3 Blake Shelton Songs That Prove His Country Credentials

Blake Shelton’s first single, “Austin” from 2001, also became his first No. 1 single. In the 24 years since then, Shelton has had plenty of hits while staying true to his country music roots.

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Blake Shelton is, by his own admission, a deep lover of country legends like John Anderson, Ronnie Milsap, and more. We found three Shelton songs that prove his country credentials and hint that he will go down in history as a country music icon.

“Ol’ Red”

“Ol’ Red” wasn’t even a No. 1 hit for Shelton, not that it matters. Out in 2002 on Shelton’s eponymous debut, the song, written by James “Bo” Bohon, Don Goodman, and Mark Sherrill, was first recorded by George Jones. Kenny Rogers also includes it on his 1993 record, If Only My Heart Had a Voice.

But it’s Shelton’s version that is most well-known, and with good reason. The song begins with “Well, I caught my wife with another man / And it cost me ninety-nine / On a prison farm in Georgia / Close to the Florida line / Well, I’ve been here for two long years / I finally made the warden my friend / And so he sentenced me to a life of ease / Takin’ care of Ol’ Red.”

The entire story is about as country as it comes, but for Shelton, it’s more than just a song. The Oklahoma native has an entire restaurant franchise called Ole Red, based on this song.

“God’s Country”

“God’s Country“, written by Devin Dawson, Jordan Schmidt, and HARDY, changed everything for Shelton. Released in 2019 on Shelton’s Fully Loaded: God’s Country album, Shelton thought his career might have already reached its peak before he heard this song.

Shelton was working on his ranch when his producer, Scott Hendricks, sent him this song.

“It was the most shocking moment I’ve had in my 20 years of doing this,” Blake Shelton tells The Tennessean. “I was in a place physically that I consider to be God’s country, doing the thing that makes me feel the most connected to God, which is working on the land. And I heard that song, and I had one of those moments that you hear people talk about … where they say they pulled over on the side of the highway and listened. I literally had that moment.”

“Stay Country Or Die Tryin’”

“Stay Country Or Die Tryin’” is Shelton’s current Top 25 single, and arguably one of his best. On his latest For Recreational Use Only, the song is written by Beau Bailey, Graham Barham, Sam Ellis, and Drew Parker. It follows Shelton’s 30th No. 1 single, with “Texas”.

The song says in part, “In God, we trust / Detroit, we rust / Redneck letter testifying / From the born in the cut / ‘Til the day that I’m dust I’m-a stay country or die tryin’.”

“The lyric is just a bunch of almost phrases and things that are picturesque to growing up in the kind of backwoods and country, and that diehard mentality,” Shelton tells American Songwriter. “It’s, ‘I know where I come from.’ That’s kind of how we are — a little very prideful, a little bit stubborn. And that’s kind of the guy in that song. There’s a pride to being a hillbilly and not going to town for any-damn-thing.”

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