Hillbilly Bone was conceived as part of an experiment undertaken by Shelton to release multiple extended plays throughout the year.

[1][6][7] Hillbilly Bone's title track, which features a guest vocal from Trace Adkins, was released on October 24, 2009 as the lead-off single.

[7] Jessica Phillips of Country Weekly, Thom Jurek of Allmusic and Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine all gave the EP three stars out of five.

[3] Jurek called its material "formula contemporary country" and said that the label's decision to release multiple EPs instead of an album was "risky.

"[1] Jonathan Keefe criticized the "compressed" production and the lyrics of "Hillbilly Bone" and "Kiss My Country Ass," but commended the recording for having a common theme among its songs.