3 Doors Down released the single “Let Me Go” on November 22, 2004, through Republic/Universal. Its U.S. radio launch introduced Seventeen Days, the band's third studio album, with a recording produced by Johnny K and mixed by Andy Wallace.
The song had begun with a different destination in mind. In its February 2005 cover story, Billboard reported that “Let Me Go” was written for Spider-Man 2, but the band kept it. The track was already mixed and mastered while recording continued on the other songs.
That early commitment left singer Brad Arnold with a reservation. “The only thing I would not do again is pick a single before the whole record is done,” he told the magazine. A major Wal-Mart promotion had helped establish the album's release deadline before writing began. The band was finishing its record while the campaign was already underway.
The short preparation window also gave Seventeen Days its name. Speaking to Sonik Magazine in February 2005, the band explained that writing had started on tour. After coming off the road in August 2004, they had a little over two weeks to concentrate on the material and decide what to record. Studio work then continued into December. Those seventeen days represented a focused period of preparation within a longer writing and recording process.
Getting the record made also required a move. The musicians had relocated from their Mississippi hometown because of hurricanes, choosing Nashville because it was close to home and somewhere they liked. Asked whether the familiar style of “Let Me Go” reflected a deliberate effort to preserve their sound, they described it as the natural result of their songwriting. They also said the album ranged further between heavy and light songs.
Johnny K aimed to capture the band's live energy in those recordings. In an April 2005 report published by Mix, bassist Todd Harrell described recording his Peavey rig at high volume in a separate room. “You can hear my bass on this record,” he said. Guitarist Matt Roberts used Peavey Triple XXX and 6505 amplifiers during the sessions.
Radio programmers responded quickly to the first single. Radio & Records' November 26 issue named “Let Me Go” the most-added song at Rock, Active Rock and Alternative, including 38 adds at Active Rock. The original campaign also included Triple A stations, giving the song several routes onto playlists before the album reached stores.
Seventeen Days arrived on February 8, 2005, and became 3 Doors Down's first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, opening with 231,000 copies sold in the United States. “Let Me Go” continued its own run through 2005, reaching No. 14 on the Hot 100 and No. 6 on Mainstream Rock.
