Artist	Song
Alan Jackson	Little Bitty
from Everything I Love (1996)
Kenny Chesney	How Forever Feels
from Everywhere We Go (1999)
Dierks Bentley	Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)
from Long Trip Alone (2006)
Clint Black	Killin' Time
from Greatest Hits (1996)
Mark Chesnutt	Bubba Shot the Jukebox
from Longnecks & Short Stories (2002)
John Michael Montgomery	I Swear
from Kickin' It Up (2008)
Tracy Byrd	Lifestyles of the Not so Rich and Famous
from No Ordinary Man (1994)
Daryle Singletary	I Let Her Lie
from Daryle Singletary (2008)
Mark Wills	Wish You Were Here
from Wish You Were Here (1998)
Blaine Larsen	How Do You Get That Lonely
from Off to Join the World (2000)
Billy Currington	Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right
from Doin' Somethin' Right (2005)
Luke Bryan	All My Friends Say
from I'll Stay Me (2007)
Easton Corbin	A Little More Country Than That
from Easton Corbin (2010)
Heartland	I Loved Her First
from I Loved Her First (2007)
Michael Peterson	Drink, Swear, Steal & Lie
from Michael Peterson (2010)
Paul Brandt	I Do
from Calm Before the Storm (2010)
David Kersh	Goodnight Sweetheart
from Goodnight Sweetheart (1996)
Roger Creager	I'm from the Beer Joint
from Here It Is (2008)
Trent Willmon	Beer Man
from Trent Willmon (2004)
Aaron Watson	Barbed Wire Halo
from Angels & Outlaws (2008)

Comment:

For three decades now, George Strait has cast such a massive shadow over the country world that it's almost easier to list the artists he [i]hasn't[/i] influenced than the ones he has. Not only have all three of our featured players lifted a page from his playbook, but in true Strait style, they all hit #1. With a little sprinkle of Cajun sassafras over a Gilley's-style line dance, Alan Jackson transports Tom T. Hall's "Little Bitty" from the Badlands to the Bayou in just over two-and-a-half minutes. Kenny Chesney, who's often cited Strait as a musical mentor (and has recorded and toured with him as well), slides into a country-rock groove midway between Amarillo and Key West in the laid-back love bubble of "How Forever Feels." And rising star Billy Currington closed out 2005 on top with the slow-dance romance of "Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right" — only to be succeeded by Strait, starting yet another year with yet another smash. From Clint Black to Dierks Bentley, we've got all the fruits of George's labor right here.

Feedback: