Twang

Album: Twang (2009)
Charted: 100
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the opening track and title song from George Strait's 38th studio album.
  • Longtime Strait favorite Jim Lauderdale co-wrote this honky-tonker about playing music on a juke box with Jimmy Ritchey and Kendell Marvel. Strait commented on making this the title track: "It didn't come about until after the record was done, and that's such an obvious title for it. If 'twang' is not what I do, then I don't know what is."
  • In a Songfacts interview with Jim Lauderdale, he explained that this song makes a statement about country music, and about how he'd like to hear a lot more twang on the radio. Regarding the shift in country music to a more slick, polished style, Lauderdale said: "It used to disappoint me, but it started many years ago, and so I've grown used to the fact that all genres of music change, and whereas I do have a real soft spot for traditional country and bluegrass, it's moved on. Just like rock and roll has changed, you know, today's rock isn't the same as it was 30 or 40 years ago.

    Some of my friends say all their of country went away in 1975. But there's been a lot of great stuff since. So I don't really subscribe to that. But, you know, country has been real influenced in the last 45 years by rock and roll. Stylistically it's kind of merged. But that's the nature of music."
  • Twang was produced by Strait and his long-time collaborator Tony Brown at Jimmy Buffet's Shrimpboat Sound Studio in Key West, Florida.
  • On the cover of the album, Strait sits playfully in the driver's seat of a classic American Cadillac, strumming a toy guitar. The veteran Country singer said of the photo shoot in the album's press release: "When I got into that old Caddy, there was a little guitar lying in the front seat. I picked it up and started clowning around with it, and the photographer kept shooting. It's not a staged shot, by any means. When I started going through the pictures, I saw this shot and thought it fit the feel of Twang I was looking for."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Alice Cooper

Alice CooperFact or Fiction

How well do you know this shock-rock harbinger who's been publicly executed hundreds of times?

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?

Divided Souls: Musical Alter Egos

Divided Souls: Musical Alter EgosSong Writing

Long before Eminem, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj created alternate personas, David Bowie, Bono, Joni Mitchell and even Hank Williams took on characters.

Hawksley Workman

Hawksley WorkmanSongwriter Interviews

One of Canada's most popular and eclectic performers, Hawksley tells stories about his oldest songs, his plentiful side projects, and the ways that he keeps his songwriting fresh.

Graham Nash

Graham NashSongwriter Interviews

Graham Nash tells the stories behind some of his famous songs and photos, and is asked about "yacht rock" for the first time.