| Pure Country | |
| Type: | studio |
| Longtype: | / soundtrack album |
| Artist: | George Strait |
| Cover: | PureCountry.jpg |
| Released: | September 15, 1992 |
| Recorded: | April 1992 |
| Studio: | Tracks 1–10 at Sound Stage Studios and Emerald Studios (Nashville, TN) Track 11 at Warner Bros. Recording Studios (Burbank, CA); Masterfonics and Sixteenth Avenue Sound (Nashville, TN) Ocean Way Recording and Conway Studios (Hollywood, CA) |
| Genre: | Neotraditional country |
| Length: | 31:02 |
| Label: | MCA |
| Producer: | Tony Brown George Strait
|
| Prev Title: | Holding My Own |
| Prev Year: | 1992 |
| Next Title: | Easy Come Easy Go |
| Next Year: | 1993 |
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 fictional 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.
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".[1] 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 J.D. 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.
| Chart (1992–1993) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums (RPM) | 32 |
| Canadian Country Albums (RPM) | 1 |
| Chart (1992) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[2] | 25 | |
| Chart (1993) | Position | |
| US Billboard 200[3] | 13 | |
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[4] | 3 | |
| Chart (1994) | Position | |
| US Billboard 200[5] | 97 | |
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[6] | 17 | |
| Chart (1995) | Position | |
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[7] | 37 |
| Year | Single | Peak positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | CAN Country | ||
| 1992 | "I Cross My Heart" | 1 | 1 |
| 1993 | "Heartland" | 1 | 1 |
| "When Did You Stop Loving Me" | 6 | 6 | |