George Strait Box Set to Include New Jamey Johnson Song
For the second time in his remarkable career, George Strait will be celebrated with a hit-filled boxed set. The three-disc collection, out November 18th exclusively at Walmart, will feature two new songs: "Kicked Outta Country," which Strait co-wrote with Jamey Johnson, and "You Gotta Go Through Hell," which the entertainer penned with his son Bubba Strait and his longtime go-to tunesmith Dean Dillon. Johnson, with Bill Anderson and Buddy Cannon, previously co-wrote "Give It Away," Strait's 2007 ACM Single of the Year and CMA Song of the Year, which is among the tracks on Strait Out of the Box: Part 2.
Covering the most recent two decades of Strait's impressive run, the 56-track collection boasts 36 of the country legend's singles, including 26 Number Ones, all personally selected by the singer himself. The 1995 predecessor, Strait Out of the Box, has sold more than two million copies to date and – because it contains four discs – is certified eight-times platinum, making it one of the top-selling box sets of all time.
"Going back through all the songs for this box set does bring back a lot of old memories,” says the Texas native, who debuted in 1981 with "Unwound," a Top Ten hit co-written by Dean Dillon and Frank Dycus. "A lot of them we considered for radio singles and for whatever reason, we just picked something else. It was not that hard to pick them after I looked through them because there are just so many that are my favorites."
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