"Adalida" is a song recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

. It was released in March 1995 as the third single from his album ''

Lead On ''Lead On'' is the fifteenth studio album by American country music artist George Strait. Released in 1994 on MCA Records, the album was certified platinum in the U.S. for sales of one million copies. It includes the singles "The Big One", "You ...

''. It peaked at number 3 in the United States, and number 2 in Canada. It was written by Mike Geiger, Woody Mullis and Michael Huffman.

Content

The song is an uptempo, in which the narrator refers to a "Cajun queen" named Adalida. It was inspired by a young lady George Strait met in his hometown, named Ida. He was about to sing at the strawberry festival in Poteet, when he ran into her.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine reviewed the song favorably, calling it a "zydeco-spiced single." She goes on to say that in the hands of a lesser singer, "a song like this would have been difficult to stretch."

Alanna Nash Alanna Nash is an American journalist and biographer. Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1950, Nash holds a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is the author of several acclaimed books. She is a 1972 graduat ...

of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' was less favorable, saying that it "fails to challenge him in even the slightest way".

Chart positions

"Adalida" debuted at number 72 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of March 25, 1995.

Year-end charts

Cover Versions

* In October 2012,

Tim Armstrong Timothy Ross Armstrong (born November 25, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup Transplants. ...

recorded a version as a part of his

Tim Timebomb ''Tim Timebomb'' is a music project by Tim Armstrong, best known as a member of the punk rock band Rancid. Armstrong has recorded a large number of songs – a mixture of cover versions, including Rancid covers, and original songs, including som ...

and Friends project

References

{{authority control 1994 songs 1995 singles George Strait songs Song recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer) Songs written by Mike Geiger Songs written by Woody Mullis MCA Records singles