George Strait had long been vying for his title as the “King of Country” long before he landed his No. 1 single “Give It Away”, but that 2006 track helped solidify his royalty status by making chart history and beating out another musical icon: Conway Twitty. Prior to 2006, Twitty was the reigning champion of No. 1 songs with a whopping 40 chart-topping singles. Strait broke Twitty’s record with the third single from Strait’s 24th studio album, It Just Comes Natural.
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Other notable hits included “Amarillo by Morning” from 1982, “Check Yes or No” from 1995, and “Carrying Your Love with Me” in 1996. A major figure in the neotraditional movement, Strait all but dominated the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s. And that trend didn’t stop at the turn of the 21st century. In total, today, Strait can boast 60 No. 1 singles across all Billboard charts. No other artist in any genre has had that many hit songs, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time.
Twitty, of course, fought a hard fight. Predating Strait by two decades, Twitty racked up an impressive list of No. 1 hits with songs like “Hello Darlin’”, “You’ve Never Been This Far Before”, and “Tight Fittin’ Jeans”. The country icon died in 1993, which meant he wasn’t around to see Strait topple his record.
George Strait Made Chart History Again in Later Years… For Better or Worse
George Strait’s 57th No. 1 single, “River Of Love”, was the third single off his 2008 record, Troubadour. The album also included the singles “I Saw God Today” and the title track, “Troubadour”. The country singer was already making chart history with the release of the first single, “I Saw God Today”, which became his highest-charting debut at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. By the time he released “River Of Love”, Strait beat out Conway Twitty for most No. 1 singles across all charts. But “River of Love” had a few less-than-stellar accolades, too.
About five months passed between Strait releasing “River Of Love” and the song reaching the top of the country charts. Still, for as hard-fought as his No. 1 placement was, he wasn’t able to hold onto it for very long. The following week, Strait’s third single from Troubadour fell eight points. That was the biggest fall since Carrie Underwood’s “So Small”, which fell nine points in December 2007.
Nevertheless, Strait had no shortage of positives to focus on. Major chart falls aside, Troubadour won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album in February 2009. The record topped both the Billboard 200 and top Country Albums chart and enjoyed modest success in Canada at No. 13. “River of Love” was yet another proud feather in his cap, knocking Conway Twitty from his pedestal as the highest-selling country singer of all time.
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