On May 18, 1952, a future king was born in the small town of Potet, Texas. George Strait, one of the most celebrated musicians of all time, has published 28 studio albums. All with one topic: pure country. He sold more than 69 million albums. 60 number one hits placed in the charts. And 23 CMA awards won. We asked Rolling Stone Country’s readers to coordinate their incomparable catalog on their favorite songs. Here are their top 10.
10. “Ocean Front Property”
George Strait has many virtues. But a poker face is certainly not one of them. Strait proves self -irony by portraying himself as a miserable liar, who only pretends with large -lane sayings as if it was invulnerable. If she leaves him, he won’t miss her or withdraw it. After all, he doesn’t love her at all. No, really not. And if you believe it, he likes to sell a plot of land by the sea in the middle of the desert. The Golden Gate Bridge is available for free. One of the largest punchline hits of the icon catalog.
9. “Baby Blue”
For some it is LoveSick blues. For the other incredible despair. Aaron Barker’s text on “Baby Blue” from 1988 sounds like a nostalgic separation song. The narrator remembers a formative relationship with a girl who made a lasting impression in much too short time. (“She always hero it deep inside, but somehow i always knew/she’d go away when the grass gymnasium green and the sky gymnastics baby blue.”) But since the song only appeared two years after the death of Straits 13-year-old daughter in a car accident, many believe that the personal interpretation of the singer is even lower and hard.
8. “I can still make cheyenne”
A top five hit from 1996-and a cowboy song that lets you cheer for the bull. A rodeo rider has enough of the tour and decides to finally return home. But when he calls in advance, the woman says at the other end that he shouldn’t bother. He promptly thinks differently. He wants to reach the next Rodeo stop in Cheyenne. And thus confirms their worst fears. If it was a test, he did not pass it. Aaron Barker and ERV Woolsey wrote the piece and bravely waived a happy ending.
7. “Give it away”
“Give IT Away” is a modern hit that sounds like a classic. Written by Trio Jamey Johnson, Bill Anderson and Buddy Cannon, the song, the song looks like it has always existed. Although he only appeared in 2006. Strait was the perfect singer for it, he brought the “my friend-hats-Mich-deflection” story with a mixture of bewilderness and emotions. Full of lively, too specific details to appear invented. The gold -certified title achieved place on the Billboard Hot Country Songs. And won both the song and single of the year at the ACM Awards in 2007.
6. “Troubadour”
Strait had had a lot of fun as a traveling musician for decades, but it was not a sure -fire success. “Troubadour” from 2008 begins with the explanation of the then 56-year-old, he feels “most of the time like 25” and is still a Hallodri-but basically it is a review that we all lose charm at some point. Strait confesses that he is not happy with what he sees in the mirror, but accepted that he is who he is: “I’ll be an old troubadour when I’m gone.” A wonderful epitaph – even if it is far from over.
5. “Carrying your love with me”
Romantic was Strait’s trademark, and “Carrying your love with me” (1997) is a prime example of it. A man who is often on the go hardly takes luggage – because his partner’s love wears him. Strait sings so that he doesn’t need anything else: “It’s my strength for holdin ‘on/every minute that i have to be gone.” Written by Steve Bogard and Jeff Stevens, this title was also another billboard number-one hit.
4. “I Cross My Heart”
Whether sung by Strait himself or by “Dusty Chandler”, his figure in the film Pure Country: “I cross my heart” is the love ballad that every woman wants. Full of selfless devotion, mixed with a dash of self -confidence – “in all the world, you’ll never find/a love as true as mine.” It was enough in the film to conquer a rodeo queen, and certainly helped some normal guys. The song written by Steve Dorff and Eric Kaz achieved first place in 1992.
3. “The Chair”
“Well, excuse me, but i think you’ve got my chair.” Only George Strait could allow himself such an opener-and he managed to do charm, wit and classic pickup strategy: snort fire, donate drink, ask for names, ask for dance, offer ride. In the end he confesses: “To Tell you the truth, that wasn’t my chair after all.” He won there long ago. With Strait’s mischievous smile and the eighties hairstyles in the video, the clip belongs to the fame hall of nightlife.
2. “Run”
Whether by plane, train, car, taxi or running shoes – this narrator only wants his loved one to come to him immediately. A wistful intro with Steel Guitar puts the tone before Strait asks in a rarely seen vulnerability: “Run/cut a path Across The Blue Skies.” Written by Tony Lane and Anthony Smith, “Run” was the first single of the album The Road Less Traveled in 2001 and later appeared in several compilations.
1. “Amarillo by Morning”
A rodeo classic since 1973: Terry Stafford wrote and sang the original from one rodeo stop to the next after a night. But George Strait made the final version – a song from the life of the moving cowboy, broken bones, lost lost, only the clothes on the body. Straits Stoischer Singing conveys a Zen-Ruhe in addition to all melancholy: “I ain’t got a dime but what i got is mine/i ain’t rich but lord I’m free.” Life continues – but it is not a burden. Buddy Spicher’s violin high, lonely tone leads the piece home.