The Big One - A George Strait Rankdown (Revealing)

[bboat11]

It ain’t smart to be so reckless with my heart.

I should’ve known right from the start

I’d end up like a fool.

Believe me, it ain’t cool.

73. "It Ain't Cool To Be Crazy About You"

Album: #7
Year: 1986





Total: 1214
Average: 60.70
Std Dev: 16.44 (3rd smallest!!)


@adam1995 - 27
mamasaid - 34
BackwoodsBarbie - 39
LBTrocks - 49
CoJoFan - 50
Kanenrá:ke - 54
George Strait Junkie - 55
tim - 57
Cody Wants Out... - 61
gardyfan - 61
carriekins - 63
castleoblivion26 - 63
fearlessarrow - 64
bboat11 - 66
zaclord 🌈 - 71
codyj100 - 72
countrymusicjunkie - 72
sabre14 - 75
DistrictTwelve - 84
.indulgecountry - 97




This #1 hit from 1986 really never stood a chance in this rankdown. Its highest ranking came from @adam1995 at the very beginning, pushing it towards the top 40, but after that it fell very quickly and averaged out in the 70s and 80s. .indulgecountry was the lowest ranker by far, putting it in his bottom 5, but literally everybody else seemed to at least like this song. Personally I have always thought this song was just fine, so I was a little surprised to see the lack of passion behind it. I think this song would have fared much better in a rankdown where the competition wasn't so stiff!

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
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 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 Can Do Anything Else
If You’re Thinking You Want A Stranger
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
The Best Day
The Big One
The Chair
The Chill Of An Early Fall
The Cowboy Rides Away
The Fireman
The Seashores Of Old Mexico
Today My World Slipped Away
Troubadour
True
Unwound
What Do You Say To That
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

[tim]

Dec 15, 2017 9:31:38 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Coming up next, we have our 3rd smallest standard deviation at #73!

There is also a tie between the next two songs. #72 is somebody's #100, but it also won the tie because it is in multiple peoples' top 10s.

It better not be what I think it is...nobody in their right mind would rank the song out now.

[bboat11]

Dec 15, 2017 9:49:28 GMT -5 tim said:

Dec 15, 2017 9:31:38 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Coming up next, we have our 3rd smallest standard deviation at #73!

There is also a tie between the next two songs. #72 is somebody's #100, but it also won the tie because it is in multiple peoples' top 10s

It better not be what I think it is...nobody in their right mind would rank the song out now.

Hmmm, it would be kind of interesting to lose an entire album in one fell swoop...  Especially with both songs being in a tie!

[bboat11]

Dec 15, 2017 9:39:37 GMT -5 @adam1995 said:

I'm going to say it. I love all George's stuff, but his 80s stuff is THE BEST music he has! Do a lot of people feel like this?

I think most people on Pulse would say that George's '90s music is where most of the magic happened. Especially the run from "Check Yes Or No" and "Blue Clear Sky" to about "Write This Down", or maybe even into the early '00s with the Road Less Traveled era.

But it's all wonderful, so it's like splitting hairs trying to play favorites

[bboat11]

All along I knew I’d lose you,

Though I prayed that you’d be true.

In your heart, please just remember,

Right or wrong, I’m still in love with you.

72. "Right Or Wrong"

Album: Right Or Wrong

Year: 1984





Total: 1214
Average: 60.70
Std Dev: 30.34


codyj100 - 7
mamasaid - 9
LBTrocks - 18
@adam1995 - 29
Kanenrá:ke - 29
George Strait Junkie - 35
carriekins - 41
castleoblivion26 - 56
Cody Wants Out... - 64
tim - 72
BackwoodsBarbie - 72
sabre14 - 76
fearlessarrow - 76
countrymusicjunkie - 79
.indulgecountry - 85
zaclord 🌈 - 87
bboat11 - 92
CoJoFan - 93
gardyfan - 94
DistrictTwelve - 100




With the title track to George's 3rd studio album, submissions were all over the place! This song managed to place at #100 for our newest George fan, DistrictTwelve , and also landed in the bottom 10 for 3 others including myself. However, it also wipes out a top 10 for both mamasaid and codyj100 . LBTrocks takes a top 20 hit, and 2 others also take a top 30 hit. This song has a huge standard deviation, but surprisingly it barely missed out on being in the top 5 largest.

Anyway, this song is in my bottom 10 because I have always found the melody of this song to be annoying. The minor key for this song is in direct contrast with the uptempo nature of the song, and has always created a dichotomy for me that just doesn't match up very well. Throw in the fact that this song is only 2 minutes long, but the entire middle of the song is practically a 1-minute instrumental, and I can't believe this song was ever released to radio! "80 Proof Bottle Of Tear Stopper" would have made a much better single choice imo. But this song did go #1 for him, and clearly a lot of people like it!

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
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 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 Can Do Anything Else
If You’re Thinking You Want A Stranger
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
Round About Way
Run
She Let Herself Go
She’ll Leave You With A Smile
The Best Day
The Big One
The Chair
The Chill Of An Early Fall
The Cowboy Rides Away
The Fireman
The Seashores Of Old Mexico
Today My World Slipped Away
Troubadour
True
Unwound
What Do You Say To That
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

[tim]

Phew! I’m ok with this leaving now. I do still enjoy listening to this song and in fact Texas radio stations play this song regularly!

[bboat11]

Pardon me; you left your tears on the jukebox,
And I’m afraid they got mixed up with mine.

71. "Let's Fall To Pieces Together"

Album: Right Or Wrong

Year: 1984





Total: 1190
Average: 59.50
Std Dev: 20.73


LBTrocks - 12
@adam1995 - 26
bboat11 - 34
mamasaid - 36
tim - 47
codyj100 - 51
zaclord 🌈 - 54
CoJoFan - 56
Kanenrá:ke - 57
DistrictTwelve - 62
countrymusicjunkie - 62
BackwoodsBarbie - 68
castleoblivion26 - 70
George Strait Junkie - 71
gardyfan - 72
.indulgecountry - 73
carriekins - 77
fearlessarrow - 85
Cody Wants Out... - 87
sabre14 - 90




It is my humble opinion that this song was ROBBED!!! This song has always been a favorite of mine, from the moment I first heard the opening lyric. Plus the whole dichotomy that is created in the hook between falling to pieces and being together. This is country music songwriting at its finest! Unfortunately it fell very quickly, averaging out in the 60s and 70s. LBTrocks comes very close to losing a top 10, while sabre14 comes very close to losing a bottom 10.

With this elimination, Right or Wrong also becomes the first album to have 2 songs in a row be eliminated! "You Look So Good In Love" is now the sole remaining song.

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
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 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 Can Do Anything Else
If You’re Thinking You Want A Stranger
It Just Comes Natural
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
Round About Way
Run
She Let Herself Go
She’ll Leave You With A Smile
The Best Day
The Big One
The Chair
The Chill Of An Early Fall
The Cowboy Rides Away
The Fireman
The Seashores Of Old Mexico
Today My World Slipped Away
Troubadour
True
Unwound
What Do You Say To That
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

[LBTrocks]

"Let's Fall To Pieces Together" is country music at its FINEST, so y'all messed up.

"Right Or Wrong" is another one of George's best (granted he does have a lot of those but still) so y'all messed up (2). His vocal inflections on it are masterful and the instrumentation is deliciously country!

[fearlessarrow]

Well, I expected "We Really Shouldn't Be Doing This" to be polarizing and I was told that "I needed to get my ears checked" for liking this song a lot by a certain someone lol, so it's not too big of a surprise for me to see it going out this low.

I don't know why but this song just works so well for me. I think in general he does less upbeat songs better, but this is just a fun little short track to listen to!

[mamasaid]

Dec 15, 2017 12:13:41 GMT -5 LBTrocks said:

"Let's Fall To Pieces Together" is country music at its FINEST, so y'all messed up.

"Right Or Wrong" is another one of George's best (granted he does have a lot of those but still) so y'all messed up (2). His vocal inflections on it are masterful and the instrumentation is deliciously country!

So agree here! My top 20 is taking a beating....However, my tastes tend to run toward Western Swing, which isn't as popular/well known with this crowd...

However, "If You Ain't Lovin'" is one of my very favorites, always makes me want to dance. Totally Old School Country.

[BackwoodsBarbie]

It Ain't Cool To Be Crazy About You out already? :'( I love the melody especially in chorus. Great song.

[Kanenrá:ke]

Dec 15, 2017 9:03:00 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

75. "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')"

Album: If You Ain't Lovin', You Ain't Livin'
Year: 1988





sabre14 - 51
codyj100 - 63
LBTrocks - 64
tim - 68
DistrictTwelve - 74
BackwoodsBarbie - 77
fearlessarrow - 80
CoJoFan - 82
gardyfan - 84
castleoblivion26 - 87
zaclord 🌈 - 90
bboat11 - 93
countrymusicjunkie - 94

Really?! Never knew this one was so disliked amongst his discography! My jaw literally dropped with this one.

[tim]

Ok forgot to post my anecdotal fan moments yesterday...

#94: Sometime in late 1994/early 1995 George Strait launched his own product line for dogs and horses, which consisted of shampoo & conditioner, hoof creme, under creme, under balm, and dog treats. Once I found out I of course had to have these lol…and since the shampoo/conditioner was labeled as safe for humans I ended up using this stuff for the remainder of 1995! Here's a link with a picture of some of the products; also here's a photo from Country Weekly with a picture advertising them.

#93: For some reason I have a weird memory of exactly when I first heard George’s song “Blue Clear Sky” on the radio; it was daylight savings time on a nice Sunday day in Nebraska and I think we were just getting out of the car; I don’t think I had any idea at the time a new song was out already and I was just ecstatic to hear it.

#92: It was the album Blue Clear Sky that started the tradition of always going to Wal-Mart to get George’s latest album on its release day; there was just this sense of anticipation leading up to that particular day that I can’t explain as we never really had any idea what the other songs sounded like prior to listening to it ourselves. I also always made it a point that once I got the album in my hands and at home I’d listen to it all the way through once. Streaming music has forever changed the way we buy music, but I do kind of miss that excitement that I used to feel.

[Kanenrá:ke]

Dec 16, 2017 15:58:29 GMT -5 tim said:

#92: It was the album Blue Clear Sky that started the tradition of always going to Wal-Mart to get George’s latest album on its release day; there was just this sense of anticipation leading up to that particular day that I can’t explain as we never really had any idea what the other songs sounded like prior to listening to it ourselves. I also always made it a point that once I got the album in my hands and at home I’d listen to it all the way through once. Streaming music has forever changed the way we buy music, but I do kind of miss that excitement that I used to feel.

Yes! I miss the excitement too! Now I sometimes preview the album and it's not the same.

[bboat11]

Hey there folks! I went out of town for the weekend, and didn't have internet, so that's why you haven't seen me for a few days. But I'm back now, and I will be ready to resume this later today!

[bboat11]

Dec 18, 2017 13:31:11 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Hey there folks! I went out of town for the weekend, and didn't have internet, so that's why you haven't seen me for a few days. But I'm back now, and I will be ready to resume this later today!

Or the next day. You know me

Destination unknown, she just dropped out of sight,
Last seen headin' right on out of my life.
Like a stranger I ain’t never met,

She’s about as gone as a girl can get.

70. "Gone As A Girl Can Get"

Album: Holding My Own

Year: 1992

Total: 1183
Average: 59.15
Std Dev: 25.26


.indulgecountry - 22
George Strait Junkie - 23
carriekins - 28
mamasaid - 30
tim - 32
Cody Wants Out... - 36
gardyfan - 38
LBTrocks - 45
codyj100 - 55
bboat11 - 62
countrymusicjunkie - 63
sabre14 - 69
CoJoFan - 74
zaclord 🌈 - 79
Kanenrá:ke - 86
DistrictTwelve - 87
fearlessarrow - 87
@adam1995 - 88
BackwoodsBarbie - 89
castleoblivion26 - 90

I feel like this song was robbed, but I guess it ended up finishing pretty close to where I ranked it! This must just be a casualty of how strong George's catalog is overall. Nobody loses a top 20 here, so this shouldn't be too painful of an elimination for people, although nobody loses a bottom 10 either, so I doubt this is one that people really celebrate leaving. Anyway, this song was all over the place, falling into the bottom 20 at one point and then climbing into the top 50 at another. But in the end it steadied itself in the 60s. This one had a lot more motion in the later half of the submission process than most songs did, however. Usually by the last few entries things start to slow down a bit, but this song changed position with every new list!

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
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
Heartland
Here For A Good Time
How ‘Bout Them Cowgirls
I Can Still Make Cheyenne
I Cross My Heart
I Got A Car
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 Can Do Anything Else
If You’re Thinking You Want A Stranger
It Just Comes Natural
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
Round About Way
Run
She Let Herself Go
She’ll Leave You With A Smile
The Best Day
The Big One
The Chair
The Chill Of An Early Fall
The Cowboy Rides Away
The Fireman
The Seashores Of Old Mexico
Today My World Slipped Away
Troubadour
True
Unwound
What Do You Say To That
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

[tim]

"Gone As A Girl Can Get" is such a jam! This was only the second (and last) single featuring the Ace in the Hole Band (the first was "Lovesick Blues"). George first started incorporating the band on the 1990 album Livin' It Up ("Someone Had To Teach You" and "She Loves Me (She Don't Love You")); they were also featured on "Home In San Antone" and "Milk Cow Blues" from Chill of an Early Fall and finally "It's Alright With Me" from Holding My Own. Whenever I put on these tracks I can certainly hear the influences from the band members.

[tim]

Dec 18, 2017 13:31:11 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Hey there folks! I went out of town for the weekend, and didn't have internet, so that's why you haven't seen me for a few days. But I'm back now, and I will be ready to resume this later today!

Glad you waited! I was on the road all day yesterday heading back home to Nebraska. Continuing on with an annual tradition is jamming out to nothing but George until I hit the Texas/Oklahoma border...that's over four continuous hours of the King!

[tim]

So my fan anecdotes last left off with 1996 I believe, but since I committed myself to doing as many as there are songs in the rankdown I better get going! With that...the following are a few more embarrassing ones:

#91: As a kid I loved LEGO so I used to construct mini concert stages out of them; being influenced by the movie Pure Country at a young age I constructed them much in the realm of how Dusty's stages were set up. I would use the stages I built and then performed George Strait concerts where he'd perform all of his hits for his fellow lego fans lol.

#90: As I began to get too old for LEGO sets I transitioned to using part of the basement as my concert stage...I had a guitar, microphone with a karaoke machine, and even put Christmas lights up in the ceiling that acted as my concert lights. Whenever I happened to have the house alone to myself at nights I would put on George Strait concerts for all of my imaginary fans.

#89: This all lead to doing an actual performance in my basement for my mom and some other close friends. I think this probably would've been winter '93 or early '94 since I remember I included some of George's songs from Easy Come, Easy Go. I didn't know how to play the guitar at this point so I just strummed along to all of George's songs; I was also using cassette tapes at the time so had to manually fast forward/rewind to get to songs lol. There is a VHS of this somewhere hidden safely for no one else to ever see!

[Kanenrá:ke]

Dec 19, 2017 22:33:06 GMT -5 tim said:

So my fan anecdotes last left off with 1996 I believe, but since I committed myself to doing as many as there are songs in the rankdown I better get going! With that...the following are a few more embarrassing ones:

#91: As a kid I loved LEGO so I used to construct mini concert stages out of them; being influenced by the movie Pure Country at a young age I constructed them much in the realm of how Dusty's stages were set up. I would use the stages I built and then performed George Strait concerts where he'd perform all of his hits for his fellow lego fans lol.

#90: As I began to get too old for LEGO sets I transitioned to using part of the basement as my concert stage...I had a guitar, microphone with a karaoke machine, and even put Christmas lights up in the ceiling that acted as my concert lights. Whenever I happened to have the house alone to myself at nights I would put on George Strait concerts for all of my imaginary fans.

#89: This all lead to doing an actual performance in my basement for my mom and some other close friends. I think this probably would've been winter '93 or early '94 since I remember I included some of George's songs from Easy Come, Easy Go. I didn't know how to play the guitar at this point so I just strummed along to all of George's songs; I was also using cassette tapes at the time so had to manually fast forward/rewind to get to songs lol. There is a VHS of this somewhere hidden safely for no one else to ever see!

Aww cute! Lego George Strait concerts! Love it!

[Cody Wants Out...]

Dec 19, 2017 22:33:06 GMT -5 tim said:

So my fan anecdotes last left off with 1996 I believe, but since I committed myself to doing as many as there are songs in the rankdown I better get going! With that...the following are a few more embarrassing ones:

#91: As a kid I loved LEGO so I used to construct mini concert stages out of them; being influenced by the movie Pure Country at a young age I constructed them much in the realm of how Dusty's stages were set up. I would use the stages I built and then performed George Strait concerts where he'd perform all of his hits for his fellow lego fans lol.

#90: As I began to get too old for LEGO sets I transitioned to using part of the basement as my concert stage...I had a guitar, microphone with a karaoke machine, and even put Christmas lights up in the ceiling that acted as my concert lights. Whenever I happened to have the house alone to myself at nights I would put on George Strait concerts for all of my imaginary fans.

#89: This all lead to doing an actual performance in my basement for my mom and some other close friends. I think this probably would've been winter '93 or early '94 since I remember I included some of George's songs from Easy Come, Easy Go. I didn't know how to play the guitar at this point so I just strummed along to all of George's songs; I was also using cassette tapes at the time so had to manually fast forward/rewind to get to songs lol. There is a VHS of this somewhere hidden safely for no one else to ever see!

I am laughing so hard at the vibes I get from these! Like the point in one's relationship where they meet each other's parents and the parents share mega-embarrassing memories and pics from when they were little. :kii:

[tim]

Dec 19, 2017 22:36:34 GMT -5 Kanenrá:ke said:

Aww cute! Lego George Strait concerts! Love it!

It was never an easy task to construct these stages! I initially didn't have enough LEGO to complete mine so had to ask my mom to buy me some more lol. I'm also pretty sure I had backup singers for my LEGO George before he ever actually included Marty Slayton and Wes Hightower on his tour.

[tim]

Continuing on with my George Strait fan anecdotes...I've been trying to do these in three's but could only think of two for this one. I mentioned in another thread that I had a random funny memory to share about Tanya Tucker that included George Strait so wanted to share it here along with another concert memory from a different artist:

#88: I remember at a Tanya Tucker concert in Omaha, Nebraska, during the summer of 1993 (she was on a tour sponsored by Crown Royal) she imitated the movie Pure Country by having a Tanya look-alike come on during what I think was the encore and lip sync the song (much like Buddy Jackson did). She specifically referenced that scene from the movie so that's probably why that memory stuck with me.

#87: While Tim McGraw was on tour with Little Texas and Blackhawk in 1994 (concert was in Lincoln, NE), I remember him performing one of his new album cuts..."Give It to Me Strait." This is of course one of the few memories I have from that show lol.

With that I'm going to wrap back around to where I left off in 1996 a couple posts back...

[tim]

While it was 1991/1992 that first introduced me to George Strait, I'd say it was 1996 that I matured enough to call myself an official George Strait fan. I think I last left off with the tradition of buying an album and listening to it from beginning to end (in this case Blue Clear Sky) so here goes...

#86: Wednesday, October 2nd, 1996 - Year after year my mom and myself would watch the country award shows together and...nothing! George always usually performed but walked away empty handed. This year felt different...he'd just come off a huge #1 with "Check Yes or No" and had what seemed to be a great reviewed album. But still hopes were kept low. First award of the night and I remember Clay Walker and Lorrie Morgan presenting the award for Single of the Year...and George's named is called! This was the first time since I became a fan that I'd actually scene George up on the award stage and was just as happy as a boy could be. George performed pretty much right after the commercial break and gave what I think was probably one of the best performances he's ever had at the CMA's. Album of the Year comes up later in the program (Tim McGraw presented and initially said Clear Blue Sky when announced as a nominee) and...George! I'm pretty sure my mom and I both gave a big fist bump in the air at this point. Later in the program Male Vocalist of the Year is presented by Mary Chapin Carpenter and by this point I'm so accustomed to hearing Vince Gill's name called I assumed it would be him yet again...but it was George!!! By this point I remember both my mom and myself screaming and jumping up and down in excitement. This night would go on to become one of my best memories...because I got to share this moment with my mom. The same mom who let me pick out a random cassette called Chill of an Early Fall while Christmas shopping at Wal-Mart in 1991. This is one night I'll never forget and I still love looking back at the clips of this show on YouTube!

#85: Saturday, October 12th, 1996 - My second George Strait concert in Kansas City, MO at Kemper Arena...and just a week after the CMA's! The energy coming from George this night was like nothing I've ever seen since as he was still obviously on a high from the week before. Terri Clark was on tour with George at this time and even she put on a great show. Some songs that still standout from this show include "Where the Sidewalk Ends," "Overnight Male," "Lovebug," "Cherokee Maiden," and "Milk Cow Blues." Would love to go back in time to see this show again.

#84: Same show in Kansas City...so we have a friend with us that requires special needs and is wheelchair-bound. Because of our particular seats we were not able to head back up the balcony and after her father discussed this with security they decide to take us an alternate route to exit. After some time had passed, a security guard comes along to escort us along to exit...we began walking down, pass the stage, and then going along the same are where George would've entered the arena. I didn't think much of this until we begin to turn the corner into what appeared to be what only one could describe as backstage. I'm walking along behind my friend and I just happen to glance to a room that is to the left of me that seems to be having a lot of chatter coming from it...and I spot George Strait along with Terri Clark and the band members/crew. My jaw drops but with so much security surrounding us I feel too nervous to even say or do anything. I pass by only to hear a "OMG IT'S GEORGE STRAIT" coming from my mom as she's putting her hand over her mouth in excitement. We never got to meet George that night, but at least I can say I came within a door's reach of meeting my idol.

[tim]

My George Strait fan anecdotes continued...

#83: In the summer of 1996 I launched my first George Strait website on GeoCities (some of you may still remember this!) called "The Unofficial George Strait Website." It would later go on to be renamed "Strait Country." I still remember that website address because GeoCities had specific communities and blocks...mine was www.geocities.com/Nashville/5113. That's long since been discontinued haha. I wanted to create a website for George because at the time his official website really was quite embarrassing.

#82: During my summer school vacation in 1996 I typed up lyrics to all of George's songs from 1981's Strait Country to 1996's Blue Clear Sky so that I could post them online (at this point on the internet it was still somewhat hard to find lyrics to songs!). I would sometimes take me three or four different listens before getting the lyrics right for a particular song.

[bboat11]

Thank you tim for keeping this thread relevant! I have been busy over the holidays, as I am sure we all have. I will keep trying to post reveals as I can. But first, it's time for us to say goodbye to our first studio album!

[bboat11]

Album Spotlight: Holding My Own

Released: April 21, 1992

Label: MCA Nashville

Producer: Jimmy Bowen, George Strait

Runtime: 30 min. 29 sec.

Country Albums Chart: 5
Certification: Platinum

Singles and Rankdown Placements:
Gone As A Girl Can Get (70)
So Much Like My Dad (81)

Average Score: 75.50

Tracklist:
1. You're Right I'm Wrong
2. Holding My Own
3. Gone As A Girl Can Get
4. So Much Like My Dad
5. Trains Make Me Lonesome
6. All Of Me (Loves All Of You)
7. Wonderland Of Love
8. Faults And All
9. It's Alright With Me
10. Here We Go Again


I am not really surprised that this is the first album we say goodbye to. That doesn't mean I am not sad though. This album is tragically underrated. And a large part of that comes from circumstances surrounding its release. This album came out in April of 1992, had 2 huge hits, sold well enough to go Platinum...and then everyone forgot about it. The reason for this sudden neglect was because of George's involvement in the movie Pure Country. The soundtrack to that movie was released in September of 1992, and it was one of the most wildly successful albums of George's career, selling 6x Platinum and seeing two of his most iconic hits in "Heartland" and "I Cross My Heart". Unfortunately the success of that album cannibalized the Holding My Own era, cutting it short and preventing many of the awesome album tracks from seeing the light of day at radio.

Any of the options highlighted below would have made excellent options for radio, as they all scream "HIT!!!!" to me.

---

Album Tracks:

You're Right I'm Wrong

From the moment the cold vocal entry to the song starts, only to be echoed by the band, you can tell that this is a fun and catchy uptempo. I love the way George's voice sounds on this song! I especially enjoy the way the lyrics and melody work together in this song. It is also one of those rare songs where the verses are higher than the chorus. I have always felt that this would have been a strong addition to George's hits catalog because it is a little bit different, yet still classic.


Holding My Own

This ballad about getting over a broken heart is a pretty standard '90s ballad, but manages to be a standout due to George's delivery. It is easily a standout from this album. I am okay that it was never a single, because we got to have the vastly superior "So Much Like My Dad", but I still think this would have been a hit.


Trains Make Me Lonesome

This is one of those songs that just SOUNDS like a hit. Listening to it, you want to list it among classics such as "All My Ex's Live In Texas" and "Ocean Front Property". The whimsical nature and delivery work especially well to compare the sadness of the narrator's situation in this song. By far the biggest missed opportunity on this album.


Wonderland Of Love

This song is great mostly because it has a super unique sound. It has a super dark vibe, yet is also an uptempo. The way steel guitar is used on the countermelody in this song is brilliant. The melody of this song has always captivated me for some reason as well. I wish this could have been a hit, because it would have been a very interesting new page in George's hits catalog.

---

bboat11 @adam1995 Cody Wants Out... .indulgecountry codyj100 sabre14 George Strait Junkie zaclord 🌈 mamasaid castleoblivion26 DistrictTwelve countrymusicjunkie CoJoFan gardyfan carriekins fearlessarrow LBTrocks tim BackwoodsBarbie Kanenrá:ke

[bboat11]

So those of you who are familiar with this album, what are your thoughts on it? And what would you have picked for the singles?

[tim]

Dec 23, 2017 13:30:32 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

So those of you who are familiar with this album, what are your thoughts on it? And what would you have picked for the singles?

Aside from Chill of an Early Fall and Pure Country, Holding My Own would've been one of the first George Strait albums I got and probably played ad nauseam lol. I think I had included the album tracks "Wonderland of Love" and "Trains Make Me Lonesome" in my list along with the rankdown; I've always really enjoyed both of those songs. If I'm correct MCA was about to release the song "Holding My Own" as the next single before Pure Country came along and sank this great and underrated album.

Ohhh...this era always makes me think of the Bud Light commercials George did back during this time! Here's one I remember from then...

[George Strait Junkie]

oh definitely Trains Make Me Lonesome 100% a hit. then Your Right I'm Wrong. these are among my top favorites of his.