Tim McGraw Says He Passed On Recording “Carrying Your Love With Me” Before It Became A George Strait Hit
Some songs feel like they were made for one voice and one artist only. George Strait’s “Carrying Your Love With Me” is a perfect example.
It’s hard to imagine anyone else singing the classic, but according to Tim McGraw, it almost ended up in his hands instead.
McGraw shared the fun fact during an appearance on Tracy Lawrence’s podcast, TL’s Roadhouse.
A fan had submitted a question asking the 58-year-old if there were any songs he remembered passing on that could have gone on to become a hit for him.
“There are a few,” McGraw admitted. “There were songs that I passed on, songs that I thought were hits that I sent on to other people because I thought they would be better for them,” he explained.
But out of all the songs he chose not to record, there’s one track he wishes he had taken when he had the chance.
“I don’t know that I ever passed on anything that I wished I [recorded]. The only song is ‘Carrying Your Love with Me,’ the George Strait song,” McGraw shared.
“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.”
It turns out that when the song was offered to both country superstars, McGraw and Strait each liked it but decided to set it aside for later. In the end, Strait got to it first and recorded it.
“That’s one of the ones I hate missing out on because it’s one of my favorite George Strait songs,” McGraw said.
“Carrying Your Love With Me” Went On To Become A No. 1 Hit For George Strait
The song was released as the second single and title track from his 1997 album.
It held the top spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for four weeks. It also earned Strait a Grammy nomination the following year for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.
RELATED: KELLY CLARKSON SINGS “CARRYING YOUR LOVE WITH ME” IN ODE TO GEORGE STRAIT
Singers turning down songs that go on to become classics for other artists happens more often than you might think.
Not long ago, country star Blake Shelton shared that he once recorded “I Wanna Talk About Me.”
As we all know, that track would later become one of Toby Keith’s most iconic songs.
At the time, Shelton’s team didn’t see much potential in the track. Ultimately, they decided to not move forward with releasing it.
You can watch Tim McGraw on Tracy Lawrence’s podcast in the video below.
