Down and Out (song)

"Down and Out"
Single by George Strait
from the album Strait Country
Released	August 28, 1981
Format	7" single
Genre	Country
Length	3:23
Label	MCA (51104)
Writer(s)	Dean Dillon Frank Dycus
Producer	Blake Mevis
George Strait singles chronology
"Unwound" (1981) "Down and Out'" (1981) "If You're Thinking You Want a Stranger (There's One Coming Home)" (1982)

"Down and Out" is the title of a song written by Dean Dillon and Frank Dycus. It was recorded by American country music artist George Strait, and was released in August 1981 as the second single from his 1981 album Strait Country. It peaked at number 16 on the United States Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and reached number 14 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.^[1]

Critical reception

Kip Kirby of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that the "unmistakable Texas honkytonk flavor of this record puts it in the "Unwound" mold with heavy fiddle and string guitar and ripples of piano."^[2] Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a B- grade, comparing the fiddle section to his previous single "Unwound" and says that it is "easy to imagine this filling the honky-tonk floors just as quickly." He states that even though Strait sings it well, the lyric is weak and generic.^[3]

Chart positions

"Down and Out" debuted at number 78 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles for the week of September 12, 1981.

Chart (1981)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	16
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	14

References

1. ^ George Strait: Billboard Singles. - Allmusic.
2. ^ Billboard, September 5, 1981
3. ^ [1] Down and Out review by Kevin John Coyne