The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” (1972).”

No. 21 Drew McDaniel – “Haterz” – Keith Frank ft. Lil Boosie

Allmusic.com calls Keith Frank,“one of the leading lights of the “nouveau zydeco” movement, (who is) the son of zydeco great Preston Frank.” This appears to be an obvious tribute to McDaniel’s Louisiana roots.

No. 22 Max Cioffi – “Hungry Like the Wolves” – Duran Duran

An 80’s anthem “Hungry Like the Wolf” was Duran Duran’s first major hit in the U.S. Keyboardist NickRhodes came up with an idea for the backing track in the car while he was going to the studio. He started playing with the Roland Jupiter-8 keyboard, while singer Simon Le Bon was working with the lyrics. The lyrics were inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, and the repeating of the word “do” at the end of each verse takes its melody from the instrumentals in Gordon Lightfoot’s song “If You Could Read My Mind”.

No. 23 Josh Mallitz – “Take Me Out” – Franz Ferdinand

“Take Me Out” is a song by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand. It was released as the second single from their eponymous debut studio album in the United Kingdom on 12 January 2004 and in the United States on 12 April 2004. The song received high critical acclaim upon its release in January 2004. Drowned in Sound called it “a work of sheer clanging wonder”. Franz Ferdinand helped define the sound of the 2000s and 2010s with their mix of arty rock, dance music, dub, and more,” writes allmusic.com

No. 24 Jackson Kimbrell – “Simple Man” – Lynard Skynard

Rockcelebrities.net writes, “The song’s lyrics reflect a woman speaking to her only son and advising him to be the simple person who can love and understand himself.…A few years after the song’s release, (lead singer) Ronnie (Van Zant) died because of a plane crash on October 20, 1977, at the age of 27. Consequently, his devastated friends and bandmates decided to dedicate ‘Simple Man’ to him to pay tribute to the late singer.”

No. 25 Tim Elko – “Fortunate Son” – Creedence Clearwater Revival

“Fortunate Son” is a song by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival released on their fourth studio album, Willy and the Poor Boys in November 1969. It was previously released as a single, together with “Down on the Corner,” in September 1969.“ Even decades after its release, ‘Fortunate Son’ remains a song that makes you want to pump your fist. This is punk rock before punk rock was even invented as a musical genre,” Shmoop.com writes.

No. 26 Hunter Elliott – “Joker and the Thief” – Wolfmother

“Joker & the Thief” is a song by Australian rock band Wolfmother. The music video for the song was nominated for the “Best Rock Video” and “Video of the Year” awards at the 2007 MTV Australia Awards. Fun fact, according to songfacts.com, the song was used in the blackjack scene in the 2009 comedy The Hangover, starring Zach Galifianakis and Bradley Cooper.

No. 27 John Gaddis – “Way Out” – Jack Harlow

“Way Out” is a song by American rapper Jack Harlow, featuring vocals from fellow American rapper Big Sean. Rap-up.com says, “Over the flute-driven instrumental, produced by JetsonMade, Jasper Harris, and Heavy Mellow, the “WHATS POPPIN” rapper boasts about his baddies in different cities, while Sean Don reminisces about his ex.”

No. 28 Banks Tolley – “Rocketeer” – Far East Movement

According to their website, Far East Movement has always had dance music in their DNA; their early breakout hit “Like a G6” established the LA trio as major dance commodities around the world. Since then their ever growing catalog of music has been supported by celebrated artists such as Skrillex, Diplo, and Afrojack.

No. 31 Luke Ellis – “Tattoos on This Town” – Jason Aldean

Sounding like a man remembering days gone by, Aldean’s chorus rings, “It sure left its mark on us, we sure left our mark on it. We let the world know we were here with everything we did. We laid a lot of memories down, And we’ll always be hangin’ around, Like tattoos on this town, Like tattoos on this town.”

No. 32 Noah Magee – “Detroit Rock City” – Kiss

The song, also a movie with the same title, produced by Gene Simmons, was released in 1999. Set in 1978, the film is about a group of kids from Detroit trying desperately to attend a sold-out Kiss show in Detroit. The song is one of the band’s most popular and is a classic rock staple. It is also seen as one of the more technical songs musically in the band’s canon. The song has been noted for being a duet between guitarists Stanley and Ace Frehley.

No. 33 Ben Van Cleve – “You Make My Dreams” – Daryl Hall & John Oates

Although it only peaked at No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100, it has been used numerous times in advertisements and popular movies like, The Wedding Singer, Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd, 500 Days of Summer, Despicable Me 2, and Ready Player One, according to societyofrock.com.

No. 34 Riley Maddox – “Here Comes the Hot Stepper” – Ini Kamoze & Salaam Remi

This better-known song by Kamoze, “Hot Stepper,” is a song co-written and recorded by Jamaican dancehall artist Ini Kamoze. It was released as the lead single from his album, ‘Here Comes the Hotstepper,’ as well as the soundtrack to the film Prêt-à-Porter. The song was Kamoze’s only song to reach the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking atop the chart on December 17, 1994, and remaining there for two weeks. 

No. 35 Kevin Graham – “Tumbling Dice” – Rolling Stones

Rockhall.com states during their 50-plus year career, the Rolling Stones have married their love of blues and American R&B with a vast array of styles and genres: disco, garage, psychedelic rock and even punk. The song was completed at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles between November 1971 and March 1972. Lead singer Mick Jagger had finished the lyrics after speaking with a housekeeper about gambling in LA. He explained, “she liked to play dice and I really didn’t know much about it. But I got it off of her and managed to make the song out of that.”

No. 37 Brandon Johnson – “Seven Nation Army” – The White Stripes

“Seven Nation Army” has become a sports anthem, commonly appearing in audience chants in which a series of “oh” sounds or the name of an athlete is sung to the tune of the song’s riff. It has also served as a theme song for sports teams, personalities, and events, including the 2018 FIFA World Cup.  Rolling Stone writes, “As a teenager, Jack White (The White Stripes lead singer) thought about enlisting in the Marines or joining the priesthood. Instead, he settled on rock and roll.”  Talk about polarizing career choices.

No. 38 Logan Savell – “Run this Town” – Rihanna, Jay-Z, Kanye West

“Run This Town” earned two Grammys in 2010 for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. The song’s accompanying music video, directed by Anthony Mandler, depicts the trio in a post-apocalyptic environment, featuring scenes involving angry protesters surrounding them. “Run This Town” was performed by Jay-Z, West, and Rihanna on the series premiere of The Jay Leno Show in the United States.

No. 39 Jack Dougherty – “Public Service Announcement” – Jay-Z

Djbooth.net writes “PSA was, and is, a lot of things at once. We will remember it because it was the point in which JAY-Z had nothing left to prove to us as a rapper. It’s a monumental rap record, from a larger than life rapper, in which he needed under three minutes to reach his peak form.”

No. 40 Garrett Wood – “Pepas” – Farruko

“The success and ubiquity of “Pepas” has transcended geographical, cultural, and language barriers, which the following numbers can show. At the time of publication, “Pepas” counts with more than 24 million streams on Pandora, 556.5 million streams on Spotify, over 261 million views of its official video, and 226.7 million of its official cover audio-video, which will make this song easily cross 500 million views in a couple of weeks,” writes remezcla.com.

No. 43 Cole Baker – “He’s A Pirate” – Klaus Badelt

“He’s A Pirate” appeared in the 2003 Disney film “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.” The track, cut and altered for time, has been used as theme music by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for pre-game and time-out sequences at home games at Raymond James Stadium.

No. 44 Dylan DeLucia – “Till I Collapse” – Eminem

“‘Till I Collapse” is a song by American rapper Eminem, released from his fourth studio album, The Eminem Show, in 2002. It is the 18th track on the album, and features American rapper Nate Dogg performing the hook. Despite never being released as a single, the song has managed to chart numerous times worldwide and is one of Eminem’s most streamed songs on Spotify. Forbes.com declares that “Till I Collapse” is Eminem’s First Non-Single To Surpass 1 Billion Spotify Streams. 

No. 45 Mason Nichols – “Hello Operator” – The White Stripes

The sole single off of the Stripes sophomore “De Stijl” album, “Hello Operator” was the first song legendary UK DJ John Peel ever played by the band. The B-side showcases the band’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” a long-time fan favorite. The lyrics are based on an elementary school song that students sing while playing in school yards, according to songfacts.com

No. 46 Brayden Jones – “Empire State of Mind (Remix)” –  rburg

If we have the right song, it’s a remix of the popular “New York, New York” song by the Chairman of the Board Frank Sinatra

No. 50 Blake McGehee – “My Kinda Lover” – Billy Squier

“My Kinda Lover” was the third and final single released from Billy Squier’s Triple Platinum 1981 album, “Don’t Say No.” According to inthestudio.net, Squier‘s album sold over three million copies because of the songs “In the Dark,” “My Kinda Lover,” “Lonely Is the Night,” and the big hit, ”The Stroke.”

No. 54 Tywone Malone – “Bad Morning” – YoungBoy Never Broke Again

Complex.com reports, “With cosigns from other Baton Rouge rappers like Booside Badazz and Kevin Gates, YoungBoy’s string of early mixtape releases began to bring him some buzz around the city. It wouldn’t be until YoungBoy Never Broke Again dropped A.I. YoungBoy after being released from prison in 2017 that his music would begin to find a national audience. The mixtape’s single “Untouchable” and another track, “No Smoke,” gave YoungBoy his first Billboard charting songs and eventually landed him a deal with Atlantic Records.”

No. 55 Wes Burton – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – Nirvana

A quintessential 90s song from Grunge Band Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of ‘The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.’  Much like Wes Burton, himself, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is unmistakable and unforgettable.

No. 56 Jack Washburn – “505” – Arctic Monkeys

“505” is one of the songs that marks a turning point in Alex Turner’s songwriting, as he discovers new emotional depths. The organ chords are the same as were used in Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack for the iconic Western, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” where Angel Eyes enters before the final standoff. Radio.co.uk writes “Despite never being released as a single, 505 has always been a firm favorite among Arctic Monkeys fans, getting a huge reception during their live performances.”