"The Chair" is one of the most memorable country hits of all time. It was released on George Strait's fifth studio album, Something Special.
Although the single was not Strait's first No. 1 hit, "The Chair" took his career to the next level. A simple song about a man and a woman sitting at a bar and having a conversation is exactly what a country song should be all about. Of course, Dean Dillion and Hank Cochran knew that when they wrote the song in just under an hour.
Dillion told TexasMonthly "It was four in the morning and I don't know what happened, but Hank sat down in a chair across from me, and I looked at him, picked up the guitar, struck a G chord, and started singing, "Well, excuse me, but I think you've got my chair." And he said, "Have you written that song?" I said, "No." And he said, "Well, we're about to." And 45 minutes later, we'd written "The Chair."
How did George get 'The Chair'?
In the same interview with TexasMonthly, Dillion told this story:
Blake Mevis, a songwriter friend of Dillion, drove by the house on Music Row where Dillion wrote every day. He rolled down his car window and hollered out to Dillion, "Hey, man, I got to cut this new kid from Texas. Y'all got any songs?" Of course, Dillion and his buddy Frank Dycus always had songs to pitch. Dillion yelled back, "We've always got songs. As a matter of fact, we've got a song we were gonna pitch to Johnny Paycheck, but he's in jail, so we'll give it to you. It's called 'Unwound.'"
Woolsey set up Dillion and Strait to meet for the first time and pick songs for upcoming records that were being planned. Strait heard the melody of "The Chair" and added it to his list of songs to record. He loved Dillion's melodies so much that he's recorded over 60 of his songs over the course of his career, and at least 19 of those have been No. 1 hits for Strait. "Unwound," "Easy Come, Easy Go," "Ocean Front Property," "Famous Last Words of a Fool," and "Marina Del Ray" are just the tip of the iceberg of the two's career together.
Dillion has written for star-studded names like Keith Whitley, Gary Stewart, and Pam Tillis, but no one can hold a flame to the team he and Strait make. Even though their lifestyles were (and probably still are) the exact opposite, Dillion living the life of a country song and Strait a decorated military man, the two made a hell of a pair.
It is a well-known fact that Geroge Strait is the best song picker of all time. That's why he has 60 No. 1 hits under his belt and how he coined the name "King of Country Music." Here are a few of his top hits to add to your Geroge Strait playlist: "Amarillo By Morning,""Baby's Gotten Good At Goodbye," ?"The Cowboy Rides Away," "River Of Love," "Right or Wrong," "Nobody In His Right Mind Would Have Left Her."
'The Chair' Lyrics:
Well, excuse me, but I think you've got my chair
No, that one's not taken; I don't mind if you sit here
I'll be glad to share
Yeah, it's usually packed here on Friday nights
Oh, if you don't mind, could I talk you out of a light?
Well, thank you, could I drink you a buy?
Oh, listen to me. What I mean is can I buy you a drink?
Anything you please
Oh, you're welcome. Well, I don't think I caught your name
Are you waiting for someone to meet you here?
Well, that makes two of us, glad you came
No, I don't know the name of the band
But they're good, aren't they?
Would you like to dance?
Yeah, I like this song too, it reminds me of you and me, baby
Do you think there's a chance that later on I could drive you home?
No, I don't mind at all
Oh, I like you too, and to tell you the truth
That wasn't my chair after all
Oh, I like you too, and to tell you the truth
That wasn't my chair after all
[sweeps]
Now Watch: The Cowboy Line Dance from '8 Seconds' is as Iconic as it Was in 1994
