With Beyoncé making history at the pinnacle of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, beckoning listeners to the dancefloor with “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the Houston, Texas native gives a tip of the hat to her homestate–the music, the heatwaves and the whiskey.
Texas, home to more than 29 million residents as of 2021, has produced scores of country music’s biggest artists over the decades, including George Strait, George Jones, Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, The Chicks and Tanya Tucker. But also, as the sounds of Texas Country meshed with the Red Dirt sounds emanating from Oklahoma over the years, the Lone Star State has provided fertile grounds for artists such as Pat Green, Josh Abbott Band and Flatland Cavalry.
According to the 2023 Texas Music Industry Economic impact Report, the music industry in Texas, including music businesses supporting a range of musical genres and music education, fostered an economic impact in 2022 that included nearly 90,000 permanent jobs, $4.6 billion in annual earnings and more than $10.8 billion in annual economic activity. Of course, Texas is also home to Austin, billed as “The Live Music Capital of the World,” with approximately 250 live music venues representing a range of musical styles.
The list of iconic artists—native Texans and non-Texans alike—who have tipped their hats to the Lone Star State has included Jimmie Rodgers, Elvis Presley, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughan and more. Some songs pay homage to the state’s wide open spaces, Texan cuisine, rodeo culture, or the grit and determination of its cowboys and cowgirls. Other tracks mourn ex-lovers, devote lyrics to putting specific Texas towns in a greater spotlight, or center on stories from the state’s history.
Here, we look at 10 more songs featuring “Texas” in the title that nod to the Lone Star State.
