''Strait from the Heart'' is the second studio album 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 ...

, released on June 3, 1982 by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

. The album includes Strait's first No. 1 single, "Fool Hearted Memory", as well as follow-up singles "Marina del Rey", "Amarillo by Morning" and "A Fire I Can't Put Out", reaching No. 6, No. 4, and No. 1 respectively on the ''

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 ...

'' Hot Country Singles chart. The album peaked at No. 18 on the US ''Billboard'' Top Country Albums chart. ''Strait from the Heart'' is certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. There were three cover songs on the album: "Honky Tonk Crazy", which had been released a couple months earlier in 1982 by the duo of Gary Stewart and

Dean Dillon Dean Dillon (born Larry Dean Flynn; March 26, 1955) is an American country musician and songwriter. Between 1982 and 1993, he recorded six studio albums on various labels, and charted several singles on the '' Billboard'' country charts. Since 1 ...

on their ''Brotherly Love'' album; 2) the

Guy Clark Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffet ...

song, "Heartbroke", which was first recorded by

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

on his 1980 album, ''

But What Will the Neighbors Think ''But What Will the Neighbors Think'' is the second studio album by American country music artist Rodney Crowell. It was released in 1980 (see 1980 in country music) by Warner Bros. Records. It reached #64 on the Top Country Albums chart and #1 ...

''; and 3) " Amarillo by Morning" which was first recorded by

Terry Stafford Terry LaVerne Stafford (November 22, 1941 – March 17, 1996) was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1964 US Top 10 hit "Suspicion", and the 1973 country music hit " Amarillo by Morning". Stafford was also known for his Elvis ...

in 1973. "The Only Thing I Have Left" was later recorded by

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

for his 1993 debut album ''

''.

Recording

''Strait from the Heart'' was recorded at Music City Music Hall in Nashville, Tennessee. The album was fully recorded and mixed digitally.

Reception

''Strait from the Heart'' received positive reviews upon its release in 1982. On the music review website

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, it received a perfect five out of five stars. In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek called Strait "a singer of uncommon vitality who could sing honky tonk, countrypolitan, and the new traditional sounds". Jurek singled out the depth and breadth of the singer's talent, delivering his first number one hit, "Fool Hearted Memory", a slow two-step, alongside the equally successful ballads "Amarillo by Morning", "Marina del Rey", and "A Fire I Can't Put Out", as well as the raw traditional numbers "Honky Tonk Crazy", "Heartbroke", "I Can't See Texas from Here", and the barroom anthem "The Steal of the Night"—songs that "offer a portrait of Strait as a man who can do it all". Jurek concludes: In 2022, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' ranked the album 19 on its 100 Greatest Country Albums of All Time publication.

Track listing

Personnel

Music *

– lead vocals * Gregg Galbraith –

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

* Fred Newell – electric guitar * Jimmy Capps –

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

* Bobby Thompson - acoustic guitar * Steve Chapman - acoustic guitar on "Fool Hearted Memory" * Dave Kirby - acoustic guitar on "Fool Hearted Memory" * Sonny Garrish –

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

John Hughey John Hughey (December 27, 1933 – November 18, 2007) was an American musician. He was known for his work as a session pedal steel guitar player for various country music acts, most notably Vince Gill and Conway Twitty. A member of the Steel Guit ...

– steel guitar * Mark Feldman -

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

on "Fool Hearted Memory" * Rob Hajacos – fiddle *

Buddy Spicher Buddy Spicher (born July 28, 1938 in DuBois, Pennsylvania; pronounced “Spiker”) is an American country music fiddle player. He is a member of The Nashville A-Team of session musicians, and is Grammy-nominated. He was nominated as Instrumental ...

– fiddle * Mitch Humphries –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Mike Leech –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Larry Paxton – bass guitar * Clyde Brooks -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

on "Fool Hearted Memory" * Jerry Kroon – drums *

The Nashville String Machine Nashville String Machine is a musical collective comprising session musicians, based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Members of the group have been credited on records dating from 1972 to the present, although the group was formally formed ...

–

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

* Sudie Callaway – background vocals *

Buddy Cannon Buddy Cannon (born April 20, 1947 Lexington, Tennessee) is an American country music songwriter and record producer. Active since the late 1970s, he is known primarily for his work with Willie Nelson and as Kenny Chesney's record producer, for w ...

– background vocals * Rita Figlio – background vocals * Arlene Hardin – background vocals * Buddy Hardin – background vocals * Gwen Kay – background vocals * Curtis Young – background vocals Production * Blake Mevis – producer * Bill Harris – engineer, mixing * Doug Crider – assistant engineer * David DeBusk – assistant engineer * Milan Bogdan – digital editing * Glenn Meadows – digital mastering * Allen Moore – string arrangements * Simon Levy – art direction * Jim McGuire – photography * Katie Gillon – coordination * Sherri Halford – coordination

Chart positions

References

{{Authority control 1982 albums George Strait albums MCA Records albums