"Murder on Music Row" is a 1999 song written by

Larry Cordle Larry Cordle (born November 16, 1948) is an American country and bluegrass singer-songwriter . Cordle is most famous for his song " Murder on Music Row", which was recorded by George Strait and Alan Jackson and received the Country Music Ass ...

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''.Larry Cordle signs with Lonesome Day Records
/ref> It gained fame soon after that when it was recorded as a duet between American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artists

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

and

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many ...

. The song laments the rise of

country pop Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...

and the accompanying decline of the traditional country music sound; it refers to

Music Row Music Row is a historic district located southwest of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Widely considered the heart of Nashville's entertainment industry, Music Row has also become a metonymous nickname for the music industry as a w ...

, an area in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

considered the epicenter of the country music industry. Although the Strait/Jackson version was not released officially as a single, it received enough unsolicited airplay to reach number 38 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart. The original Larry Cordle version was awarded the Song of the Year award at the 2000

International Bluegrass Music Awards The International Bluegrass Music Awards is an award show for bluegrass music presented by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA). Awards are voted based on professional membership in the IBMA. Award winners 2021 award winners Th ...

Content

"Murder on Music Row" is a lament and criticism of the ongoing trend of

crossover acts and pop influences on country music, a trend that has pushed traditional and

neotraditional country Neotraditional country (also known as new traditional country and hardcore country) is a country music style that emphasizes the instrumental background and a traditional country vocal style. Neo-traditional country artists often dress in the fas ...

music (and those who perform it) to the periphery. The lyrics

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...

ically compare the pop trend to "an awful murder down on Music Row", and lament that "The steel guitar no longer cries and you can't hear fiddles play / But drums and rock and roll guitars are mixed up in your face." In addition, the song states that older traditional country artists "wouldn't stand a chance on today's radio," citing by nickname

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

("Old Hank"),

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

("The Hag"), and

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

("The Possum").

George Strait/Alan Jackson version

The song was

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

ed by

artists

and

. Originally, the two singers performed the song together at the 1999

Country Music Association Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony ...

show; Strait and Jackson later recorded it for 2000's '' Latest Greatest Straitest Hits'' album. The studio version, although never released officially as a single, reached number 38 on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart from unsolicited play and served as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to Strait's late-2000 single " Go On". In 2000, it also received the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

's award for Vocal Event of the Year, as well as the CMA's Song of the Year award a year later.CMA World

Chart performance

Dierks Bentley/George Jones version

In 2006,

Dierks Bentley Frederick Dierks Bentley (; born November 20, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to Capitol Nashville and released his eponymous debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's '' Modern Day Drifter'', a ...

and

recorded a version of the song that was included on the album ''Songs of the Year 2007'', which was only available in

Cracker Barrel Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., doing business as simply Cracker Barrel, is an American chain of restaurant and gift stores with a Southern country theme. The company was founded by Dan Evins in 1969. Its first store was in Lebanon, T ...

restaurants.

Parody

Country comedy artist

Cledus T. Judd James Barry Poole (born December 18, 1964) is an American country music artist who records under the name Cledus T. Judd. Known primarily for his parodies of popular country songs, he has been called the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music, an ...

parodied the song as "Merger on Music Row", in a duet with

Daryle Singletary Daryle Bruce Singletary (March 10, 1971 – February 12, 2018) was an American country music singer. Between 1995 and 1998, he recorded for Giant Records, for which he released three studio albums: '' Daryle Singletary'' in 1995, '' All Because ...

, on his 2009 album ''

Polyrically Uncorrect ''Polyrically Uncorrect'' is the tenth studio album, and fourteenth album release overall, by American country music parodist Cledus T. Judd. It was released on June 30, 2009 via E1 Music. It includes the singles "Waitin' on Obama", "Garth Must Be ...

''; the song lamented that

music piracy Music piracy is the copying and distributing of recordings of a piece of music for which the rights owners (composer, recording artist, or copyright-holding record company) did not give consent. In the contemporary legal environment, it is a form ...

had taken all the profits away from country music.

References

{{authority control 2000 songs George Strait songs Alan Jackson songs Song recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer) Songs written by Larry Cordle Male vocal duets MCA Nashville Records singles Songs written by Larry Shell Songs about country music