Remember When George Strait Earned His 40th No.1 With ‘She Let Herself Go?’

George Strait earned his 40th No.1 single on this day in 2006 when “She Let Herself Go” topped the Billboard…

Lauren Jo Black

| Posted on

January 14, 2021

1:26 pm

George Strait; Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Essential Broadcast Media

George Strait earned his 40th No.1 single on this day in 2006 when “She Let Herself Go” topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Co-written by Dean Dillon and Kerry Kurt Phillips, “She Let Herself Go” tells the story of a woman who finds herself enjoying new life experiences following a breakup. The song serves as a play on the common phrase “she let herself go,” which typically refers to a woman who no longer cares about her physical or emotional state when a relationship ends.

“Let herself go on a singles cruise/ To Vegas once then to Honolulu/ Let herself go to New York City/ A week at the Spa, came back knocked-out pretty/ When he said he didn’t love her no more/ She let herself go,” Strait sings on the chorus.

“She Let Herself Go” is the second single from Strait’s Somewhere Down in Texas album. It was released to country radio on September 6, 2005. After debuting on the chart at No.49, “She Let Herself Go” reached the top spot in just 18 weeks.

The chart-topping success of the song earned the superstar his 40th No.1, tying Conway Twitty for the most No.1 songs on that chart. Strait quickly broke Twitty’s record when he earned his 41st chart-topper with “Give It Away” in September of 2006.

To date, Strait, who is widely known as the King of Country Music, has earned 60 No.1 singles. The Texas native has more No. 1 songs than any other artist in history (including Elvis). He’s sold over 68.5 million records and earned 33 platinum or multi-platinum albums.

Written by

Lauren Jo Black

Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.