Braxton Keith Tips His Hat To The King Of Country Music With Stellar Cover Of George Strait’s “The Chair”

Tipping his hat to King George.

Braxton Keith is on a roll, announcing his next single just days after dropping a brand new one.

Braxton Keith just released a honky tonk twanger, “Prescription,” which details that a former lover is the only drug that will cure his broken heart. His latest single adds onto the music-making machines’ other releases from the year, including “Wind Blows,” “Baby You Do,” “Bye In Goodbye,” and his collaboration with fellow Texas honky tonker Randall King for “Cheatin’ On My Honky Tonk.”

However, what Braxton Keith just announced might be his biggest single release yet. Braxton Keith is covering the famed George Strait tune “The Chair.”

This summer, Braxton Keith has consistently included George Strait’s “The Chair” in his setlist, and fans have immediately begun begging him to release a cover of the song. It’s not uncommon for Keith to incorporate some classic country covers into his setlist, as he’s done “Time Marches On” by Tracy Lawrence and Johnny Paycheck’s “Satin Sheets” in the past. Given that Keith has classic country stylings in his music, these covers fit his sound flawlessly and are something that fans always look forward to hearing during his concerts.

While some might deem covering a song by George Strait as an intimidating task, Keith took the challenge head-on and created a cover more special than others. Many clips of him performing the cover went viral online, and rightfully so. His rendition of the song is stupid good, maintaining the integrity of The King’s original cut while also adding his own Texas flair to the tune, resulting in a sensational cover.

@thebraxtonkeith Pouring my heart into one of my favorite covers, ‘The Chair’ by @George Strait #braxtonkeith #georgestrait #countrymusic #cover ♬ The Chair – Braxton Keith

Strait released “The Chair” in 1985 as the first single for his record Something Special. The tune penned by Hank Cochran and Dean Dillon came about after a long night of songwriting. The two were ready to call it quits when Dillon strummed his guitar, saying, “Excuse me, but I think you’ve got my chair.” The rest is history, as 20 minutes later, they had a song that would become a number-one hit and was named one of CMT’s Top 100 Country Songs of All Time.

“The Chair” is arguably one of Strait’s most beloved songs, as the sweet lyrics detail a budding love story between two people at a bar.

“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?”

After months of fans begging for Keith to go into the studio to release a version of the song, he has finally done so, and today it was gifted to fans.

“I saved you a seat. Dropping my version of ‘The Chair’ on October 3rd.”

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In the studio teaser that Keith shared, it led fans to believe that he was potentially releasing a piano ballad of the tune, and while I still think there is a possibility we could get a secondary version of the tune, the version that he dropped today follows the classic melody of George Strait’s cut.

Braxton Keith is a neotraditionalist and one of the few up-and-coming artists in this subgenre on the scene who could do justice to this song, and that’s precisely what he delivered in the studio. Keith’s vocals are crisp and right on point throughout the song, impressing the listener from the first to the very last note.

While I am sure that some readers are of the opinion that no one should try to recreate the magic that George Strait created in the studio with “The Chair,” I have a differing opinion that if you can sing it, you should go for it, and that’s exactly what Keith proved with this cover.

Keith’s cover is breathing new light into the song and is bringing this masterful songwriting from Dean Dillon and Hank Cochran to a new generation of country music fans.

I think The King would give this rendition his stamp of approval. Check it out.

It would be a crime not to listen to George Strait’s version, too, so fire that up before you go.

The post Braxton Keith Tips His Hat To The King Of Country Music With Stellar Cover Of George Strait’s “The Chair” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.