Tim McGraw: How He Picks The Right Songs

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

July 31st, 2023 11:19 AM

Tim McGraw recently announced details on his new album Standing Room Only, which will be released on August 25. McGraw is climbing the country charts with his latest single, “Standing Room Only.” Tim has a knack for picking the right songs. In the last 30 years, he has charted 29 number-one songs.

I have interviewed McGraw several times over the years. Recently, he told me how he picks songs. He said, “Melody’s a big thing for me, but it can go either way. Look, sometimes a song is so well written, and the words are so beautiful that you really don’t care what the melody is. Conversely, sometimes a melody is so good that you don’t really care what the words say. It happens both ways. But for me, the perfect combination and what you strive to find as an artist is you strive to find those songs that both of those things are involved. Where it’s lyrically spot on perfect and melody is somethin’ that just sings itself, practically, and those are the songs that I love to find.”

He added, “You don’t always find those. Sometimes they lean a little more this way or a little more that way, but I’ve been fortunate in my career to be able to find quite a few songs that they lock up like that.”

Standing Room Only will feature 13 new tracks produced by Tim and his longtime producing partner Byron Gallimore. The new album marks McGraw’s first new record since 2020’s Here On Earth, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country Chart.

He said on his new album, “As an artist, I always want to dig deeper and get better every time I make a new record. It’s a big part of what drives me, and I really believe this is one of the best projects we’ve made.”

RELATED: Blake Shelton: Have You Heard His Tim McGraw Flask Story?

McGaw played a special intimate fans-only show at L.A.’s Whiskey A Go Go nightclub on the Sunset Strip last week, and while on stage, he announced his 2024 “Standing Room Only Tour.” Tim said, “I always want to deliver the best possible concert I can for the fans.”

He added, “We’ve got some really special plans to make this the biggest and the best tour we’ve ever done.”

“The Standing Room Only Tour” will hit arenas across 30+ cities starting March 14, 2024. Carly Pearce will join the Standing Room Only Tour on all dates as direct support.

McGraw posted to his 3.5 million followers on Instagram, “Announcing the Standing Room Only Tour 2024 with special guest @carlypearce! Tickets are on sale next Friday, August 4, at 10 am local time. Go to timmcgraw.com to sign up for notifications! Can’t wait to see you out there…”

Tim McGraw: 30 Songs That Make Him a Country Icon, Ranked

• 30. “Me and Tennessee” (featuring Gwyneth Paltrow) (2011)

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  Not a bad tune at all, featuring Gwyneth Paltrow as she goes country for the movie “Country Strong.”

• 29. “Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me” (with Faith Hill) (1998)

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  The song was recorded by Faith Hill as a duet with her husband. It was the second single from Hill's multi-platinum 1998 album, ‘Faith.’

• 28. “May We All” (with Florida Georgia Line) (2016)

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  A great pairing and a solid tune. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in December. It was Tim McGraw's thirty-second top 40 and twenty-second top 30 hit on the pop chart.
• 27. “Feel Like a Rock Star” (with Kenny Chesney) (2012)

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  These guys have been friends for a long time, having met when they first came to Nashville. They sound great together.

• 26. “Like We Never Loved at All” (with Faith Hill) (2005)

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  Another classic duet from Tim and Faith. A tale of coping with a love that has drifted away, the song provided the thematic opening for shows from McGraw and Hill's joint “Soul2Soul II Tour 2006,” with the pair singing it at opposite ends of the stage, with their backs to each other.

• 25. “Bring On the Rain” (with Jo Dee Messina) (2001)

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  A great song where the narrator says that she has had a bad day, but is not let down by it, and is ready for another day as well: "Tomorrow's another day / And I'm thirsty anyway / So bring on the rain."
• 24. “Let’s Make Love” (with Faith Hill) (2000)

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  The song reached number 6 on Hot Country Songs in Billboard. The video was released in black and white, and featured McGraw and Hill in and around Paris.

• 23. “She Never Lets It Go to Her Heart” (1996)

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  Just pure McGraw. This song reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts.

• 22. “Just to See You Smile” (1997)

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  Having spent 42 weeks on the Billboard chart, it set what was a record at the time for being the longest-running single on the Billboard country chart.
• 21. “Please Remember Me” (1998)

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  It’s hard to get these lyrics out of your head. The song was also McGraw's biggest solo hit on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 10.

• 20. “Grown Men Don’t Cry” (2000)

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  This one shows McGraw’s deep emotions when he sings. In the first verse, the narrator pulled into the grocery store, and he saw a boy wrapping around the legs of his mother. She had mascara tears running down her face like an ice cream cone melting, due to the years of bad decisions. That's quite an image.

• 19. “The Cowboy in Me” (2001)

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  Another McGaw song that goes deep. In this song, he is acknowledging the destructive and sometimes selfish side of his personality, which he identifies as "the cowboy in [him].”
• 18. “She’s My Kind of Rain” (2003)

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  Tim’s wife, Faith Hill was featured at the end of the video, as well as their three daughters, Gracie, Maggie and Audrey. It was filmed in London, England, and shows McGraw walking with a cloak on, and him performing the song in a royal dining room of a restaurant.

• 17. “Something Like That” (1999)

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  “I had a barbecue stain on my white t-shirt, she was killing me in that mini skirt,” Enough said. Classic.

• 16. “Real Good Man” (2003)

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  The song notes that he may be a "bad boy," but he is a "real good man."
• 15. “Last Dollar (Fly Away)” (2007)

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  True story about songwriter Big Kenny of Big & Rich and McGraw delivers it to perfection.

• 14. “Southern Voice” (2009)

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  Any song that namechecks Dolly Parton, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., and NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt ("Number Three") is pretty special.

• 13. “Better Than I Used to Be” (2011)

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  Originally recorded by Sammy Kershaw a few years before McGraw. Tim’s version went top ten in Billboard, Sammy’s did not.
• 12. “Highway Don’t Care” (with Taylor Swift) (2013)

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  Tim’s duet with Taylor Swift actually addresses how dangerous it is to text and drive. Don’t forget, Taylor Swift’s very first single to country radio was a song called “Tim McGraw.” Also, Keith Urban plays guitar on the song.

• 11. “Southern Girl” (2013)

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  The song is about girls from the South and how beautiful they are. True McGraw.

• 10. “The Rest of Our Life” (with Faith Hill) (2017)

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  A newer duet from Tim and Faith. The song is the title track of McGraw and Hill's duets album ‘The Rest of Our Life,’ and it was written by Ed Sheeran. According to Faith Hill, the song reminded her of the day when she and Tim McGraw decided to get married after meeting McGraw on his “Spontaneous Combustion” tour in 1996.
• 9. “I Called Mama” (2020)

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  Released this past Mother’s Day. His mom appeared in the music video, along with so many other moms.

• 8. “Undivided” (with Tyler Hubbard) (2021)

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  An amazing song about what is happening in the world in 2020 and how we should all come together.

• 7. “I Like It, I Love It” (1995)

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  This song is played at every Nashville Predators hockey game when the Predators score a goal. It’s also super catchy and just fun.
• 6. “Don’t Take the Girl” (1994)

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  Tim’s first big hit and really the song that brought him to country stardom. The song beautifully tells the story of two young lovers dealing with difficult scenarios at three different stages in their lives. In each situation, the man does all he can to make sure that different people "don't take the girl."

• 5. “I Need You” (featuring Faith Hill) (2007)

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  One of the most recognized duets from Tim and his wife Faith Hill.

• 4. “It’s Your Love” (featuring Faith Hill) (1997)

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  Another Tim and Faith classic. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in its fifth week on the chart. The song stayed there for six weeks.
• 3. “Live Like You Were Dying” (2004)

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  A song McGraw recorded after the death of his father, “Tug” McGraw. It tells the story of a man in his early forties who gets the news that his father has an unspecified, life-threatening illness. His father's message is to live life to the fullest and do things that he had always wanted to do.

• 2. “Humble and Kind” (2016)

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  So much can be said for this amazing song. I remember interviewing Tim when this was coming out and being quite touched when he told me he couldn’t get through the song without crying when he recorded it, It took several takes to get it right. The song won a Grammy for Best Country Song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.

• 1.”Shotgun Rider” (2014)

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  This is my all-time favorite song from McGraw and I’ll share something personal about it: When my son was about eight, we found this song together and as we drove around Nashville, he was always my “Shotgun Rider.” My boy knew every word of the song and I later asked McGraw himself why I couldn’t get this out of my head and he simply said, “Connection. This song gives you connection.” It sure does.

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Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

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