George Strait has had an astonishing 60 No. 1 singles. Strait’s career has spanned more than 45 years, with more hits than virtually any other country music artist in history. It’s nearly impossible to know all of Strait’s songs, but there are four songs that every fan should know by heart.
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1. “Unwound”
Strait released “Unwound” in 1981, as his debut single. Written by Dean Dillon and Frank Dycus, it’s the song that kicked off Strait’s career. And although little about the song gave an indication of the kind of career Strait would have, it did become a Top 10 hit for Strait.
Surprisingly, the song was originally intended for Dillon, who was an artist at the time. Dycus was a more veteran songwriter, so Dillon approached him in a restaurant, asking to collaborate on a song.
“I went over and asked him if he still remembered me and he said, ‘Yeah, I still remember you,'” Dillon recalls to American Songwriter. “I told him I had a deal with RCA and asked if he’d write a song with me and he said, ‘Yeah, I guess so.’ So we sat down and wrote ‘Unwound.'”
2. “I Can Still Make Cheyenne”
Strait has released plenty of heartbreaking songs, but few that tug at the heartstrings as much as “I Can Still Make Cheyenne.” Aaron Barker and Strait’s longtime producer Erv Woolsey penned the song, from Strait’s Blue Clear Sky record, is about a man who chose life on the rodeo, a decision that cost him a relationship with a woman he loves.
“He said, I’m sorry it’s come down to this,” Strait sings. “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.”
Strait also unintentionally inspired the song.
“I’m not a cowboy,” Barker tells The Tennessean. “I didn’t get that life. But as George introduced me to the rodeo thing — because George is big into that — I would see that lifestyle and understand more about it.”
3. “Amarillo By Morning”
“Amarillo By Morning” is from George Strait’s sophomore Strait From The Heart album, out in 1982. Terry Stafford wrote the song with Paul Fraser, with Stafford also releasing the song first. But it was Strait who made it a big, big hit. And, more than 40 years later, it’s still Strait’s favorite song to perform.
“My most favorite song I’ve ever recorded, and it was big in the dance halls, people always requested it,” Strait said during one of his concerts last year. “This one’s called ‘Amarillo By Morning.’ I love singing it.”
4. “All My Ex’s Live In Texas”
If there’s a quintessential George Strait song, it might be “All My Ex’s Live In Texas.” The humorous song, written by Sanger D. Shafer and Lyndia J. Shafer, was released by Strait in 1987, from his Ocean Front Property record.
The song says in part, “All my exes live in Texas / And Texas is a place I’d dearly love to be / But all my exes live in Texas / And that’s why I hang my hat in Tennessee.“
“That was a fun song to write,” Shafer says (via American Songwriter). “I was kinda writing my biography. I changed the names to protect the guilty. I do have some exes in Texas. Thank God they live down there. It’s not really why I live in Tennessee, but it’s a good kicker for the song.”
