Released July 16, 1984 Recorded November 3, 1983 | Format 7" | |
B-side "I'm Not That Way Anymore" Genre Country rock, bluegrass Length 3:22 (single edit)
3:44 (Greatest Hits Vol. III)
4:28 (album version) | ||
"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 third single from the band's album Roll On, In October, the song was the group's 14th consecutive number-one single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.
Contents
During the first weeks "If You're Gonna Play in Texas..." was on the Billboard chart, the song's flip side, "I'm Not That Way Anymore" was listed as a tag-along "B-side" since the B-side 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.
Critical reception
Kip Kirby, of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that Alabama "obviously enjoys this high-energy instrumental romp through roots."
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 version that appears on the band's Greatest Hits Vol. III album excises the intro but retains the extra refrain.