Somewhere Down in Texas

Country star George Strait has released at least one album every year since making his debut in 1981. His catalog of studio projects, anthology and live collections, and holiday albums now totals 33. The 53-year-old singer's new CD is Somewhere Down in Texas.

"You'll Be There"  was the first single released from George Strait's latest album, Somewhere Down in Texas. The track entered Billboard's Country chart at Number 30 to become his highest-debuting single ever. It later became Strait's 70th Top 10 hit. Somewhere Down in Texas made its first week entry at Number One on both the Country Albums and Billboard  200 charts, marking the first time in his 25-year-career he's simultaneously debuted in their top spots.

Among the highlights on Somewhere Down in Texas are "The Seashores of Old Mexico," which Merle Haggard wrote and recorded more than 30 years ago, and "Good News, Bad News," a duet George recorded with Country star and fellow Texan Lee Ann Womack.

"I had wanted to sing a song with Lee Ann for a while," said Strait. "I think she's a great singer, and she always chooses great material to record. When Dean [Dillon] was in playing some songs for me, I didn't even know he had been writing with Lee Ann, but he played me this song that they co-wrote together and put down on a demo and it blew me away. So, that kind of did it. I wanted to do it and it turned out great."

George Strait

George Strait arrived on the Country music scene in 1981. Since then, George has earned the most solo Number One Country singles and Number One Country Albums on the Billboard charts. He also holds the record as the most-nominated artist in the Country Music Association Awards history, with a career total of 73 nominations.

George was born in Poteet, Texas, and has lived in his home state throughout his entire career. Two songs on his new album mention the Lone Star state, its title track "Somewhere Down in Texas" and its current single, simply titled "Texas."

"Always singing for the great state, for sure," said Strait. "But, you know, you don't want to do a song just because it's got Texas in it. Sometimes that can get a little hokey. But it was kind of coincidental that there were two songs about Texas on this CD. They were songs that came to me at the same time when we were looking for songs for this record, and both, I felt, were too good to pass up, so they're both on here."