On This Day in 1982, George Strait Released the Song Written for a Forgotten 80s Action Movie That Became His First No. 1

On this day (May 27) in 1982, George Strait released “Fool Hearted Memory” as the lead single from his sophomore album, Strait from the Heart. That summer, it became the first of many No. 1 singles for the future King of Country Music. The song was written for The Soldier, an action thriller that was slated for release later that year. Strait also appeared in the film as part of a deal between the label and Embassy Pictures.

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When “Fool Hearted Memory” was released, Strait was still an up-and-coming artist. However, his potential was documented in black and white. Two of his first three singles had been top 10 hits. The other landed comfortably within the top 20. So, he was the obvious pick to record the song and appear in The Soldier.

How George Strait Came to Record “Fool Hearted Memory”

Byron Hill co-wrote “Fool Hearted Memory” with producer Blake Mevis. Hill recalled how the song came together on his website.

“I had recently written and produced a track for a movie called The Exterminator, and the same production company came back to me for another song for another movie called The Soldier,” he recalled. “Thanks to ATV Music’s Gerry Teifer, MCA Records’ Jim Fogelsong, and Producer Blake Mevis, a deal was done to give a young, new MCA recording artist a cameo role in the movie singing a song that was specially written for the movie, and would hopefully be a hit single,” he explained. “That new MCA artist was George Strait.”

While the movie has been largely forgotten, “Fool Hearted Memory” became a landmark single for Hill and Strait. “On August 28, 1982, the song became my first No. 1 as a songwriter and Strait’s first No. 1 as an artist,” Hill wrote.

According to Songfacts, Embassy Pictures would only accept the song and feature the artist in the film if MCA Records released the track as a single. That worked out well for Strait, who landed his first acting gig and first chart-topper with the same song.

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