The Big One - A George Strait Rankdown (Revealing)

[fearlessarrow]

More regarding the winner:

“Surprise your winner has arrived, out of the blue clear sky”

[dub]

a really wild ride. "Run" would have probably made my #1 but honestly such an iconic top 5 it's hard to say!

[tim]

Jan 28, 2018 1:15:00 GMT -5 fearlessarrow said:

More regarding the winner:

“Surprise your winner has arrived, out of the blue clear sky”

We also can’t forget to thank Forest Gump for without him this song never would’ve been written!

[dub]

Jan 28, 2018 1:58:29 GMT -5 tim said:

Jan 28, 2018 1:15:00 GMT -5 fearlessarrow said:

More regarding the winner:

“Surprise your winner has arrived, out of the blue clear sky”

We also can’t forget to thank Forest Gump for without him this song never would’ve been written!

I think about this factoid/trivium way too much tbh

[sabre14]

Jan 28, 2018 1:58:29 GMT -5 tim said:

Jan 28, 2018 1:15:00 GMT -5 fearlessarrow said:

More regarding the winner:

“Surprise your winner has arrived, out of the blue clear sky”

We also can’t forget to thank Forest Gump for without him this song never would’ve been written!

"That's all I have to say about that"

[George Strait Junkie]

Jan 28, 2018 0:01:49 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

I lose my #2 here, while carriekins and fearlessarrow also lose a pair of #3s. Everybody else put this in their top 50 except for George Strait Junkie and codyj100 , who were clearly both just mistaken when they made their lists

uhh nope i just dont like this song that much there are just a very few of his songs i cant stand and thats one of them

[.indulgecountry]

Thank goodness "Blue Clear Sky" won as I would've been pretty disappointed by an "Amarillo by Morning" win. It's a decent song, but it's just not even close to being #1 material for this rankdown, imo. Shocked that "Carrying Your Love with Me" topped out when it did. I definitely thought it was in the running, and I'm surprised to see it only *just* make the Top 5. Shame.

[Cody Wants Out...]

YAAAAYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not only did my runner-up win, but the song that was originally my #1 before my last minute swap won as well!!!!!

I couldn't be any happier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[carriekins]

Jan 27, 2018 22:15:05 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Jan 27, 2018 22:09:15 GMT -5 zaclord 🌈 said:

This rankdown is canceled. Bye.

And to think you thought LBTrocks would be the one to tank your #1!! Little did you know it would be the supposed George superfan, carriekins

It. Is. Played. To. Death. Maybe the day will come when I can listen to it again but it's my bathroom song when I see him live, so that day has yet to come.

[carriekins]

Jan 28, 2018 3:53:15 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Thank goodness "Blue Clear Sky" won as I would've been pretty disappointed by an "Amarillo by Morning" win. It's a decent song, but it's just not even close to being #1 material for this rankdown, imo. Shocked that "Carrying Your Love with Me" topped out when it did. I definitely thought it was in the running, and I'm surprised to see it only *just* make the Top 5. Shame.

AMARILLO BY MORNING IS THE BEST SONG IN THE HISTORY OF EVER. THAT FIDDLE. OMG.

[BackwoodsBarbie]

Relativity... My favourite George Strait song ended up in second place and I have the song that won in top 10 but I'm still not completely happy with the way this rankdown ended.

First I'm glad that Check Yes or No didn't manage to get higher than to the 10th place. I was really worried that this might win because it's usually pretty high on George Strait all-time best songs lists. It's not a bad song but I don't see anything great about it either. And the video is too cheesy even for me.

The first big disappointment was when I Can Still Make Cheyenne was eliminated at #8. This song is just so beautiful... I mean he would skip Cheyenne just to go home to her... and the sadness his voice and the amazing violin but lyrics got to me the most. I literally had tears in my eyes when I first realised what this song is about. 

"She said, don't bother comin' home
By time you get here I'll be long gone
There's somebody new and he sure ain't no rodeo man
He said, I'm sorry it's come down to this
There's so much about you that I'm gonna miss
But it's alright baby
If I hurry I can still make Cheyenne
Gotta go now baby
If I hurry I can still make Cheyenne"

Girl you don't leave a man who would skip Cheyenne for you!!  

The second big disappointment was when Amarillo by Morning lost to  Blue Clear Sky. Don't get me wrong I like Blue Clear Sky a lot. It's a great song, with positve lyrics and great melody & instrumentation. I would vote it for the song that I'm most likely to sing along in my car having radio at maximum volume (Yes I did that a couple of times) but no way this song is better than Amarillo by Morning. Amarillo by Morning is just one of the gratest country songs ever, ever. His voice is just amazing, the emotions it reflects, the sincerity... the violin (especially solo and outro) is simply perfect... one of my all time favourite songs!

"I ain't got a dime but what I got is mine
I ain't rich but Lord I'm free
Amarillo by mornin'
Amarillo's where I'll be"

[LBTrocks]

Jan 28, 2018 0:26:58 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

2. "Amarillo By Morning"

.indulgecountry - 79

[mamasaid]

Jan 28, 2018 3:53:15 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Thank goodness "Blue Clear Sky" won as I would've been pretty disappointed by an "Amarillo by Morning" win. It's a decent song, but it's just not even close to being #1 material for this rankdown, imo. Shocked that "Carrying Your Love with Me" topped out when it did. I definitely thought it was in the running, and I'm surprised to see it only *just* make the Top 5. Shame.

Speaking for those of us consumed by the aching romance of fiddles 

[.indulgecountry]

Like almost every George Strait song ever recorded is smothered in fiddle so I don't understand why "Amarillo by Morning" is being treated like the holy grail of fiddles. It's literally my favorite instrument and it has nothing to do with why I find Amarillo to be totally meh.

[Kanenrá:ke]

Thanks for hosting bboat11!

So happy with the results even if my #1 was killed off way too early! Love the winner seeing as it was my #2! And I love "Amarillo By Morning" as well!

I've been in a George mood lately because of this lol

[bboat11]

Oh hi guys! Miss me yet? I forgot to post a recap of our final results! Also, I still theoretically have yet to spotlight the albums in the top 9...


100. Shiftwork
99. Overnight Success
98. Drinking Champagne
97. You're Something Special To Me
96. I Believe
95. River Of Love
94. Lovesick Blues
93. Down And Out
92. Twang
91. Let It Go

90. Lovebug
89. The Breath You Take
88. Don't Make Me Come Over There And Love You
87. Goin' Goin' Gone
86. Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa
85. I Know She Still Loves Me
84. Lead On
83. King Of The Mountain
82. What's Going On In Your World
81. So Much Like My Dad

80. Am I Blue
79. Texas
78. The Man In Love With You
77. When Did You Stop Loving Me
76. I Gotta Get To You
75. If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain' Livin')
74. We Really Shouldn't Be Doing This
73. It Ain't Cool To Be Crazy About You
72. Right Or Wrong
71. Let's Fall To Pieces Together

70. Gone As A Girl Can Get
69. Ace In The Hole
68. Famous Last Words Of A Fool
67. Drinkin' Man
66. What Do You Say To That
65. The Seashores Of Old Mexico
64. If You're Thinking You Want A Stranger (There's One Coming Home)
63. Cold Beer Conversation
62. Love's Gonna Make It Alright
61. Give It All We Got Tonight

60. The Chill Of An Early Fall
59. The Best Day
58. I'd Like To Have That One Back
57. Meanwhile
56. If You Can Do Anything Else
55. Round About Way
54. You Can't Make A Heart Love Somebody
53. Desperately
52. Go On
51. I Just Want To Dance With You

50. The Big One
49. Nobody In His Right Mind Would've Left Her
48. I've Come To Expect It From You
47. Unwound
46. The Fireman
45. I Cross My Heart
44. You'll Be There
43. Murder On Music Row
42. How 'Bout Them Cowgirls
41. A Fire I Can't Put Out

40. Here For A Good Time
39. Adalida
38. Cowboys Like Us
37. Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind
36. Easy Come, Easy Go
35. I Saw God Today
34. One Night At A Time
33. Wrapped
32. Living For The Night
31. Baby's Gotten Good At Goodbye

30. Living And Living Well
29. Baby Blue
28. She'll Leave You With A Smile
27. Today My World Slipped Away
26. Marina Del Rey
25. All My Ex's Live In Texas
24. The Chair
23. It Just Comes Natural
22. Heartland
21. Fool Hearted Memory

20. I Hate Everything
19. You Know Me Better Than That
18. The Cowboy Rides Away
17. Troubadour
16. I Got A Car
15. You Look So Good In Love
14. She Let Herself Go
13. If I Know Me
12. Love Without End, Amen
11. Give It Away

10. Check Yes Or No
9. True
8. I Can Still Make Cheyenne
7. Ocean Front Property
6. Write This Down
5. Carrying Your Love With Me
4. Carried Away
3. Run
2. Amarillo By Morning
1. Blue Clear Sky

[Cody Wants Out...]

Jan 30, 2018 22:30:02 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

Oh hi guys! Miss me yet?

:kii:

[samo🦕]

Jan 28, 2018 0:34:01 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

"Blue Clear Sky" is also the only song that ranked in everybody's top 50! In fact, everybody but 1 put it in their top 40, and even then there were only 2 who didn't put it in their top 30.

This wasn't quite as much of a landslide as "Independence Day" delivered in the Martina McBride rankdown, but it is definitely one of the healthiest victories I have seen in an artist rankdown yet

Just you wait for the end of my "Rainbow" rankdown. :sip2:

[tim]

Jan 25, 2018 19:31:58 GMT -5 bboat11 said:

tim, you were at both the Astrodome AND Texas Stadium concerts??!?!?!?! Holy crap! Too bad you couldn't go to his final show! You could have contributed your screaming audience vocals to all of his live albums...

I was there for both George's final Astrodome concert as well as the final Texas Stadium concert with Alan and Jimmy lol...both were a lot of fun!! That reminds me...I need to finally wrap up with my fan notes so for now I'm going to finish up with some of the concerts I attended. I think I last mentioned I saw George in Lincoln, Kansas City, Denver, Ames, Houston, Dallas...so now for my finale:

01/28/2005 - Austin, Texas (Frank Erwin Center) - Amber Dotson and Dierks Bentley opened for George on this trip.

2/2/2007 - Phoenix, Arizona (US Airways Center) - A little unknown artist named Taylor Swift opened ("Tim McGraw" was her only hit at the time)...Ronnie Milsap also opened and probably will forever remain my favorite opening act for George as he was just amazing. George was absolutely fantastic on this leg of the tour and this show remains one of my favorites.

01/10/2008 - Austin, Texas (Frank Erwin Center) - Little Big Town opened for George on this tour.

02/06/2010 - Las Vegas, Nevada (MGM Grand Garden Arena) - I randomly booked this trip solo lol. Lee Ann Womack opened for Reba and George.

04/08/2010 - Omaha, Nebraska (Qwest Center Arena) - Lee Ann Womack opened for the mega tour of Reba McEntire and King George!

01/14/2011 - Austin, Texas (Frank Erwin Center) - another mega stop with Lee Ann Womack and Reba McEntire!!

02/05/2011 - Las Vegas, Nevada (MGM Grand Garden Arena) - again a solo trip to see LAW, Reba, and George!

10/17/2011 - Austin, Texas (Frank Erwin Center) - Fire Relief Concert benefiting Central Texas - acts included Asleep at the Wheel, Randy Rogers Band, Willie Nelson with full sets by Dixie Chicks and George Strait!

2/12/2012 - Las Vegas, Nevada (MGM Grand Garden Arena) - Martina McBride opened for George on this leg...my brother and his wife flew in for this show from Nebraska.

06/01/2013 - San Antonio, Texas (Alamodome) - Martina McBride and Miranda Lambert opened for the final leg of George's 2013 The Cowboy Rides Away tour.

01/10/2014 - Austin, Texas (Frank Erwin Center) - Jason Aldean opened for George at this stop on the final leg of The Cowboys Rides Away tour.

My last fan anecdote will hopefully be seeing George one last time (preferably in Las Vegas again!).

edit: btw one of the Austin concerts was all thanks to the great carriekins :))

second edit: I’ve seen George live 20+ times and this was only to round out my top 50 list 👍