Blue Clear Sky (song)

"Blue Clear Sky" is a song written by Bob DiPiero, John Jarrard and Mark D. Sanders, and performed by American country music singer George Strait. It was released in March 1996 as the first single and title track from Strait's album of the same name. "Blue Clear Sky" was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee at Emerald Studios.^[2] The song reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts.

Background

Strait told Billboard that he loved the song when he first heard it, but he was also concerned. "I Thought that 'Blue Clear Sky' didn't sound right to me, it should have been 'Clear Blue Sky.' Tony and I talked about it, and we came so close to messing it up. We finally called Bob DiPiero [one of the song's writers], and he said he got the line from Forrest Gump.^[3] Bob DiPiero writes in the GAC (Great American Country) featured article, Bob DiPiero Reveals The Story Behind "Blue Clear Sky" about the idea of the song. Bob says, "I went to see the movie "Forrest Gump." About halfway through the movie, Forest has a dialogue where he is talking about his girlfriend, Jenny. The dialogue went something like this...

"Jenny was gone, then all of a sudden, out of the blue clear sky, she was back."

Well, of course it's backwards. The real term is "out of the clear blue sky," but it grabbed my attention. The next day I was writing with John Jarrard and Mark D. Sanders. I told them about this backwards idea and we wrote "Blue Clear Sky" about how love seems unfindable and then out of the blue, you find it." ^[4]

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying "that readily identifiable, likeable, warm Texas voice totally sells this sweet song about the joys of finding love." She discusses the "catchy, melodic introduction to the steel guitar weaving throughout this lively uptempo number."^[5]

Chart performance

"Blue Clear Sky" debuted at number 41 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of April 6, 1996.

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)^[6]	1
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[7]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1996)	Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)^[8]	17
US Country Songs (Billboard)^[9]	2

Preceded by "My Maria" by Brooks & Dunn	Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks number-one single June 8-June 15, 1996	Succeeded by "Time Marches On" by Tracy Lawrence
Preceded by "If I Were You" by Terri Clark	RPM Country Tracks number-one single June 10-June 17, 1996	Succeeded by "Time Marches On" by Tracy Lawrence

References

↑ Latest Greatest Sraitest Hits (CD). George Strait. MCA Nashville. 2000.
↑ "George Strait Album: "Blue Clear Sky"". Website. BestCountrySingers.com. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
↑ Billboard, April 20, 1996
↑ DiPiero, Bob. "Bob DiPiero Reveals The Story Behind "Blue Clear Sky"". GAC. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
↑ Billboard, April 6, 1996
↑ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 2994." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. June 10, 1996. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
↑ "George Strait – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for George Strait.
↑ "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1996". RPM. December 16, 1996. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
↑ "Best of 1996: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1996. Retrieved July 20, 2013.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

George Strait 1990s singles

Livin' It Up	"Love Without End, Amen" "Drinking Champagne" "I've Come to Expect It from You"

Chill of an Early Fall	"If I Know Me" "You Know Me Better Than That" "The Chill of an Early Fall" "Lovesick Blues"

Holding My Own	"Gone as a Girl Can Get" "So Much Like My Dad"

Pure Country	"I Cross My Heart" "Heartland" "When Did You Stop Loving Me"

Easy Come, Easy Go	"Easy Come, Easy Go" "I'd Like to Have That One Back" "Lovebug" "The Man in Love with You"

Lead On	"The Big One" "You Can't Make a Heart Love Somebody" "Adalida" "Lead On"

Strait Out of the Box	"Check Yes or No" "I Know She Still Loves Me"

Blue Clear Sky	"Blue Clear Sky" "Carried Away" "I Can Still Make Cheyenne" "King of the Mountain"

Carrying Your Love with Me	"One Night at a Time" "Carrying Your Love with Me" "Today My World Slipped Away" "Round About Way"

One Step at a Time	"I Just Want to Dance with You" "True" "We Really Shouldn't Be Doing This"

Always Never the Same	"Meanwhile" "Write This Down" "What Do You Say to That"

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