"Fool Hearted Memory" is a song written by

Byron Hill Byron Hill (born December 12, 1953), is an American songwriter from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Living and working professionally in Nashville, TN for more than forty years, his songs have been recorded by many Country and Pop artists. Musi ...

and Blake Mevis, and recorded by 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, ...

singer

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 ...

. The song was Strait's first number 1 single (Billboard Magazine, 1982).BILLBOARD HOT COUNTRY SONGS 1944-2008
/ref> It was released in May 1982 as the first single from Strait's ''

Strait from the Heart ''Strait from the Heart'' is the second studio album by American country music artist George Strait, released on June 3, 1982 by MCA Records. The album includes Strait's first No. 1 single, "Fool Hearted Memory", as well as follow-up singles "Mari ...

'' album, and was included in the soundtrack of the feature film '' The Soldier'' on Embassy Films. The song won an

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

Award for being among the most performed country songs of 1982.

Critical reception

Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song an A grade, saying that Strait "finds his literal voice" on this song. He states that it is "stronger and more confident than it had been on his first album. While the song calls for a certain amount of restraint and sadness, Strait is able to fully capture those emotions without sounding at all timid." He goes on to say that you cannot listen to the song without "reveling in the delightfully country fiddle riff that dominates the track."
Review by Kevin John Coyne

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1982 singles 1982 songs George Strait songs Songs written by Byron Hill Songs written by Blake Mevis MCA Records singles {{1982-country-song-stub