3 Tim McGraw Songs That Could Have Been Played on Rock Radio

Since the early 90s, Tim McGraw has been a staple at country radio. But McGraw loves all kinds of music, including rock, which is evident in some of his song choices.

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“I don’t really put any kind of parameters on anything I’m doing,” McGraw tells The Boot. “It’s gonna be me when I open my mouth, no matter how much I do anything different, it’s still gonna be me.”

We found three Tim McGraw songs that also could have been played at rock radio as well.

“Real Good Man”

“Real Good Man” has a rock vibe throughout the song. Written by Rivers Rutherford and George Teren, the song became one of McGraw’s many No. 1 singles.

Even the lyrics of “Real Good Man” lean toward the rock genre. The song says in part, “I may drink too much and play too loud / Hang out with a rough and rowdy crowd / That don’t mean I don’t respect my mama or my Uncle Sam / Yes sir, yes ma’am / I may be a real bad boy / But baby, I’m a real good man.”

“Real Good Man” is one of McGraw’s biggest hits, but it almost became a hit for someone else. According to The Tennessean, Toby Keith also wanted to record “Real Good Man”. In fact, Rutherford was not a fan of McGraw’s version and considered asking if they could give it to Keith instead. Fortunately, he was talked out of that, and it’s a song Tim McGraw still performs today.

“Highway Don’t Care”

McGraw is joined by both Taylor Swift and Keith Urban on “Highway Don’t Care”. Written by Mark Irwin, Josh Kear, and Brad and Brett Warren, the 2013 single became a multi-platinum hit for McGraw.

“Highway Don’t Care” says, “The highway won’t hold you tonight / The highway don’t know you’re alive / The highway don’t care if you’re all alone / But I do, I do / The highway won’t dry your tears / The highway don’t need you here / The highway don’t care if you’re coming home / But I do, I do.”

“I Like It, I Love It”

“I Like It, I Love It” is McGraw’s first single from his third studio album, All I Want, released in 1995. By the time the song came out, McGraw had several hits on the radio. But it’s “I Like It, I Love It” that is the first song that showed his rock edge, making it still one of his biggest hits.

“I LIke It, I Love It” says, “But I like it, I love it, I want some more of it / I try so hard, I can’t rise above it / Don’t know what it is ’bout that little girl’s lovin’ / But I like it, I love it, I want some more of it.”

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