Pure Country (soundtrack)

1992 studio album / soundtrack album by George Strait

Pure Country

Studio album / soundtrack album by

George Strait

Released| September 15, 1992
Recorded| April 1992
Studio| Tracks 1–10 at Sound Stage Studios and Emerald Studios (Nashville, TN)
Track 11 at Warner Bros. Recording Studios (Burbank, CA); Masterfonics and Sixteenth Avenue Sound (Nashville, TN)
Ocean Way Recording and Conway Studios (Hollywood, CA)
Genre| Neotraditional country[1]
Length| 31:02
Label| MCA
Producer| Tony Brown
George Strait

* "Heartland (The Title Sequence)" produced by Steve Dorff

George Strait chronology
| Holding My Own
(1992)  | Pure Country
(1992)  | Easy Come Easy Go
(1993)

|
|

Singles from  Pure Country

1. "I Cross My Heart"
Released: September 28, 1992
2. "Heartland"
Released: January 4, 1993
3. "When Did You Stop Loving Me"
Released: April 19, 1993

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
Allmusic|  [1]
Entertainment Weekly| C− [2]
Q|  [3]

Pure Country is the thirteenth studio album by American country music singer George Strait. Released on September 15, 1992 by MCA Records, it serves as the soundtrack album to the 1992 Warner Bros. film of the same name. The film stars Strait as a fictitious country singer Dusty Chandler, and the album consists mostly of songs sung by Dusty in the film. The Pure Country soundtrack is Strait's first soundtrack album.

Although the film was a mild success, garnering box office receipts of over $15 million against a $10 million budget, the film's soundtrack album is Strait's most commercially successful studio album, having shipped over six million copies.

## Content

[edit]

This was the first album of Strait's career to feature Tony Brown, who produced all of Strait's subsequent albums, until Cold Beer Conversation (2015). Strait and Brown produced the entire album except for the main title sequence version of "Heartland", which was produced by Steve Dorff.

Music videos were made for "I Cross My Heart" and "Heartland".[4] Both of these songs were Number One hits for Strait on the Billboard country charts, and "When Did You Stop Loving Me" (which was later recorded by George Jones on his 1998 album It Don't Get Any Better Than This) was a #6 hit. "Overnight Male", originally recorded by B.B. Watson on his 1991 debut album Light at the End of the Tunnel, also charted at #72 from unsolicited airplay. "Last in Love" was originally recorded by JD Souther on his 1979 album, You're Only Lonely. "The King of Broken Hearts" and "Where the Sidewalk Ends" were written or co-written and originally recorded by Jim Lauderdale on his album, Planet of Love. The former was later recorded by Mark Chesnutt on his 1995 album Wings, and by Lee Ann Womack on her 2008 album Call Me Crazy. The latter was also recorded by Jann Browne on her 1991 album, It Only Hurts When I Laugh.

## Track listing

[edit]

No.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "Heartland"| Steve Dorff, John Bettis| 2:16
2.| "Baby Your Baby"| Phil Thomas, Hal Newman| 2:42
3.| "I Cross My Heart"| Dorff, Eric Kaz| 3:30
4.| "When Did You Stop Loving Me"| Donny Kees, Monty Holmes| 2:48
5.| "She Lays It All on the Line"| Clay Blaker| 2:30
6.| "Overnight Male"| Richard Fagan, Kim Williams, Ron Harbin| 2:36
7.| "Last in Love"| JD Souther, Glenn Frey| 3:35
8.| "Thoughts of a Fool"| Mel Tillis, Wayne P. Walker| 2:12
9.| "The King of Broken Hearts"| Jim Lauderdale| 3:08
10.| "Where the Sidewalk Ends"| Lauderdale, John Leventhal| 3:08
11.| "Heartland (Main Title Sequence)" (featuring Bubba Strait)| Dorff, Bettis| 2:42

## Personnel

[edit]

* George Strait – lead vocals
* John Barlow Jarvis – acoustic piano (1, 3, 4, 5, 7–10)
* Steve Nathan – acoustic piano (2, 6)
* Pat Coil – acoustic piano (11)
* Dean Parks – electric guitar (1, 9, 10), guitars (11)
* Brent Rowan – electric guitar (1, 2, 6, 9, 10)
* Randy Scruggs – acoustic guitar (1, 3, 4, 5, 7–10)
* Pat Flynn – acoustic guitar (2, 6)
* Steve Gibson – electric guitar (3, 7)
* Brent Mason – electric guitar (4, 5, 8)
* George Doering – guitars (11)
* Buddy Emmons – steel guitar (1, 3, 4, 5, 7–10)
* Sonny Garrish – steel guitar (2, 6)
* Doug Livingston – steel guitar (11)
* David Hungate – bass (1, 3, 7, 9, 10)
* Emory Gordy, Jr. – bass (2, 6)
* Glenn Worf – bass (4, 5, 8)
* Neil Steubenhaus – bass (11)
* Eddie Bayers – drums (1, 9, 10)
* Owen Hale – drums (2–8)
* John Robinson – drums (11)
* Stuart Duncan – fiddle (1, 3, 7, 9, 10)
* Glen Duncan – fiddle (2, 4, 5, 6, 8)
* Richard Greene – fiddle (11)
* Steve Dorff – string arrangements and conductor, arrangements (11)
* Patti Zimmitti – string contractor
* Liana Manis – backing vocals
* Harry Stinson – backing vocals
* Curtis Young – backing vocals
* Andrea Zonn – backing vocals
* Bubba Strait – lead and harmony vocals (11)

### Production

[edit]

* Tony Brown – producer (1–10)
* George Strait – producer (1–10)
* Steve Dorff – producer (11)
* Chuck Ainlay – recording, mixing
* Steve Tillisch – recording, overdub recording
* Russ Martin – overdub recording, second engineer
* Doug Rider – overdub recording
* Darren Smith – overdub recording
* Bart Stevens – second engineer
* Marty Williams – second engineer
* John Guess – mixing
* Milan Bogdan – digital editing
* Glenn Meadows – mastering
* Jessie Noble – project coordinator
* Virginia Team – art direction
* Chris Ferrara – design
* Ron Phillips – photography
* Erv Woolsey – management

## Chart positions

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

| Chart (1992–1993)  | Peak
position

|

Canadian Albums (RPM)  | 32
Canadian Country Albums (RPM)  | 1
US Billboard 200[5] | 6
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[6] | 1

### Year-end charts

[edit]

| Chart (1992)  | Position

|

US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[7] | 25
Chart (1993)  | Position
US Billboard 200[8] | 13
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[9] | 3
Chart (1994)  | Position
US Billboard 200[10] | 97
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[11] | 17
Chart (1995)  | Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[12] | 37

### Singles

[edit]

Year  | Single  | Peak positions

|
|

US Country | CAN Country
1992  | "I Cross My Heart"  | 1  | 1
1993  | "Heartland"  | 1  | 1
"When Did You Stop Loving Me"  | 6  | 6

## Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Canada (Music Canada)[13] | Platinum  | 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[14] | 6× Platinum  | 6,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Pure Country at AllMusic
2. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
3. ^ Album reviews at CD Universe
4. ^ CMT.com: George Strait: Videos
5. ^ "George Strait Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
6. ^ "George Strait Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
7. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1992". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
8. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1993". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
9. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1993". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
10. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
11. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
12. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
13. ^ "Canadian album certifications – George Strait – Pure Country". Music Canada. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
14. ^ "American album certifications – George Strait – Pure Country (soundtrack)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 23, 2021.

* v
* t
* e

George Strait

Ace in the Hole Band

Mike Daily \- Gene Elders \- Terry Hale \- Wes Hightower \- Ron Huckaby

Bobby Jarzombek \- Joe Manuel \- Benny McArthur \- Rick McRae \- Marty Slayton \- John Michael Whitby

Studio albums|

* Strait Country
* Strait from the Heart
* Right or Wrong
* Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind
* Something Special
* #7
* Ocean Front Property
* If You Ain't Lovin', You Ain't Livin'
* Beyond the Blue Neon
* Livin' It Up
* Chill of an Early Fall
* Holding My Own
* Pure Country
* Easy Come Easy Go
* Lead On
* Blue Clear Sky
* Carrying Your Love with Me
* One Step at a Time
* Always Never the Same
* George Strait
* The Road Less Traveled
* Honkytonkville
* Somewhere Down in Texas
* It Just Comes Natural
* Troubadour
* Twang
* Here for a Good Time
* Love Is Everything
* Cold Beer Conversation
* Honky Tonk Time Machine
* Cowboys and Dreamers

Compilation albums|

* Greatest Hits
* Greatest Hits Volume Two
* Ten Strait Hits
* Strait Out of the Box
* Latest Greatest Straitest Hits
* 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of George Strait
* 20th Century Masters – The Christmas Collection: The Best of George Strait
* 50 Number Ones
* 22 More Hits
* Icon
* Icon 2
* Strait Out of the Box: Part 2

Christmas albums|

* Merry Christmas Strait to You!
* Merry Christmas Wherever You Are
* Fresh Cut Christmas
* Classic Christmas

Live albums|

* For the Last Time: Live from the Astrodome
* Live at Texas Stadium
* The Cowboy Rides Away: Live from AT&T Stadium

Related articles|

* Singles discography
* Albums discography
* Ace in the Hole Band
* The Cowboy Rides Away Tour

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