George Strait Thinks Country Is Trending Back Towards The Traditional
George Strait has never been a man of many words. So when he speaks, you lean in and listen.
Talking with Joe Pappalardo of The Dallas Observer recently about a new tequila brand he’s touting, George Strait had some interesting comments about where country music appears to be headed, confirming what many others believe—that it’s trending more towards the traditional.
“I don’t see a lot of my influence out there in country music today, out there being played on the radio,” Strait said, chuckling. “The country music scene is always changing, and the music is always changing. I’ve seen the pendulum swing this way and back this way. It’s very country, and then not so country. I think right now it’s kind of trending back to more traditional country music, which is what I like and I like to do. So I’m glad to see that. But I can’t put anybody down for having success in the business, which is just tough … I’m not saying I have to like it, but I just know how tough it is.”
With the mainstream success of folks like Chris Stapleton and William Michael Morgan (who may have a #1 song here shortly, and is sometimes compared to Strait in his sound), as well as the continued rise of more independent country names such as Sturgill Simpson and Cody Jinks, it’s hard to argue with Strait’s assessment. The pendulum couldn’t have swung in any more opposite direction in recent years with Bro-Country and superstars like Sam Hunt.
Strait goes on to explain how he was a part of another pendulum swing.
“I think it’s just a natural thing,” Strait says. “I don’t know why it is. When I got signed at MCA records in 1981, you had all kinds of things going on, shows like ‘Pop Goes the Country.’ The thing was to get a crossover hit, and that would sell more records. They wanted a pop sounding country song to get the pop music lovers and country music people to buy it. And I never was into any of that. But I came around at the right time. Traditional country music kind of came back and there were a lot of artists who started doing it, like me, Alan Jackson, Randy Travis.”
Some other interesting nuggets from the interview include that Strait listens to SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country or Willie’s Roadhouse instead of country radio, and likes Kacey Musgraves, whose been opening his shows in Las Vegas for him.
He also dropped the interesting nugget that he’s been recording with another country music traditionalist who it seems to have dropped off the face of the earth when it comes to new material.
“I just recorded a song last week with Jamey Johnson,” Strait says. Whether it’s for a Strait record or a Jamey Johnson record remains to be seen, but it’s promising to hear Jamey’s in the studio at all.
Undoubtedly country music works in cycles, and the recent years we have seen that cycle trend more towards pop and music of less substance than ever before. But the music is changing once again, and the influence of artists like George Strait could be coming back to the forefront, or at least get a proper seat at the mainstream dinner table. At least George Strait seems to think so.
Jordan
October 3, 2016 @ 8:56 am
George Strait is the man.
SR
October 3, 2016 @ 9:04 am
Jamey Johnson did a full Last Waltz set at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and it was awesome. Hopefully he has some original stuff for us soon!
ClemsonBrad
October 3, 2016 @ 9:07 am
All hail king george
indk
October 3, 2016 @ 9:26 am
Bobby Bones tweeted “Some old man is out there trying to define what country music is again. Like, OMG, just listen to Sam Hunt already.”
sbach66
October 3, 2016 @ 10:09 am
Please tell me you’re joking. Please.
ElectricOutcast
October 3, 2016 @ 12:03 pm
He must’ve deleted it because I didn’t find it anywhere but I would’ve went full fire-breathing dragon on him if he did.
indk
October 3, 2016 @ 12:27 pm
It was just a joke. 😉
Summer Jam
October 4, 2016 @ 5:44 pm
F*ck bobby bones. That faggot doesn’t know his head from his ass.
Country
October 4, 2016 @ 6:54 pm
Get real
Dana M
October 6, 2016 @ 10:10 am
That actually made me laugh. Damn it, Bobby Bones.
Kevin Davis
October 3, 2016 @ 9:45 am
I’m a bit skeptical, unfortunately. Sure, WMM will likely have the next #1 single, and we can look back on Pardi’s “Head Over Boots,” McGraw’s “Humble & Kind,” and Church’s “Record Year.” But the mainstream hits are still overwhelming unbearable, such as Chris Lane’s “Fix” and the worst singles ever from Dierks Bentley and Keith Urban. 2016 is, so far, worse than 2015; 2015 was worse than 2014; 2014 was worse….you get my point. Perhaps we are not necessarily seeing a trend toward traditional but, rather, an increasing polarization. And Nashville has to decide where it will invest and cultivate its talent. I believe that the smart choice is with the more substantive artists, but short term interests and gains are typically the norm, whether Wall Street or Nashville.
Nonetheless, we need to celebrate the good at every point and not wallow in self-serving pessimism.
Christian H.
October 3, 2016 @ 9:50 am
Insightful comment. Well played.
CCRR
October 3, 2016 @ 1:00 pm
Agree 100%. I don’t listen to the radio too often, but when I do, it is overwhelmingly pop-country. I am not completely against pop country, I’m more open to the changes of country music (I am more about the song…for example Chris Lane “Fix” is shitty pop-country, while I’ve always liked most of Keith Urban’s pop-country), like George said I’ve seen it change a lot over the decades, so I’m on both sides of the fence here…no bias…and I can honestly say I don’t feel much is changing in the regard of more traditional country going mainstream. Have there been a few songs that fit this bill? Sure, but there usually is. I think traditional country and this whole movement towards it IS happening….but like you said it is more of just a clean differentiation between the mainstream and traditional that’s developing. I don’t hear much change on the radio…I’m very curious to see if it will change in the near future.
Eduardo Vargas
October 3, 2016 @ 1:59 pm
I disagree- I think that overall the industry has moved in a more positive direction this year compared to the last.
Jen
October 3, 2016 @ 2:16 pm
I heard Jessie James Decker’s new one…if that’s any indication, it’s not there,yet! UGH!
luckyoldsun
October 3, 2016 @ 10:01 am
Hopefully, there will always be resurgences in classic style country and new artists will have success with it.
But the mainstream is never going to come back to it, like it did in the ’80s-;90s, when, “Fort Worth,” “On the Other Hand,” and “Too Cold at Home” were the “sound” of country radio. That train has left the station. Or that horse has left the barn.
Ultimate Twang
October 3, 2016 @ 7:09 pm
I remember people saying that exact same thing in the mid 1980’s, right before Randy Travis and company hit big. I’m hoping it will.
Anthony
October 3, 2016 @ 11:08 am
George Strait: “I don’t see a lot of my influence out there in country music today….”
Briank Kelly: “God knows that I’m a product of George Strait….”
Lmaooo. Country music is so entertaining.
the pistolero
October 4, 2016 @ 5:58 pm
Briank Kelly: “God knows that I’m a product of George Strait….”
Oh, no. No, no, no.
Corncaster
October 3, 2016 @ 4:43 pm
There was Dwight, and there was Shania.
Then there was George, straight up the middle.
Biscuit
October 3, 2016 @ 6:05 pm
George is a good diplomat. This cycle isn’t new. Pop country gets too same sounding and then trad country comes into favor again. Then the reverse happens if there is a glut of traditionalists. The record industry follows trends for sales purposes and floods the record buying market with a glut of product until it won’t sell anymore (max profit) and then changes gears to the next thing. The record buying public changes too.. Remember when Crystal Pepsi was hot, then not, and now it’s vogue again? “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there’s nothing new under the sun.”
Dane
October 3, 2016 @ 6:13 pm
WMM I Met A Girl officially the #1 song in the nation this week! There is hope
camusmuse
October 3, 2016 @ 10:19 pm
Wishful thinking…. and plus also he is SELLING something….so yeah, he is kowtowing to his faithful audience. Sorry….I’m looking forward to the future of labels like Farmageddon Records..admittedly not everyone’s cup of tea…certainly not traditional, but definitely NEW…like when Vassar Clements got together with David Grisman, Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, and Peter Rowan; and did the Old and in the Way tapes…. “…after a few hours of pickin’ he turned to us and said, ‘We’re Old and in the Way'”…and such is the progression of music….now how it progresses, and for what reasons and propelled by what forces(big corporate music)….well that is up to us….the listeners….and what WE support…and how we support….(buy the record, dont just dl for free!!!!)
WV country
October 4, 2016 @ 10:22 pm
I think WMM’s number one is a sign he’s right but time will tell
WV country
October 4, 2016 @ 10:25 pm
I mean I figured this song wouldn’t even enter the top 20 and it wouldnt have as recently as last year
Greg
October 5, 2016 @ 12:39 pm
Sure hope & pray your right George!
I sing George’s songs @ Karaoke.It’s a great honor & pleasure for me to sing his songs.
Amanda Martinez
October 6, 2016 @ 1:08 pm
Funny how country “bro” Sam Hunt cowrote “I Met a Girl.” As much as I don’t care for Hunt’s recordings, he certainly knows what more traditional country means and sounds like.
And as for whether the pendulum is swinging one way or the other, I think that’s just how it’s always been with country music. Constant debates over what is and “ain’t” country, all the way back to when the Nashville Sound first arrived in the early sixties. Since then, there have been pockets of more traditional/honky tonk country, and more pop-influenced country. The debates over what is or is less “real” are all a part of what makes country COUNTRY.