Though there’s stiff competition due to the likes of George Strait, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain and more, it’s hard to argue the fact that Tim McGraw was one of the biggest artists throughout the 90’s. With 11 #1 singles, nine certified-platinum records and iconic albums such as Not a Moment Too Soon and A Place in the Sun, the “Something Like That” singer has nothing short of a laundry list of hits from the 90’s and beyond.
With that being said, however, McGraw revealed that he almost recorded another iconic hit made famous by none other than George Strait.
This morning, McGraw appeared on fellow 90s star, Tracy Lawrence’s podcast, TL’s Road House. Throughout the episode the pair touched on everything from the prestige surrounding the 90’s era, the evolution of his songwriting and song-selection process and the complicated story surrounding his role in Friday Night Lights.
On the topic of selecting songs, McGraw revealed that he often passes on hit songs if he feels that they’d suit other artists better, “There were songs that I passed on. Songs that I thought were hits that I sent on to other people and thought that it’d be better for them.”
He then revealed that there is one song that regrets missing out on was none other than George Strait’s 1997 #1 hit, “Carrying Your Love With Me,” “The only song [I really missed out on] is ‘Carrying Your Love With Me,’ George Strait song.”
McGraw noted that he was pitched the song at the same time it was pitched to Strait but decided to forgo fighting for the song due to the “Amarillo By Morning” singer’s prestige, “It just so happened that one of the songwriters pitched it to him and one of the songwriters pitched it to me at the same time. So I put it on hold and he put it on hold, and then it got back to me that George had it on hold and I’m like, ‘Well, I’m not getting in a pissing match with George Strait.'”
It’s hard to blame McGraw for feeling that way due to the success Strait experienced with it. In addition to it going #1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in July of 1997, “Carrying Your Love With Me” would eventually net the King a Grammy nomination for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 1998. It also remains one of his most popular songs to date, being Strait’s third most popular song on Spotify with over 200 million streams.
The 58-year-old singer/songwriter finished by saying, “So that’s one of the ones I hate missing out on ’cause that’s one of my favorite George Strait songs.”
The video below will automatically start during the segment. Watch the interview here: