Scotty McCreery pays homage to the King of Country himself in his current single, “Damn Strait,” a track that strings together references to some of George Strait’s biggest hits to tell a new breakup story.
Scotty didn’t write the song — Trent Tomlinson and Jim Collins are the writers on the track — but the singer says he was immediately impressed by how “Damn Strait” didn’t just name-check classic country songs, but used them to create a new narrative.
“Even if you don’t know this George Strait song — which, shame on you if you don’t — but if you don’t, you still get the song, you know?” Scotty tells ABC Audio.
But Scotty’s very favorite George Strait ballad — “The Chair” — actually doesn’t make an appearance in the lyrics of “Damn Strait.”
He tried to find a way to reference that song, since it’s such an important and influential track for him. “My favorite George Strait song that I always go back to, if I’m in the shower or washing dishes, is ‘The Chair.’ I always go back to that,” he says. When it didn’t fit into the lyrics of his song, Scotty was hoping to include a musical reference to the track.
“In the demo, we put the steel guitar lick [of ‘The Chair’],” he says. “And then, in the actual recording, I think it was a little too close for comfort for the lawyers.”
“Damn Strait” is one of the tracks on Same Truck, Scotty’s album from September 2021.
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