{"id":1315945,"date":"2019-10-22T13:18:19","date_gmt":"2019-10-22T19:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1813546"},"modified":"2019-10-22T13:18:19","modified_gmt":"2019-10-22T19:18:19","slug":"why-it-took-george-strait-so-long-to-cross-his-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/music-news\/why-it-took-george-strait-so-long-to-cross-his-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Why It Took George Strait So Long to Cross His Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by Alison Bonaguro<\/a><\/span>
\n25m ago<\/span>
\n<\/span> <\/p>\n

Whenever I hear a timeless song like George Strait\u2019s \u201cI Cross My Heart,\u201d I turn it up, obviously, and then I try to picture how it came to be. And I assume that everyone in the songwriters\u2019 room must\u2019ve known instantly that it would be a classic country song for decades to come. <\/p>\n

Turns out, it doesn\u2019t always happen like that. At all. <\/p>\n

In a new interview<\/a> with the Tennessean<\/em>, songwriter Steve Dorff talked about how it was an easy write, but a hard sell. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen (Eric) Kaz and I finished the song, I thought it was a Boyz II Men kind of song. We demoed it that way. It\u2019s a great demo. Done in this very cool, R&B, vibey, Boyz II Men thing. Played it for a bunch of people and (they said), \u2019Not one of your best, Steve,’\u201d Dorff admits in the story. <\/p>\n

During the next round of song pitches, Bette Midler decided to cut the ballad. But that wasn\u2019t the best fit for her, or for the song. <\/p>\n

Then, nearly ten years later, after Dorff played the tune for everyone he knows and they responded with a polite, \u201cNice, not one of your best,\u201d he got a call from the man directing the movie Pure Country<\/em>. He asked Dorff if he had any songs that would work at the end of the movie. \u201cThe next day, I go over to Chris (Cain\u2019s) house and play it for him on the piano. He says, \u2019That\u2019s perfect.\u2019 We fly down to Nashville to play for George Strait,\u201d who Dorff said would have the ultimate say over whether or not this song worked as the film\u2019s grand finale. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd to his credit, George owned it. We made a great record, and then everybody was scared to put it out as the first single from the movie because it\u2019s a ballad. You don\u2019t lead with a new album with a movie with a ballad that doesn\u2019t sound anything like George Strait, but they did. And it was a monster,\u201d he recalled. The song was officially released in 1992 off Strait\u2019s
Pure Country<\/em> album that also served as the soundtrack for the movie.<\/p>\n

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