If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)

"If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)" is a song written by Murray Kellum and Dan Mitchell, and recorded by American country music band Alabama. It was released in July 1984 as the B-side of the third single from the band's Roll On album. Though "I'm Not That Way Anymore" was released as the A-side, radio programmers preferred the flipside and the song became the group's 14th consecutive number-one single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.[1]

"If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)"
Single by Alabama
from the album Roll On
A-side"I'm Not That Way Anymore"
ReleasedJuly 16, 1984
RecordedNovember 3, 1983
GenreCountry rock, bluegrass
Length3:22 (single edit)
3:44 (Greatest Hits Vol. III)
4:28 (album version)
LabelRCA Nashville
Songwriter(s)Murray Kellum
Dan Mitchell
Producer(s)Harold Shedd
Alabama
Alabama singles chronology
"When We Make Love"
(1984)		 "If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)"
(1984)		 "(There's A) Fire in the Night"
(1984)

During the first weeks "If You're Gonna Play in Texas..." was on the Billboard chart, "I'm Not That Way Anymore" charted concurrently, being listed as a tag-along B-side. Since "I'm Not That Way" was intended as the A-side, the song had an accompanying music video which was filmed at Fort Payne High School.

The chorus references "Faded Love" by Texas musician Bob Wills and "Louisiana Man" by Doug Kershaw repeatedly throughout this song.

The song was used as the basis of "If You're Gonna Run in Texas", a radio campaign advertisement produced as part of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz's reelection campaign in 2018.[2]

Critical reception

Kip Kirby, of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that Alabama "obviously enjoys this high-energy instrumental romp through roots."[3]

Single and album edit differences

The single edit was more than a minute shorter than the original album version. Two features were deleted from the single version:

  • The opening fanfare, featuring Alabama's vocalists — accompanied by just a piano — singing a few bars of "The Eyes of Texas." This introduction leads into the single's opening, which suddenly picks up the tempo to a quick duple-meter.
  • A second repeat of the refrain, the first part only accompanied by drums, before the fiddle-led bridge leading to the last part of the song.

The version that appears on the band's Greatest Hits Vol. III album excises the intro but retains the extra refrain.

Chart history
Chart (1984) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] 1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 1

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 19.
  2. Willis, Jay (7 March 2018). "It Sounds Like Ted Cruz Is Getting a Little Anxious". gq.com. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. Billboard, July 21, 1984
  4. "Alabama Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  • Morris, Edward, "Alabama," Contemporary Books Inc., Chicago, 1985 (ISBN 0809253062)
  • Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 (ISBN 0-82-307553-2))


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