Murder on Music Row

"Murder on Music Row"
Song by George Strait with Alan Jackson
from the album Latest Greatest Straitest Hits
ReleasedMarch 7, 2000
RecordedOctober 27, 1999
GenreNeotraditional country[1]
Length4:23
LabelMCA Nashville
Songwriter(s)Larry Cordle, Larry Shell
Producer(s)Tony Brown
George Strait[2]

"Murder on Music Row" is a 1999 song written by Larry Cordle and Larry Shell, and originally recorded by American bluegrass group Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, as the title track from their album Murder on Music Row.[3] It gained fame soon after that when it was recorded as a duet between American country music artists George Strait and Alan Jackson. The song laments the rise of country pop and the accompanying decline of the traditional country music sound; it refers to Music Row, an area in Nashville, Tennessee considered the epicenter of the country music industry.

Although the Strait/Jackson version was not released officially as a single, it received enough unsolicited airplay to reach number 38 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

The original Larry Cordle version was awarded the Song of the Year award at the 2000 International Bluegrass Music Awards.[4]

  1. ^ Jessen, Wade (April 29, 2000). "Country Corner". Billboard. p. 60. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  2. ^ Latest Greatest Straitest Hits (CD booklet). George Strait. MCA Records Nashville. 2000. MCAD-70100.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ Larry Cordle signs with Lonesome Day Records
  4. ^ “Murder On Music Row” and McCourys Rake In Bluegrass Hardware