Strait Country
| Strait Country | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by George Strait | ||||
| Released | September 4, 1981 | |||
| Recorded | February 2, 1981 | |||
| Studio | The Waxworks, Berry Hill, Tennessee June 1981 Music City Music Hall, Nashville, Tennessee |
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| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 27:51 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Producer | Blake Mevis | |||
| George Strait chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |
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| Robert Christgau | B+ |
Strait Country is the debut studio album by American country music artist George Strait, released on September 4, 1981 by MCA Records. The album's traditional country music approach—a mix of Texas honky tonk and the Bakersfield sound—presented a sharp contrast to the dominating trends within country music at that time. The album includes the singles "Unwound", "Down and Out", and "If You're Thinking You Want a Stranger (There's One Coming Home)", reaching 6, 16, and 3 respectively on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. The album peaked at number 26 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Strait Country has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The album was one of the first to be recorded and mixed digitally.
In January 1981, MCA Records offered Strait a single deal, agreeing to release one song as a single and provide the necessary promotion. If the single was successful in sales and radio play, then an album deal would be offered. On February 2, 1981, Groundhog Day, Strait entered The Waxworks recording studio in Berry Hill, Tennessee with producer Blake Mevis to record "Unwound", a song written by an unknown songwriter named Dean Dillon and his writing partner Frank Dycus. Producer Mevis first heard the song through his music publisher, Tom Collins, who also sent it to Strait's new manager, Erv Woolsey, offering to finance a demo session if Strait would record the song. Woolsey listened to Dillon's rough demo of "Unwound" and knew immediately that the song could be a big hit and launch Strait's career. Woolsey and Strait agreed to record the song. Three additional songs were recorded during that February recording session: "Blame It on Mexico", "Perfect Lie", and "Nobody in His Right Mind Would've Left Her".
The "Unwound" single was released by MCA on April 23, 1981 and entered the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart the week of May 16. It soon made it into the top ten. Strait would later remember the experience of hearing his first record on the radio while working on his ranch in San Marcos.
I was shocked. I couldn't believe it. I mean, hearing your first record on the radio, when it was something that you had been trying to get to for so long, and then finally having it happen, it was wild. Here I was driving around the ranch there, and I'd hear it go up the chart, and I'm saying to myself, "What's wrong with this picture? I've got a hit record. I need to go out on the road and go play some concerts."
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