Liquor Store Blues

"Liquor Store Blues" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars from his debut studio album Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010), featuring Jamaican artist Damian Marley. It was released as the first promotional single from the record, on September 21, 2010 by Elektra Records. "Liquor Store Blues" is a reggae track with dub influences written by Mars, Phillip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Dwayne Chin-Quee, Mitchum Chin, Marley and Thomas Pentz. It was produced by the former three, under their alias, the Smeezingtons and Chin-Quee. Lyrically, the song addresses a way of avoiding problems by drinking with hope that afterwards everything will be fine. "Liquor Store Blues" received positive reviews from music critics, who praised Marley's appearance but called it a copy of Sublime's style. The song peaked at number 97 on the Canadian Hot 100, number 20 on the Latin Pop Songs and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The music video, directed by Jake Summer, features Mars and Marley singing together with a colorful background and "acid-trip" visual effects. It was nominated for International Video of the Year at the Danish GAFFA Awards. Mars performed "Liquor Store Blues" on The Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour (2010–2012) and the Hooligans in Wondaland Tour (2011). Background and release In an interview with Sound on Sound, Ari Levine said that the team, the Smeezingtons, never met Supa Dups personally and that "Liquor Store Blues" was finished by exchanging files of the song. The latter producer helped finishing the track by providing a dub sound, something the three of them "could just not nail it". During an interview granted to Vibe, Bruno Mars said that he never met Damian Marley, since the latter did "his part" after a show in Washington. Nevertheless, the singer explained how Marley was guested in the song: On September 21, 2010, the song was released as the first promotional single as an iTunes Store-exclusive prior to Doo-Wops & Hooligans album release in October 2010, under Elektra Records. In the countries outside the United States, such as Germany, it was released under Warner Entertainment Group.