[2] Randy Travis, who was incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, was unable to record but makes a silent cameo appearance in the music video and is credited as an artist.

He was among the first people approached to take up the task, being on the CMA board partly as a result of his star-making work with Kacey Musgraves and Old Dominion.

He happily took on the job,[5] but admits that he was hesitant to make a medley of the songs at first, saying that the process might work for the pop genre, but not for country, since "...we tell stories.

[10] Originally, Kahn wanted to incorporate songs including "Gentle on My Mind" by Glen Campbell and "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers.

[7] Then one day, as co-arranger Josh Osborne and Kahn were playing around in the latter's office, the two realized that one could sing the verses of "I Will Always Love You" in the same tempo as "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and blend them without changing the chord structure, and it worked.

[9][10] McAnally was worried about approaching Parton to sing on the recording, as he thought that she might think that including "I Will Always Love You" in a medley would compromise the integrity of the song.

"[5] In an interview with Billboard magazine, McAnally said that "some of those people were really generous with their time, singing a lot more than what ended up on the track.

[9] The recording session took place in Nashville a few days before the CMA Music Festival in June 2016.

And by the time it was scheduled to shoot the video two days leading up to the CMT Awards and CMA Festival, nearly everyone was in town to stop by the soundstage, although for George Strait, a couple of last-minute vocals were recorded the same day the singer shot a video cameo.

[5] Nearly all artists who were approached made it into the finished product, although a few artists including Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington, Zac Brown Band, Thomas Rhett, Chris Young, Toby Keith, and Florida Georgia Line either could not do the vocal or the video.

During the recording session, McAnally became very nervous and told Parton: "I don't know how I am supposed to direct you singing 'I Will Always Love You,' but I am going to do my best.

[4] Miranda Lambert said that she felt the same way but later commented saying, "It's really cool that almost everybody that's part of the project had a duet together or performed together or toured together or something as a combo.

[15] Keith Urban, who was nominated for Entertainer of the Year in 2016, explained why the song is timeless and resonates to so many people: "I've played 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' many, many times.

I think that's why songs like that transcend everything, because it's about home and very universal, human things.”[4] Artists in order of their appearance: The song was released on September 16, 2016, to radio stations, streaming services, and digital retailers at 8:30 AM ET across the United States and in several key international markets.

[17] Joseph Kahn directed the song's accompanying music video, which serves as a promotional teaser for the 50th CMA Awards ceremony and features all 30 artists involved performing in front of a green screen on which "graphics of railroad tracks transform into major cities and back again.

[14] It marked the fourth time he directed a country music video after Willie Nelson's "Afraid" and “December Day” in 1994[2] and Faith Hill's "The Way You Love Me" in 2000 and the director's most star-studded video since Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" which featured 15 artists.

McAnally admitted that at one point he grew wary and anxious due to the number of celebrities involved and the heft of the pricey budget.

McAnally recalls, "Literally as he's driving from the studio to the warehouse, we're dropping his voice in and sending a track over for him to (lip-synch) to.

In between, many country music stars can be seen singing, walking, and looking out across digitally-imposed landscapes like fields, farms, backroads, railroad tracks, famous locales like Nashville's Lower Broadway and international landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower, London and the Mesa Arch.

[14] According to CMA senior vice president of marketing and strategic partnerships Damon Whiteside, "the whole concept of the video is really about starting in Nashville and then really taking a tour around the world just to showcase that country music is everywhere; it's global.

Director Joseph Kahn, producer Shane McAnally, and CMA board member Karen Fairchild (of Little Big Town) were present to share their experiences throughout the process, with a short panel led by Country Countdown USA host Lon Helton.

Randy Travis, who was in attendance, received a round of applause for his participation and Fairchild thanked him for being a part of the project.

[27][28] Billboard said that the video contains "more special-effects scenarios in these four minutes as [sic] anything short of an Avatar sequel, albeit with churches, forests, and Ryman Auditorium standing in for other planets.