Pure Country is the thirteenth studio album by American country music singer George Strait. Released on September 15, 1992 by MCA Records, it serves as the soundtrack album to the 1992 Warner Bros. film of the same name. The film stars Strait as a fictitious country singer Dusty Chandler, and the album consists mostly of songs sung by Dusty in the film. The Pure Country soundtrack is Strait's first soundtrack album.
Although the film was a mild success, garnering box office receipts of over $15 million against a $10 million budget, the film's soundtrack album is Strait's most commercially successful album, having sold over six million copies.
Content
This was the first album of Strait's career to feature Tony Brown, who produced all of Strait's subsequent albums, until Cold Beer Conversation (2015). Strait and Brown produced the entire album except for the main title sequence version of "Heartland", which was produced by Steve Dorff.
Music videos were made for "I Cross My Heart" and "Heartland".[4] Both of these songs were Number One hits for Strait on the Billboard country charts, and "When Did You Stop Loving Me" (which was later recorded by George Jones on his 1998 album It Don't Get Any Better Than This) was a #6 hit. "Overnight Male", originally recorded by B.B. Watson on his 1991 debut album Light at the End of the Tunnel, also charted at #72 from unsolicited airplay. "Last in Love" was originally recorded by JD Souther on his 1979 album, You're Only Lonely. "The King of Broken Hearts" and "Where the Sidewalk Ends" were written or co-written and originally recorded by Jim Lauderdale on his album, Planet of Love. The former was later recorded by Mark Chesnutt on his 1995 album Wings, and by Lee Ann Womack on her 2008 album Call Me Crazy. The latter was also recorded by Jann Browne on her 1991 album, It Only Hurts When I Laugh.