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Watch Chris Stapleton Sing The Hit Song He Wrote For George Strait Way Back In 2011
Chris Stapleton is a certified hit machine.
Before he became one of country music’s most soulful voices, he was already a songwriting powerhouse behind the scenes in Nashville. After moving there from his hometown of Paintsville, Kentucky, in 2001, Stapleton signed a publishing deal with Sea Gayle Music, and it didn’t take long for him to start making his mark.
In those early years, he wrote hundreds of songs for other artists, quietly becoming one of the most in-demand writers in town. His pen helped craft hits for big names like Kenny Chesney (“Never Wanted Nothing More”), George Strait (“Love’s Gonna Make It Alright”), and Darius Rucker (“Come Back Song”) — all before most people even knew his name. Stapleton was known for his raw, soulful writing style, often blending country storytelling with blues and Southern rock influences. Even then, his peers recognized his rare combination of grit and heart, and they knew he was one of the best vocalists in the game. Dierks Bentley famously called him the “best singer in the world” way back in 2010.
Chris spent over a decade writing for others, fronting bluegrass and Southern rock bands on the side, before finally stepping into the spotlight himself with Traveller in 2015 — an album that would turn his years of quiet hard work into overnight stardom.
So speaking of that George Strait hit, let’s watch Chris sing it himself. Why? Well, because nobody sings quite like Chris Stapleton… even Darius Rucker was hesitant to record “Come Back Song” because he knew he couldn’t hang with Chris’ demo version. And Darius Rucker can SING.
According to Chris, he was writing a song specifically to pitch to George, and… it worked:
“Sat down to write this song, this is another one where this kinda worked… George was cuttin’ and my friend Al Anderson who used to be in a band called NRBQ, back in the ’80s… he goes ‘hey man, George is cuttin’ and we need to write something for George.’
That never works out when you do that… but he said ‘we need to write a song for George’ and we did. And it turned out to be this one.”
Written by Al Anderson and Chris Stapleton, it was cut by George and released on his 2011 album, Here For A Good Time. The second single from the album, it went Top 5 on the Billboard Hot Country chart.
They were swinging for a home run… and sure enough, they hit one.
Here’s ol’ George with the recorded studio version.
Chris Stapleton Gets Goosebumps Performing Alongside George Strait
For a country music singer, even one as incredible as Chris Stapleton is, singing with George Strait is about as good as it gets. And for a country music fans, Chris Stapleton singing with George Strait is also about as good as it gets.
Back in 2017, Chris and George and a ton of other superstars got together to raise money for Hurricane Harvey victims at a benefit concert called Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Relief. The special raised $44 million dollars and featured performances from Stevie Wonder, Blake Shelton, Dave Matthews, and more.
Chris Stapleton joined George Strait for a duet of Strait’s 1993 hit “When Did You Stop Loving Me” and if that isn’t a lethal combo…. I don’t know what is. Of course, this was long before George started taking Chris out for a run of stadium shows with him every year.
And even for Chris, it was enough to give him goosebumps:
“If you don’t think growing up listening to George Strait and then getting up here and singing with him is the coolest thing that you’ll ever do, let me tell you that it is. It made the hairs on my arm stand up.”
Country music at its best.
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