Scotty McCreery has been very vocal about his love of George Strait. McCreery had a multi-week, No. 1 hit with “Damn Strait,” a song from his 2021 Same Truck album that honored the music of the country music legend. But more than a song about Strait, the 30-year-old has been inspired by the life and career of Strait, looking to him as a true inspiration.
“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 has, unfortunately, not been able to share the stage with Strait, at least not yet, but he has had several encounters with him including one that still blows him away.
“I’ve had the chance to meet him a few times over the years,” McCreery says. “I remember the first time I met him was at the Ryman Auditorium. We were doing a label gig during a radio week there. I’m looking out to the audience, and I get a tap on my shoulder. I hear, ‘Hey Scotty.’ I turn around and it was George Strait, saying hey to me. I was like, ‘What in the world is going on?’ It blew my mind. It’s the King of Country Music right there.”
McCreery has had a total of six No. 1 singles including his latest, “Cab In A Solo,” the debut single from his latest Rise and Fall album. He is back at radio with “Fall of Summer,” which just cracked the Top 50.
“Every album until this one, I’ve just picked a song title that I thought represented kind of where we’re at or the lead single,” McCreery said at a media event celebrating the release of Rise and Fall. “But this one, something felt different, and I didn’t think there was a song title that totally captured the feeling that I had for the whole project. And I’m old school; I know it’s a single-driven world nowadays, but I want my album to tell a story, start to finish.
“I want it to be a cohesive unit,” he added. “And I didn’t feel like there was one title that did that. So I was just listening down to the songs, probably on a plane to California or something. I was listening to ‘Fall of Summer’ and I heard, ‘Here’s to the rise and fall of summer,’ and I thought, ‘Rise and Fall.’”
Find Rise and Fall and all of McCreery’s music and upcoming shows at ScottyMcCreery.com.