Murder on Music Row
"Murder on Music Row" is a 1999 song written by Larry Cordle and Larry Shell, and originally recorded by American bluegrass group Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, as the title track from their album Murder on Music Row. It gained fame soon after that when it was recorded as a duet between American country music artists George Strait and Alan Jackson. The song laments the rise of country pop and the accompanying decline of the traditional country music sound; it refers to Music Row, an area in Nashville, Tennessee considered the epicenter of the country music industry.
| "Murder on Music Row" | |
|---|---|
| Song by George Strait with Alan Jackson | |
| from the album Latest Greatest Straitest Hits | |
| Released | March 7, 2000 |
| Recorded | October 27, 1999 |
| Genre | Neotraditional country |
| Length | 4:23 |
| Label | MCA Nashville |
| Songwriter(s) | Larry Cordle, Larry Shell |
| Producer(s) | Tony Brown George Strait |
Although the Strait/Jackson version was not released officially as a single, it received enough unsolicited airplay to reach number 38 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
The original Larry Cordle version was awarded the Song of the Year award at the 2000 International Bluegrass Music Awards.