Here for a Good Time

For the song, see Here for a Good Time (song).

Here for a Good Time is the twenty-seventh studio album by American country music artist George Strait. It was released on September 6, 2011 via MCA Nashville. Strait co-produced the album with his long-time producer Tony Brown.^[13] The title track and lead-off single, "Here for a Good Time", co-written with son Bubba and songwriter Dean Dillon, was released in June 2011. The album sold 91,414 copies in its first week. On November 30, 2011, the album received a nomination at the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Country Album.

Here for a Good Time
Studio album by George Strait
Released	September 6, 2011 (2011-09-06)
Studio	Shrimpboat Sound (Key West, Florida); Sound Stage Studios (Nashville, Tennessee).
Genre	Neotraditional country^[1]
Length	41:13
Label	MCA Nashville
Producer	Tony Brown George Strait
George Strait chronology
Twang (2009) Here for a Good Time (2011) Icon (2011)
Singles from Here for a Good Time
"Here for a Good Time" Released: June 13, 2011 "Love's Gonna Make It Alright" Released: November 7, 2011 "Drinkin' Man" Released: April 30, 2012

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(74/100)^[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[3]
American Songwriter	^[1]
The Boston Globe	(positive)^[4]
Country Weekly	(favorable)^[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B+^[6]
Los Angeles Times	^[7]
The New York Times	(positive)^[8]
PopMatters	^[9]
Slant Magazine	^[10]
Taste of Country	^[11]
USA Today	^[12]

Content

Strait co-wrote seven of the album’s eleven tracks with his son, Bubba Strait, and songwriter Dean Dillon.^[14] "Here for a Good Time," the lead off single, debuted at number 29 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, making the second-highest debut of his career.^[15]

Here for a Good Time was recorded at Shrimpboat Sound Studio in Key West, Florida, the same studio where Strait recorded his last three albums.^[16]

"Lone Star Blues" was originally recorded by Delbert McClinton on his 2002 album, Room to Breathe. "A Showman's Life" was originally recorded by the songwriter, Jesse Winchester, on his 1978 album, A Touch on the Rainy Side and by Gary Allan on his 2003 album, See If I Care.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Love's Gonna Make It Alright"	Al Anderson, Chris Stapleton	3:50
2.	"Drinkin' Man"	Dean Dillon, Bubba Strait, George Strait	4:27
3.	"Shame On Me"	B. Strait, G. Strait	2:39
4.	"Poison"	Chuck Cannon, Allen Shamblin	3:39
5.	"Here for a Good Time"	Dillon, B. Strait, G. Strait	3:01
6.	"House Across the Bay"	Dillon, B. Strait, G. Strait	3:36
7.	"Lone Star Blues"	Gary Nicholson, Delbert McClinton	4:18
8.	"A Showman’s Life" (featuring Faith Hill)	Jesse Winchester	4:43
9.	"Three Nails and a Cross"	Bobby Boyd, Dillon, B. Strait, G. Strait	3:43
10.	"Blue Marlin Blues"	Dillon, B. Strait, G. Strait	3:24
11.	"I’ll Always Remember You"	Dillon, B. Strait, G. Strait	3:54
Total length:			41:13

Personnel

• George Strait – lead vocals, backing vocals
• Steve Nathan – acoustic piano, Hammond B3 organ, synthesizers
• Matt Rollings – acoustic piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hammond B3 organ
• Steve Gibson – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, gut-string guitar
• Brent Mason – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, gut-string guitar
• Ilya Toshinsky – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• Paul Franklin – steel guitar
• Stuart Duncan – fiddle, mandolin
• Glenn Worf – bass guitar, upright bass
• Eddie Bayers – drums
• Thom Flora – backing vocals
• Wes Hightower – backing vocals
• Marty Slayton – backing vocals
• Chris Stapleton – backing vocals
• Faith Hill – backing vocals (8)

Production

• Brian White – A&R
• Tony Brown – producer
• George Strait – producer
• Chuck Ainlay – recording, mixing, additional recording
• Jim Cooley – recording assistant
• Brandon Schexnayder – additional recording, mix assistant
• Brian David Willis – digital editing
• Bob Ludwig – mastering at Gateway Mastering (Portland, Maine)
• Amy Garges – production assistant
• Craig Allen – design
• Terry Calonge – photography
• Kelley Fromme-May – booklet back cover photography
• Vanessa Gavalya – inside front and back cover photography
• Erv Woolsey – management

Chart positions

Here for a Good Time debuted at No.3 on the Billboard 200 chart and No.1 on the Country Albums chart with 91,000 copies.^[17] As of December 21, 2011, the album had sold 298k copies.

Weekly charts Chart (2011) Peak position Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[18] 12 UK Country Albums (OCC)^[19] 5 US Billboard 200^[20] 3 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[21] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2011) Position US Billboard 200^[22] 129 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[23] 29 Chart (2012) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[24] 39

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		US Country	US	CAN
2011	"Here for a Good Time"	2	46	66
	"Love's Gonna Make It Alright"	3	61	—
2012	"Drinkin' Man"	37	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Certifications

Certifications for Here For A Good Time

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[25]	Gold	500,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Hight, Jewly (September 7, 2011). "George Strait: Here For a Good Time". American Songwriter. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
2. "Critic Reviews for Here for a Good Time". Metacritic. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Here for a Good Time - George Strait". Allmusic. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
4. Rodman, Sarah (September 5, 2011). "George Strait, 'Here for a Good Time'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
5. Phillips, Jessica (October 5, 2011). "Here for a Good Time by George Strait". Country Weekly. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
6. Wood, Mikael (September 9, 2011). . Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
7. Lewis, Randy (September 5, 2011). "Album review: George Strait's 'Here for a Good Time'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
8. Ratliff, Ben (September 5, 2011). "New Music (George Strait: 'Here for a Good Time')". The New York Times. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
9. Heaton, Dave (October 28, 2011). "George Strait: Here for a Good Time". PopMatters. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
10. Keefe, Jonathan (September 5, 2011). "George Strait: Here for a Good Time". Slant Magazine. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
11. Dukes, Billy (September 6, 2011). "George Strait, 'Here for a Good Time' - Album Review". Taste of Country. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
12. Mansfield, Brian (September 6, 2011). . USA Today. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
13. . georgestrait.com. August 3, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
14. Sarah Wyland (August 4, 2011). "George Strait to Release New Album September 6". Great American County. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
15. Wyland, Sarah (June 14, 2011). "George Strait Releases New Single". Great American Country. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
16. "Strait gets ready for a good time". Country Standard Time. August 3, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
17. Caulfield, Keith (May 22, 2013). "Vampire Weekend Debuts At No. 1 On Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
18. "George Strait Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
19. "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
20. "George Strait Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
21. "George Strait Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
22. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
23. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
24. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
25. "American album certifications – George Strait – Here For A Good Time". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 18, 2023.

External links

• Here for a Good Time at Metacritic