George Strait Tells Songwriters, ‘Don’t Give Up!’

George Strait's 38th studio album, 'Twang,' is a family affair from start-to-finish. For starters, there's a song title suggested by his wife, Norma. Then there are the three songs George co-wrote with his son, George "Bubba" Strait, Jr. -- including the current single 'Living For The Night,' which is sitting at No. 7 on the Billboard Country Singles chart. And there's one more tune that Bubba wrote by himself. George, who hasn't appeared in the writer's credits of an album since early in his career, shared the story of his return to songwriting with Sirius XM.

"I've toyed with the idea through the years, but I just got lazy about it, actually," George confesses. "My wife had thrown out the idea of 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind,' and [Bubba] kind of took that and started writing it. I ended up helping him finish it."

In spite of the bloodlines running through his new project, George has a message for Nashville's songwriting community. "Don't give up! I'm just looking for the best songs," he says. "Whether it's by me or my son, it's got to be the best one to make the best record, so I hope they don't quit sending me songs."

As for Bubba, who has an Agricultural degree from Texas A&M, he is now signed to BMI as a writer. "He's all fired up about writing now," says his proud papa, "but he's smart enough to know that this doesn't happen all the time. I feel very fortunate, even for me, to have been a song that's doing so well on the radio now. It's even more special that we were able to write it together."

2009 has been a banner year for the Country Music Hall of Fame member. "The Artist of the Decade, the Grammy, opening Texas Stadium and this new album," George reflects. "It's been a very exciting year. How I'll top it, I don't know. Maybe something will come up, we'll just have to see."

George Strait's 'Twang' is in stores today.