The Big One - A George Strait Rankdown (Revealing)

[bboat11]

Dec 13, 2017 19:36:51 GMT -5 CoJoFan said:

Was Honkytonkville the album with the song “Stars On The Water”? If so it was a favorite of mine on that album. I can’t remember if it was on that album or The Road Less Traveled album.

"Stars On The Water" is on the Road Less Traveled album. I agree it's a standout though! Who'd have ever thought that George Strait would be the one to pioneer and perfect the use of creative autotune in traditional country music!

[.indulgecountry]

Dec 13, 2017 19:40:36 GMT -5 CoJoFan said:

Dec 13, 2017 18:32:49 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

I hate that everyone dislikes "Tulsa." It's a good song. :(

I don’t dislike any George Strait song. I just had others I liked better.

Dec 13, 2017 20:03:34 GMT -5 Cody Wants Out... said:

Dec 13, 2017 18:32:49 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

I hate that everyone dislikes "Tulsa." It's a good song. :(

I like "Tulsa" too. There's just over 50 others I like better, though.

Neither of you even ranked it low so that comment wasn't really for either of you.

[LBTrocks]

Dec 13, 2017 20:11:31 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Dec 13, 2017 19:40:36 GMT -5 CoJoFan said:

I don’t dislike any George Strait song. I just had others I liked better.

Dec 13, 2017 20:03:34 GMT -5 Cody Wants Out... said:

I like "Tulsa" too. There's just over 50 others I like better, though.

Neither of you even ranked it low so that comment wasn't really for either of you.

I think they might have just meant that low rankings in general aren't equivalent to disliking a song, especially in Geroge Strait's rankdown lol.

Take me for example. I don't dislike "Tulsa" really, yet I ranked it at 97. I like it okay, actually, but it's nowhere near a standout for me and I couldn't justify ranking it any higher.

[.indulgecountry]

Dec 13, 2017 20:36:11 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

Take me for example. I don't dislike "Tulsa" really, yet I ranked it at 97. I like it okay, actually, but it's nowhere near a standout for me and I couldn't justify ranking it any higher.

Well I don't know the rationale behind every single person's low ranking, but it was in my Top 40 and only one person had it higher than me while a ton had it in their bottom 10/20 so my point is just more that I wish it was better-received among his singles. Whether people actually actively dislike "Tulsa" or just passively find it 'meh,' it still gets a lot less passion than I personally think it deserves. It's very underrated imo, lol.

[bboat11]

She’s just goin’ through the motions

From what’s left of her devotion.

And it scares me half to death

Wonderin’ what tomorrow holds in store.

85. "I Know She Still Loves Me"

Album: Strait Out Of The Box
Year: 1995





Total: 1362
Average: 68.10
Std Dev: 20.64


codyj100 - 28
.indulgecountry - 42
gardyfan - 44
BackwoodsBarbie - 44
fearlessarrow - 49
Kanenrá:ke - 53
bboat11 - 54
countrymusicjunkie - 58
carriekins - 64
zaclord 🌈 - 69
Cody Wants Out... - 76
George Strait Junkie - 76
DistrictTwelve - 77
@adam1995 - 78
mamasaid - 84
castleoblivion26 - 91
CoJoFan - 91
sabre14 - 93
LBTrocks - 94
tim - 97




Just outside of the bottom 15, we finally say goodbye to our second #1 single! This is a song that I have always found to be unfairly hated. I can definitely see why people might see it to be boring, but at least to me it very comfortably has a home among George's 60 #1 singles, and I never skip it when it comes up on my iPod. The lyrics are definitely the strong point here; the way they describe a marriage that is held together by only empty commitment is masterful and chilling. I also love how dramatic the song gets in the bridge when George suddenly starts singing higher.

This is also the first song to leave us from George's first Strait Out Of The Box compilation, meaning that "Check Yes Or No" is the only song remaining from the first set.

[.indulgecountry]

Ugh, this was robbed too. </3

[bboat11]

Dec 13, 2017 22:53:49 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Ugh, this was robbed too. </3

Lol the cushion at the bottom of this rankdown was very small. Every elimination from here on out is going to be brutal for at least somebody!

Up next, ANOTHER #1 single is going to up and leave us!

[tim]

Not surprised to see "Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa" out at this point; I too have always enjoyed this song and George's delivery is so smooth. As bboat11 pointed out I just have no idea why this was chosen as the lead single from what I consider a very strong album overall. I think most of us would agree that "As Far As It Goes" was a huge missed opportunity and should've likely been the lead single. "Honk If You Honkytonk" also would've been a great choice as it was always a song George used to include in his setlist; he also chose to perform it a the CMA's in 2003. On a side note regarding Honkytonkville...I was deployed in the Middle East during its release and my mom shipped me the album overseas. That album got me through the last half of my deployment and brings back some memories (good and bad) whenever I put it on.

Don't let my low ranking for "I Know She Still Loves Me" make you think I don't like the song...it just goes to show you how strong George's discography is and how much I like his music. While I do think it's probably the weakest song out of his 60 #1's, I still would never skip this song should it come on my playlist!

[LBTrocks]

Honestly, at this point, any higher "Round About Way" can make it will be looked at as a victory by me.

"I Know She Still Loves Me" is pretty enough. I like it fine. It's not as strong melodically as many of his other songs though.

[castleoblivion26]

I only truly dislike 2 of George Strait's singles. There are other songs I'm meh about but I don't outright dislike any other songs outside of my 100 and 99. "Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa" I have tried to like so many times but I really cannot get into it at all. Honkytonkville also happens to be the first non-Greatest Hits album from George that I ever got and I really love the album but this song just doesn't work for me. "Honk If You Honkytonk" should have been a single though, love that one!

[.indulgecountry]

Also, bboat11 are we going to get into any of the album tracks at all soon?

[tim]

Dec 14, 2017 0:17:27 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Also, bboat11 are we going to get into any of the album tracks at all soon?

I think they're coming with the album spotlights

But yes...I'm anxious to see what y'all chose for those who submitted. It was so hard to narrow the list down to just 20

[bboat11]

Dec 14, 2017 0:17:27 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Also, bboat11 are we going to get into any of the album tracks at all soon?

Dec 14, 2017 0:25:01 GMT -5 tim said:

I think they're coming with the album spotlights

But yes...I'm anxious to see what y'all chose for those who submitted. It was so hard to narrow the list down to just 20

So the album tracks had the exact same problem that I expected we would have. Not enough people knew enough of his albums to give any sort of consistent ranks, and the ones who submitted had a heavy bias towards his newer albums. So what I am planning to do is just highlight album tracks during album spotlights, just like tim said. I have a list of all of my favorite songs from each of his albums, and then if anybody submitted a song that was not on my list I made sure to add it to the list So they will all be featured, just not in a countdown format.

[mamasaid]

86 for Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa....seriously? Something about this song "spoke" to me the very first time I heard it...it's wistful

[tim]

Dec 14, 2017 0:31:59 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Dec 14, 2017 0:17:27 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Also, bboat11 are we going to get into any of the album tracks at all soon?

Dec 14, 2017 0:25:01 GMT -5 tim said:

I think they're coming with the album spotlights

But yes...I'm anxious to see what y'all chose for those who submitted. It was so hard to narrow the list down to just 20

So the album tracks had the exact same problem that I expected we would have. Not enough people knew enough of his albums to give any sort of consistent ranks, and the ones who submitted had a heavy bias towards his newer albums. So what I am planning to do is just highlight album tracks during album spotlights, just like tim said. I have a list of all of my favorite songs from each of his albums, and then if anybody submitted a song that was not on my list I made sure to add it to the list So they will all be featured, just not in a countdown format.

Not surprised the album tracks are in favor of his newer albums...I know for sure I included some older tracks!

[tim]

As most of you know next to bboat11 I'm probably the biggest George Strait fan here on Pulse...so I got a random thought tonight to do a running list of the 100 best memories I have of George and how I got to be such a huge fan in the first place lol. Since this rankdown is just getting started I'll jump right in and catch up with sending out a few random memories each day. I'm going to actually try and do some of this in chronological order so it's going to take some thinking...

#100: During a 1991 visit to Wal-Mart with my mom I pick out my first ever cassette tape Chill of an Early Fall and play it on repeat at home while she puts up Christmas decorations

#99: Sometime in the summer of 1992 (not long after losing my father) I first hear the song "So Much Like My Dad" on the radio while doing what boys do outside and remember taking a moment to take in the song

#98: Fast forward to the fall of 1992 and Pure Country is in the theater...I sit in the front row while my mom and grandma sit a few rows behind me

[bboat11]

tim, I love this idea!

[bboat11]

She said, “I don’t recall
Seein’ you around here.
You must be new to this town.”

84. "Lead On"

Album: Lead On

Year: 1995





Total: 1340
Average: 67.00
Std Dev: 25.21


countrymusicjunkie - 20
BackwoodsBarbie - 21
mamasaid - 32
codyj100 - 39
gardyfan - 42
carriekins - 51
bboat11 - 52
@adam1995 - 62
fearlessarrow - 69
Kanenrá:ke - 76
tim - 79
.indulgecountry - 81
Cody Wants Out... - 84
zaclord 🌈 - 85
sabre14 - 87
George Strait Junkie - 89
DistrictTwelve - 89
LBTrocks - 91
CoJoFan - 94
castleoblivion26 - 97





I love the way mamasaid described "Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa"...the song is "wistful". We continue our wistful trend with this next elimination, the title track of George's Lead On album. This marks our 3rd #1 single loss of the rankdown. This song was pretty much doomed from the start, unfortunately. My #52 rank was the highest it ever placed in the trajectory, and then it fell quickly and was pretty much always a contender for the bottom 15. Luckily it escaped towards the end! Overall this song was plagued by a lack of passion as it only received one (barely) top 20 ranking and 3 other top 40 placements. Most rankings fell in the 50-85 range.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
A Fire I Can’t Put Out
Ace In The Hole
Adalida
All My Ex’s Live In Texas
Am I Blue
Amarillo By Morning
Baby Blue
Baby’s Gotten Good At Goodbye
Blue Clear Sky
Carried Away
Carrying Your Love With Me
Check Yes Or No
Cold Beer Conversation
Cowboys Like Us
Desperately
Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind
Drinkin’ Man
Easy Come, Easy Go
Famous Last Words Of A Fool
Fool Hearted Memory
Give It All We Got Tonight
Give It Away
Go On
Gone As A Girl Can Get
Heartland
Here For A Good Time
How ‘Bout Them Cowgirls
I Can Still Make Cheyenne
I Cross My Heart
I Got A Car
I Gotta Get To You
I Hate Everything
I Just Want To Dance With You
I Saw God Today
I’d Like To Have That One Back
I’ve Come To Expect It From You
If I Know Me
If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’)
If You Can Do Anything Else
If You’re Thinking You Want A Stranger
It Ain’t Cool To Be Crazy About You
It Just Comes Natural
King Of The Mountain
Let’s Fall To Pieces Together
Living And Living Well
Living For The Night
Love Without End, Amen
Love’s Gonna Make It Alright
Marina Del Rey
Meanwhile
Murder On Music Row
Nobody In His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her
Ocean Front Property
One Night At A Time
Right Or Wrong
Round About Way
Run
She Let Herself Go
She’ll Leave You With A Smile
So Much Like My Dad
Texas
The Best Day
The Big One
The Chair
The Chill Of An Early Fall
The Cowboy Rides Away
The Fireman
The Man In Love With You
The Seashores Of Old Mexico
Today My World Slipped Away
Troubadour
True
Unwound
We Really Shouldn’t Be Doing This
What Do You Say To That
What’s Going On In Your World
When Did You Stop Loving Me
Wrapped
Write This Down
You Can’t Make A Heart Love Somebody
You Know Me Better Than That
You Look So Good In Love
You’ll Be There

[bboat11]

Dec 13, 2017 23:08:26 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Dec 13, 2017 22:53:49 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Ugh, this was robbed too. </3

Lol the cushion at the bottom of this rankdown was very small. Every elimination from here on out is going to be brutal for at least somebody!

Up next, ANOTHER #1 single is going to up and leave us!

She said, "I had a love once, but he just up and left me."
I said, "I bet it broke your heart."

[Cody Wants Out...]

A p-p-p-perfect ranking in a George Strait rankdown? Well I'll be...

[bboat11]

I thought I was king of the mountain,

But I was only a fool on the hill.

83. "King Of The Mountain"

Album: Blue Clear Sky
Year: 1996





Total: 1328
Average: 66.40
Std Dev: 21.57


gardyfan - 21
bboat11 - 25
DistrictTwelve - 40
.indulgecountry - 47
BackwoodsBarbie - 52
codyj100 - 57
castleoblivion26 - 60
CoJoFan - 63
LBTrocks - 63
countrymusicjunkie - 70
fearlessarrow - 70
tim - 71
Kanenrá:ke - 72
George Strait Junkie - 78
zaclord 🌈 - 83
carriekins - 84
mamasaid - 92
sabre14 - 92
Cody Wants Out... - 93
@adam1995 - 95




Continuing our streak of '90s losses, one of George's most iconic albums takes its first loss. "King Of The Mountain" was the 4th/last single off of Blue Clear Sky, and was also the only one that did not go #1 after a string of massive hits in "Blue Clear Sky", "Carried Away", and "I Can Still Make Cheyenne".

I must say, I am not remotely surprised this is the first song from the album to leave, but I had no idea it would be THIS soon! I love this song so much! This is honestly my first top 50 loss, and it almost made my top 20... Fortunately gardyfan saved me the embarrassment of being the highest ranker. This song was a bottom 15 contender for most of the submission process, but fortunately it managed to escape towards the end just like "Lead On".

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
A Fire I Can’t Put Out
Ace In The Hole
Adalida
All My Ex’s Live In Texas
Am I Blue
Amarillo By Morning
Baby Blue
Baby’s Gotten Good At Goodbye
Blue Clear Sky
Carried Away
Carrying Your Love With Me
Check Yes Or No
Cold Beer Conversation
Cowboys Like Us
Desperately
Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind
Drinkin’ Man
Easy Come, Easy Go
Famous Last Words Of A Fool
Fool Hearted Memory
Give It All We Got Tonight
Give It Away
Go On
Gone As A Girl Can Get
Heartland
Here For A Good Time
How ‘Bout Them Cowgirls
I Can Still Make Cheyenne
I Cross My Heart
I Got A Car
I Gotta Get To You
I Hate Everything
I Just Want To Dance With You
I Saw God Today
I’d Like To Have That One Back
I’ve Come To Expect It From You
If I Know Me
If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’)
If You Can Do Anything Else
If You’re Thinking You Want A Stranger
It Ain’t Cool To Be Crazy About You
It Just Comes Natural
Let’s Fall To Pieces Together
Living And Living Well
Living For The Night
Love Without End, Amen
Love’s Gonna Make It Alright
Marina Del Rey
Meanwhile
Murder On Music Row
Nobody In His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her
Ocean Front Property
One Night At A Time
Right Or Wrong
Round About Way
Run
She Let Herself Go
She’ll Leave You With A Smile
So Much Like My Dad
Texas
The Best Day
The Big One
The Chair
The Chill Of An Early Fall
The Cowboy Rides Away
The Fireman
The Man In Love With You
The Seashores Of Old Mexico
Today My World Slipped Away
Troubadour
True
Unwound
We Really Shouldn’t Be Doing This
What Do You Say To That
What’s Going On In Your World
When Did You Stop Loving Me
Wrapped
Write This Down
You Can’t Make A Heart Love Somebody
You Know Me Better Than That
You Look So Good In Love
You’ll Be There

[BackwoodsBarbie]

Edit - I'm talking about Lead On

Whaaat?!?
This song amazing!! I can't believe that it ended up in bottom 20...
He has this sadness in his voice  that makes this song so great and the lyrics are so cleverly written. Sometimes just one line is enough to give whole new meaning to a song. 

[bboat11]

God, everything about "King Of The Mountain" is perfect to me... The steel guitar is heavenly, the melody is strong throughout, and George's vocal is so passionate, and it also gets uncharacteristically high for him during the chorus. Not to mention that the hook is one of my favorite lyrics ever. "I thought I was king of the mountain, but I was only a fool on the hill." Those clever lyrical twists are George's bread and butter. I have no idea why this one is not regarded more favorably among his catalog.

[bboat11]

Up next, we take a break from the '90s to lose our first #1 single from the '80s!

[bboat11]

What’s goin’ on in your world?


It sure is lonesome in mine.

82. "What's Going On In Your World"

Album: Beyond The Blue Neon

Year: 1989





Total: 1314
Average: 65.70
Std. Dev: 17.23


codyj100 - 24
@adam1995 - 36
fearlessarrow - 43
mamasaid - 56
countrymusicjunkie - 60
carriekins - 60
castleoblivion26 - 62
.indulgecountry - 63
BackwoodsBarbie - 63
CoJoFan - 66
tim - 67
Kanenrá:ke - 70
George Strait Junkie - 70
bboat11 - 71
LBTrocks - 73
DistrictTwelve - 80
Cody Wants Out... - 81
sabre14 - 86
gardyfan - 89
zaclord 🌈 - 94




This is our first of George's #1 hits from the 1980s to be eliminated. It is also our second loss from the Beyond The Blue Neon album, since we said goodbye to "Overnight Success" in the bottom 5. "Ace In The Hole" and "Baby's Gotten Good At Goodbye" are the two remaining songs from that album. Overall this should not be a terribly shocking loss to most people, considering that most of us had it ranked below #60, and it had an incredibly low standard deviation.

Overall this is a classic song and I enjoy it quite a bit, but I also find it to be one of George's more boring #1s.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
A Fire I Can’t Put Out
Ace In The Hole
Adalida
All My Ex’s Live In Texas
Am I Blue
Amarillo By Morning
Baby Blue
Baby’s Gotten Good At Goodbye
Blue Clear Sky
Carried Away
Carrying Your Love With Me
Check Yes Or No
Cold Beer Conversation
Cowboys Like Us
Desperately
Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind
Drinkin’ Man
Easy Come, Easy Go
Famous Last Words Of A Fool
Fool Hearted Memory
Give It All We Got Tonight
Give It Away
Go On
Gone As A Girl Can Get
Heartland
Here For A Good Time
How ‘Bout Them Cowgirls
I Can Still Make Cheyenne
I Cross My Heart
I Got A Car
I Gotta Get To You
I Hate Everything
I Just Want To Dance With You
I Saw God Today
I’d Like To Have That One Back
I’ve Come To Expect It From You
If I Know Me
If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’)
If You Can Do Anything Else
If You’re Thinking You Want A Stranger
It Ain’t Cool To Be Crazy About You
It Just Comes Natural
Let’s Fall To Pieces Together
Living And Living Well
Living For The Night
Love Without End, Amen
Love’s Gonna Make It Alright
Marina Del Rey
Meanwhile
Murder On Music Row
Nobody In His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her
Ocean Front Property
One Night At A Time
Right Or Wrong
Round About Way
Run
She Let Herself Go
She’ll Leave You With A Smile
So Much Like My Dad
Texas
The Best Day
The Big One
The Chair
The Chill Of An Early Fall
The Cowboy Rides Away
The Fireman
The Man In Love With You
The Seashores Of Old Mexico
Today My World Slipped Away
Troubadour
True
Unwound
We Really Shouldn’t Be Doing This
What Do You Say To That
When Did You Stop Loving Me
Wrapped
Write This Down
You Can’t Make A Heart Love Somebody
You Know Me Better Than That
You Look So Good In Love
You’ll Be There

[bboat11]

She says she’s gonna leave me, momma.

But if I’m so much like my dad,

There must've been times you felt her way.

So tell me word for word what he said

That always made you stay.

81. "So Much Like My Dad"

Album: Holding My Own

Year: 1992





Total: 1311
Average: 65.55
Std Dev: 28.27


tim - 2
countrymusicjunkie - 21
bboat11 - 27
Cody Wants Out... - 27
fearlessarrow - 39
sabre14 - 55
.indulgecountry - 62
castleoblivion26 - 66
Kanenrá:ke - 69
carriekins - 69
codyj100 - 70
zaclord 🌈 - 81
mamasaid - 81
George Strait Junkie - 90
CoJoFan - 90
gardyfan - 90
BackwoodsBarbie - 90
DistrictTwelve - 92
@adam1995 - 92
LBTrocks - 98





This song sees the first elimination from George's underrated Holding My Own album. This song was also a #1 hit for George, yet does not seem to have done much to help the album be remembered. I put this song at #27, but then it fell continuously for most of the submission process before evening out in the bottom 15. Fortunately tim 's #2 ranking at the last minute was enough to bump this up high enough that it almost escaped the bottom 20!

SPOILER: Click to show

{Songs Remaining}
A Fire I Can’t Put Out
Ace In The Hole
Adalida
All My Ex’s Live In Texas
Am I Blue
Amarillo By Morning
Baby Blue
Baby’s Gotten Good At Goodbye
Blue Clear Sky
Carried Away
Carrying Your Love With Me
Check Yes Or No
Cold Beer Conversation
Cowboys Like Us
Desperately
Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind
Drinkin’ Man
Easy Come, Easy Go
Famous Last Words Of A Fool
Fool Hearted Memory
Give It All We Got Tonight
Give It Away
Go On
Gone As A Girl Can Get
Heartland
Here For A Good Time
How ‘Bout Them Cowgirls
I Can Still Make Cheyenne
I Cross My Heart
I Got A Car
I Gotta Get To You
I Hate Everything
I Just Want To Dance With You
I Saw God Today
I’d Like To Have That One Back
I’ve Come To Expect It From You
If I Know Me
If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’)
If You Can Do Anything Else
If You’re Thinking You Want A Stranger
It Ain’t Cool To Be Crazy About You
It Just Comes Natural
Let’s Fall To Pieces Together
Living And Living Well
Living For The Night
Love Without End, Amen
Love’s Gonna Make It Alright
Marina Del Rey
Meanwhile
Murder On Music Row
Nobody In His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her
Ocean Front Property
One Night At A Time
Right Or Wrong
Round About Way
Run
She Let Herself Go
She’ll Leave You With A Smile
Texas
The Best Day
The Big One
The Chair
The Chill Of An Early Fall
The Cowboy Rides Away
The Fireman
The Man In Love With You
The Seashores Of Old Mexico
Today My World Slipped Away
Troubadour
True
Unwound
We Really Shouldn’t Be Doing This
What Do You Say To That
When Did You Stop Loving Me
Wrapped
Write This Down
You Can’t Make A Heart Love Somebody
You Know Me Better Than That
You Look So Good In Love
You’ll Be There

[Cody Wants Out...]

[bboat11]

Ugh, you guys did this song SO dirty! The lyrical perfection of this song is simply ridiculous. The song tells a story of a failing love in such a unique way, as a conversation between a man and his mother. "If I'm so much like my dad, there must have been times you felt her way, so tell me word for word what he said that always made you stay" is one of the most heartbreaking lines in George's catalog, in my opinion. I get chills when I listen to it. And the echoey steel guitar throughout the song makes it even better, imo. I can definitely understand if people find this song boring, but this is always one that has spoken to me in a really powerful way.

[Cody Wants Out...]

The instrumental of SMLMD got me hooked and the lyrics made it even better; this did NOT deserve bottom 20.

To those of you who ranked it in your bottom 20 (plus quite a few others):

[BackwoodsBarbie]

So Much Like My Dad is an alright song but nothing really stands out. I was waiting for the entire song for a killer chorus but it never happened. But I agree that pedal steel sounds great.