On this day (December 1) in 1994, George Strait was at No. 1 on the country albums chart with Lead On. It held the top spot for two weeks. It was also his first LP to reach the top of the chart since his 1990 release Livin’ It Up. The album also produced multiple hit singles, including two chart-toppers.
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Strait’s success on the country singles chart remained consistent throughout most of his career. His singles only started regularly missing the upper reaches of the charts in the 2010s, more than three decades into his career. However, his albums saw a mild slump in the early 1990s. He sent eight albums to the top of the chart between 1983 and 1990. Then, in 1991, he released Chill of an Early Fall, which peaked at No. 4. Two more albums–Holding My Own and Easy Come, Easy Go–also missed the top. Then, Lead On kicked off another string of chart-topping LPs that carried him nearly into the turn of the century.
Strait found the top of the country chart with the first two singles from the album. “The Big One” and “You Can’t Make a Heart Love Somebody” went to No. 1. The album’s other two singles, “Adalida” and the title track, were also hits. They reached No. 3 and No. 7, respectively.
George Strait Reflects on Recording
In a rare interview, George Strait discussed recording and what makes studio time enjoyable for him.
“I love recording. It’s fun to create no music. Even if it’s not a song you wrote, it’s still fun to go in there and see what you can do. How pretty you can make it or how different you can make it, whatever it is,” he said.
“Every time I go into the studio, I want to make the best album I’ve ever done in my life,” he explained. “You’re always searching for those songs to make that happen and for those certain guitar parts or steel parts or fiddle parts or whatever it is that makes it all happen in the studio,” he added.
Featured Image by Rich Fury/Getty Images
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