On This Day in 1991, Tim McGraw Snatches the No. 1 Spot on the Country Charts With a Song Originally Recorded by Rodney Crowell

On June 1, 1999, Tim McGraw snatched the No. 1 spot on the country charts with “Please Remember Me”.

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The song, which is technically a cover of a Rodney Crowell tune, reached the very top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart that year. He would hold that spot for a whopping five weeks.

Today, “Please Remember Me” is still considered McGraw’s biggest solo hit on the Hot 100 chart as a lead artist, where it sat firmly at No. 10. That’s pretty impressive, considering country musicians have struggled to make it far on the Hot 100 against their pop and rock star contemporaries. 

A couple of collaborations with his wife, Faith Hill, and rapper Nelly would chart even higher. “Please Remember Me”, though, is still his highest-charting lead solo endeavor on the coveted chart. The tune would also hit No. 1 on the Canada Country Tracks chart and become certified Platinum in 1999.

The Legacy of “Please Remember Me” by Tim McGraw

“Please Remember Me” was a huge hit for Tim McGraw on this day in 1999. However, the song itself wasn’t written by the country music icon. Rather, the song was written by Rodney Crowell and Will Jennings several years earlier. Crowell recorded the song for his album of the same name in 1995, and the original version made it to No. 69 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

McGraw’s version, though, blew the original out of the water in terms of chart success. And there’s a lot to love about this song. To start, the incomparable Patty Loveless contributes harmony vocals to the song. Likewise, the music video for “Please Remember Me” is a turn-of-the-millennium classic in terms of style and production.

Overall, it makes sense why McGraw’s version of “Please Remember Me” was such a huge hit at the time. It’s a gorgeous country ballad, with just enough pop elements to appeal to a broader audience. McGraw’s vocals were at their best around this time in his career, and the addition of Loveless on harmony was a very smart choice. 

Despite the pop elements of the song and the production as a whole, the song has that traditional Nashville sound that so many people still love today. I’d say this is a well-deserved hit, and it would be far from McGraw’s last.

Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage

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