Riley Green Reveals He Almost Recorded Scotty McCreery’s Platinum Hit, ‘Damn Strait’

Scotty McCreery’s George Strait-inspired track, “Damn Strait,” has taken his career to new heights since its release in the fall of 2021. Before the song landed in McCreery’s hands, it was pitched to several other country music artists who fell in love with the clever story and Riley Green is the most recent to admit that he wanted to record it. 

The Alabama native recently told songwriters Dan and Reid Isbell, hosts of the God’s Country podcast, that one of the song’s co-writers, Trent Tomlinson, had sent the song to him and he instantly took a liking to it. 

“I loved that song. Wanted to cut it…I knew that it wouldn’t be a single for me and he told me, he said ‘Scotty and them have it on hold,’ whatever, talking about it being a single, ‘but I’d rather you have it.’ I kind of tried to do it out of being nice like, ‘Well, I mean I’d love to cut it, whatever, the label wasn’t real fired up about it.’ And having ‘damn’ in the title, I thought it probably wouldn’t be a single for me,” Green admitted. 

So, McCreery went on to cut it for his Same Truck album and ended up earning his fifth No. 1 hit as the tune spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. It turns out that having “damn” in the title of a song would be more successful than Green had initially predicted because his next single at the time turned out to be “Damn Good Day to Leave.”

“It didn’t matter at all. So I felt bad about that one, but I just love that song. I mean, when you hear a song like that, I would play that song at my house. Just enjoyed it,” he added. 

Green’s single was Most Added at country radio with 84 first-week adds and quickly turned into a fan-favorite. It also serves as a clear standout on 2023’s Ain’t My Last Rodeo album. So while he may have missed out on a chance at “Damn Strait,” he found his own success with a song that had “Damn” in the title shortly after. 

The Song Was Also Pitched To And Turned Down By Chris Young

A few years ago, while speaking with Lon Helton on Country Countdown USA, another country superstar, Chris Young, revealed he was pitched “Damn Strait” as well and also knew the song was something very special.

“I know the writer of that song, and he pitched me that song first. But I had just released my album and it was going to be a few years before I could record it,” Young explained. 

Unfortunately, the timing wasn’t right for Young either, so he let the song go, which resulted in it officially landing in Scotty McCreery’s hands. 

“I told him to play it for everyone, because that song is a hit,” he went on to recall. “I don’t think I’ve even told Scotty this. I told him I have no idea when the next single was going to come. This song was too good to sit on.”

“Damn Strait” serves as a tribute to one of McCreery’s own musical heroes, George Strait. It cleverly explores heartbreak with references to some of Strait’s biggest hits that are effortlessly intertwined throughout. McCreery’s baritone vocals give the story so much power that it’s hard to imagine another voice delivering the somber lyrics. 

McCreery Reflects On Earning His Fifth No. 1

The North Carolina native got to celebrate the song’s continued success in May of 2023 when it became one of two hits to achieve platinum status at the time, the other being “Five More Minutes.” After learning that the song had held the top spot on the charts for three weeks in August 2022, he shared his excitement with fans across social media. 

“Can’t tell y’all how unreal it is to say ‘Damn Strait’ has been the #1 song in the USA for 3 weeks!!! This has been the most fun I’ve ever had w/ a song on the radio. Not even close. An ode to the King, and a classic country heartbreak song,” he wrote at the time. “C’mon man! As much fun as it is to sing, it’s even more fun hearing you fans scream it back to me every night! Thank you country radio, thank you to my team, and thank you to the FANS!!! Lets gooo!!!!”

Scotty McCreery continued the momentum when he embarked on his Damn Strait headline tour in 2023. The song remains a staple in his current run of live shows named the Fall of Summer Tour after his current single. This trek is set to run through December 7, when he will wrap it up in Hinton, OK. 

Meanwhile, Riley Green is fresh off the release of his newest album, Don’t Mind If I Do, and recently earned a GOLD-certified plaque for the track “Worst Way” during an album release/birthday celebration at his new Nashville bar, Riley Green’s Duck Blind. Beginning in March of 2025, the singer will embark on his Damn Country Music Tour with “You Look Like You Love Me” duet partner, Ella Langley.