Country Music Highlights: Near‑Missed Hits and 1970s Texas‑Themed Classics

Several well‑known country songs were originally slated for different artists. The Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried” might have been recorded by Alan Jackson, Jason Aldean’s “Big Green Tractor” was once offered to Jake Owen, and Luke Combs’ “Where the Wild Things Are” was considered for Eric Church.

Other classic tracks from the 1970s explicitly reference Texas towns. Waylon Jennings’ 1977 hit “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)” celebrates the small community of Luckenbach, while Terry Stafford first released “Amarillo By Morning” in 1973 before George Strait popularised it. Tanya Tucker’s “San Antonio Stroll” pays homage to her home state, joining a series of Texas‑focused songs from the era.