"Run" is a song written by Anthony Smith and Tony Lane, and recorded by American country music artist George Strait. It was released in September 2001 as the lead single from Strait's album The Road Less Traveled.
| "Run" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by George Strait | ||||
| from the album The Road Less Traveled | ||||
| B-side | "The Real Thing"[1] | |||
| Released | September 24, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | 2001 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | MCA Nashville | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Tony Lane Anthony Smith | |||
| Producer(s) | Tony Brown George Strait | |||
| George Strait singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Critical reception
editChuck Taylor in his review of the single for Billboard Magazine called the song's production "intriguing" and that Strait's "warm vocals weave through a haunting melody." He said that there is a progressive feel to the track but the mandolin and steel guitar keep it traditional.[2]
Commercial performance
edit"Run" debuted at number 36 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the chart week of October 13, 2001. The song reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in December 2001, where it was blocked by Toby Keith's "I Wanna Talk About Me". It then reached number 2 again in early January 2002, where it was blocked by Alan Jackson's "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)", and again in early February of the same year, being blocked by Steve Holy's "Good Morning Beautiful". It also peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it a minor crossover hit. The song has sold 390,000 copies in the United States as of April 2019.[4]
The song's b-side, "The Real Thing", was later the b-side to the album's next single, "Living and Living Well". Although not released as a single itself, "The Real Thing" charted at number 60 for the country chart dated March 22, 2003.[1]
Cover verisons
editCountry music singer Taylor Swift covered the song from the television special George Strait: ACM Artist of the Decade All Star Concert.
Charts
edit| Chart (2001–2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[5] | 2 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[6] | 34 |
Year-end charts
edit| Chart (2002) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Country Songs (Billboard)[7] | 30 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[8] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. pp. 406–408. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
- ^ a b c "Single Reviews". Billboard. 13 October 2001.
- ^ Weiner, Natalie (May 18, 2022). "Best George Strait Songs: 20 Country Anthems". uDiscoverMusic. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
- ^ Bjorke, Matt (April 15, 2019). "Top 30 Digital Country Singles Chart: April 15, 2019". RoughStock. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
- ^ "George Strait Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "George Strait Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Best of 2002: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2002. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
- ^ "American single certifications – George Strait – Run". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
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