Scotty McCreery recently paid tribute to George Strait with covers of the King of Country Music’s iconic hits on his TikTok account.
McCreery shared videos of himself singing two of Strait’s hits, “Troubadour” and “Carrying Your Love With Me” in what appears to be called the “Damn Strait From…” sessions. McCreery filmed both videos while on the road for his 2022 tour, with him performing one cover from Kansas and the other from Bristol, Tennessee.
“Sometimes I feel like Jesse James / Still trying to make a name / Knowing nothing’s gonna change what I am / I was a young troubadour / When I rode in on a song / And I’ll be an old troubadour / When I’m gone,” McCreery sang on his cover of Strait’s hit, “Troubadour.”
@scottymccreery Troubadour – @George Strait #DamnStraitOuttaKansas #countrymusic #DamnStrait #fyp #foryou #foryourpage
McCreery’s covers of “Troubador” and “Carrying Your Love With Me” are not the first time he’s honored the “Amarillo by Morning” singer.
McCreery previously paid tribute to Strait with his latest single, “Damn Strait,” which was released in September 2021. In addition to the song, McCreery released its music video back in February, which finds the “You Time” singer visiting Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas, where Strait played music for years before landing his record deal and kicking off his country music career.
@scottymccreery Damn Strait outta Tennessee! #SoldOut show in Bristol tonight! See yall soon🙌🏼 #DamnStrait @georgestrait #GeorgeStrait #foryou #fyp #foryourpage
The video also includes photos and memories of Strait throughout his expansive and iconic career.
McCreery reacted to filming the music video at Gruene Hall, sharing, “‘Damn Strait’ is both a classic country heartbreak song as well as a tribute to George Strait. I knew I wanted to film it at a place that paid respect to both elements of the song. When my director Jeff Ray suggested Gruene Hall, where George performed regularly with his Ace in the Hole Band before becoming the legend that he is today, I knew that was the perfect location,” he said.
“You can feel the history and the music of country music’s past and present in every inch of that venue,” he continued, adding “I’ve wanted to visit Gruene Hall for a long time, and now that I have, I’m looking forward to eventually coming back there to do a show.”
McCreery received both a retweet and a personal note from Strait, thanking him for the musical tribute.
“George is George. He doesn’t have to do anything, you know? He’s the King,” McCreery explained to Taste of Country. “But man, he saw [the song] and wrote back to us separately, like, ‘Man, I love it. Thanks for the tribute.’ And then he tweeted it out. I loved all that.”