Scotty McCreery has been an outspoken fan of George Strait for his entire career. The American Idol alum recorded the song, “Damn Strait” in 2021, which became his fifth No. 1 hit.
McCreery might not consider himself in the same league as the King of Country Music, but he proved he can perfectly deliver one of Strait’s biggest hits. On a recent episode of the God’s Country podcast, McCreery performed a gorgeous acoustic version of “The Chair.” The song, written by Dean Dillon and Hank Cochran, was first released by Strait in 1985.
“My favorite thing about this song right now is that my kid loves this song,” McCreery says, speaking of his two-year-old son, Avery. “He calls this the ‘Excuse Me’ song. He’s like, ‘Daddy, can you sing the ‘Excuse Me’ song. I’m teaching him, like, ‘Who sings this song?’ ‘George Strait.’ I’m starting him young. ”
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McCreery has been inspired by Strait for his entire career, and is still inspired by him today.
“George had a way of having a song for everybody,” McCreery tells Southern Living. “He was everybody’s country singer. He had a song if you were feeling sad, he had a song if you wanted to dance with your honey. He had a song for the cowboys. He kind of seemed like the ultimate cowboy. He’s the king for a reason.
“His music was just so relatable,” he continues. “Me and my wife met in elementary school. You hear a song like, ‘Check Yes or No,’ to me that’s kind of our story. I feel like everybody has a George Strait song that they can listen to and be like, ‘That sounds like me,’ or ‘That’s our story.’ That’s the mark of a great artist and true country singer out there.”
McCreery also opened up about his new collaboration, “Red Letter Blueprint,” which he just released with Jason Crabb.
“I think my faith now is as important as it ever has been in my life. You become a dad, you’re gonna be praying; you’re gonna be saying some prayers … I try to walk the walk. I make mistakes, all of us do. It is what it is. But luckily we got a guy who has paid for those mistakes. It’s important to sing about, it’s important to talk about. Hopefully it doesn’t get lost in the crazy world we’re living in now.”
McCreery’s entire performance of “The Chair” can be seen here, at the 1:07:30 mark. The North Carolina has a Top 30 hit with “Fall of Summer.” The song and “Red Letter Blueprint” are both from his latest Rise & Fall album. He is spending part of 2025 opening for Kane Brown on Brown’s The High Road Tour, and will also headline his own UK Tour this year. Find all of McCreery’s music and upcoming shows at ScottyMcCreery.com.