Wanna Ride with George Strait on the “River of Love?”

The tune of George Strait’s “River of Love” is a combination of country, Caribbean, and R&B. In this song, Strait is trying to persuade a lady to ride with him on his boat so she can enjoy a romantic ride with him. The song was written by Billy Burnette, Shawn Camp, and Dennis Morgan. Strait released “River of Love” in November 2008 and sang it during the 2008 CMA Awards. This song is the third single from Strait’s album Troubadour.  

How the Song Was Created

Initially, Dennis Morgan had a melody in his mind and told Shawn about it. Then, Billy Burnette and Shawn Camp used their ukuleles to accompany that melody. Shawn Camp used the ukulele that was given to him by Cowboy Jack Clement.

As the three of them are playing around with the song, it all falls together. According to Morgan, Harland Howard would suggest writing them in “three chords” and telling the truth. However, the trio revealed that they beat him on this song because the trio only used two chords. Additionally, it’s probably not the truth.

As Camp began singing some of its lyrics, everything just came out. He started with the first line: “Hey, baby, won’t you take a little ride.” Later on, they came up with the title of the song, “River of Love”. According to these composers, they do not really think so much about how they would go about it. They were simply having fun writing it.

“River of Love” is George Strait‘s 87th single throughout his entire career. Consequently, it is also his 44th number-one song on the Hot Country Songs chart as well as the 80th Top Ten on the Billboard country charts.

Some of the best George Strait Songs include “I’ve Come to Expect It from You” – (1990), “Down and Out” – (1981), “Carrying Your Love with Me” – (1997), “The Best Day” – (2000), “I Hate Everything” – (2004), and many more.

Matt Bjorke of Roughstock has a mixed review of George Strait’s “River of Love.” It is undeniable that this is a fun song, and it has a feel and groove. However, he revealed that there is nothing interesting about the song except for its unique steel guitar solo.

Listen to the song “River of Love” below: