Check Yes or No
{{Infobox song
| name = Check Yes or No
| cover = Check Yes or No cd single.png
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = George Strait
| album = Strait Out of the Box
| released = September 18, 1995
| recorded = April 10, 1995
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Country
| length = 3:20
| label = MCA 12236
| writer = Danny Wells
Dana Hunt Black
| producer = Tony Brown
George Strait
| prev_title = Lead On
| prev_year = 1995
| next_title = I Know She Still Loves Me
| next_year = 1995
}}
"Check Yes or No" is a song written by Danny Wells and Dana Hunt Black, and recorded by American country music singer George Strait. It was released in September 1995 as the lead single from his box set Strait Out of the Box. It peaked at number-one on both the U.S. Billboard country chart and the Canadian RPM country chart. It was also included as a bonus track on the UK version of the Blue Clear Sky album in 1996.
Background
"Check Yes or No" tells the story of two schoolchildren who develop a crush on one another,{{cite web | last=Guerra | first=Joey | title=21 George Strait songs prove that this isn't his first rodeo | website=Chron | date=February 21, 2013 | url=https://www.chron.com/entertainment/rodeo/article/21-george-strait-songs-prove-that-this-isn-t-his-4293586.php | access-date=May 29, 2023}} passing love notes and flirting on the playground. In the second verse, the song shifts to the present, with the narrator celebrating their longevity after two decades of marriage.
The song was written by Danny Wells and Dana Hunt Black, two Nashville songwriters. It was both of their first songs to be recorded by a major artist. In an interview, Black recalled that she had originally developed the song's chorus a year before she moved to the Music City, but kept it to herself. In a songwriting session with Wells at the ASCAP offices, Black shared the idea, and the two got to work developing the song.{{cite web | last=Vaughn | first=Grace Lenehan | title='Check Yes or No': George Strait's Sweet Tune Earned Approval From His Son, Bubba | website=Wide Open Country | date=August 19, 2022 | url=https://www.wideopencountry.com/check-yes-or-no/ | access-date=May 29, 2023}} An original demo of the song was included on the 2010 compilation The Original Songwriter Demos Volumes 1 & 2.{{cite web | last=LeMay | first=Joseph | title=Coming Soon: Country's Biggest Hits, In Demo Form | website=American Songwriter | date=September 20, 2010 | url=https://americansongwriter.com/coming-soon-countrys-biggest-hits-in-demo-form/ | access-date=November 16, 2022}} Strait was particularly fond of the song upon his first listen. "That was one of the songs though that I knew, right away when I first heard it, I wanted to cut it," he remarked to CMT, adding that his toddler son was a big fan.{{cite web | last=Dauphin | first=Chuck | title=George Strait Saluted as Country’s Hit Machine at Nashville Event | website=Billboard | date=August 29, 2013 | url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/george-strait-saluted-as-countrys-hit-machine-at-nashville-event-5679744/ | access-date=May 29, 2023}}{{cite web | last=Flippo | first=Chet | title=George Strait Talks About Some of His Favorite Songs - News | website=CMT | date=October 8, 2004 | url=https://www.cmt.com/news/muis1a/george-strait-talks-about-some-of-his-favorite-songs | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209222007/https://www.cmt.com/news/muis1a/george-strait-talks-about-some-of-his-favorite-songs | url-status=dead | archive-date=December 9, 2022 | access-date=May 29, 2023}} Strait recorded the song at Emerald Sound Studios in Nashville on April 10, 1995.{{cite web | last=Morgan | first=Emily | title=On This Day: George Strait Records ‘Check Yes or No’ in 1995 | website=Outsider | date=April 10, 2021 | url=https://outsider.com/entertainment/music/on-this-day-george-strait-records-check-yes-or-no-i-know-she-still-loves-me-1995/ | access-date=May 29, 2023}}
Reception
Deborah Evans Price, of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably saying that the song "is another winner from country music's most consistent hit maker." She also states that Strait delivers it with "warmth and charm, as well as with an upbeat melody tailor-made for country radio."Billboard, September 30, 1995 In a 2017 profile of Strait for The New Yorker, Kelefa Sanneh characterized it as a "good-natured radio perennial."{{cite web | last=Sanneh | first=Kelefa | title=George Strait’s Long Ride | website=The New Yorker | date=July 17, 2017 | url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/07/24/george-straits-long-ride | access-date=May 29, 2023}}
The song was awarded a CMA{{cite web | last=Archives | first=L.A. Times | title=Brooks & Dunn, Shania Twain Top Country Music Awards | website=Los Angeles Times | date=April 25, 1996 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-04-25-me-62589-story.html | access-date=May 29, 2023}} and an ACM for Single of the Year.{{cite web | title=He's 71! See the Best Pictures of George Strait Through the Years | website=Taste of Country | date=May 18, 2023 | url=https://tasteofcountry.com/george-strait-pictures-through-the-years/ | access-date=May 29, 2023}} "Check Yes or No" remains one of Strait's biggest singles in the streaming age:{{cite web | last=Smith | first=Lauren | title=5 Facts You May Not Know About George Strait - The Bobby Bones Show | website=The Bobby Bones Show | date=May 18, 2023 | url=https://thecatfm.iheart.com/featured/bobby-bones/content/2023-05-18-5-facts-you-may-not-know-about-george-strait/ | access-date=May 29, 2023}} it still regularly attracted hundreds of weekly spins on key country radio stations in the 2010s, and was ranked by listeners as their favorite CMA Single of the Year of the preceding quarter-century.{{cite web | last=Stark | first=Phyllis | title=How CMA Singles of the Year Endure At Country Radio, Or Don’t | website=Billboard | date=November 3, 2015 | url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/cma-singles-of-the-year-endure-country-radio-6746438/ | access-date=May 29, 2023}}
Covers
The song has been covered by Kane Brown,{{cite web | last=Dauphin | first=Chuck | title=Kane Brown’s 10 Best Songs: Critic’s Picks | website=Billboard | date=August 29, 2017 | url=https://www.billboard.com/music/country/kane-brown-songs-best-hits-list-7942345/ | access-date=May 29, 2023}} Austin Mahone{{cite web | last=Peters | first=Mitchell | title=Austin Mahone Covers George Strait & Fifth Harmony Debuts New Song at Tour Launch: Watch | website=Billboard | date=July 26, 2014 | url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/austin-mahone-covers-george-strait-fifth-harmony-debuts-new-song-reflection-at-texas-tour-launch-6189444/ | access-date=May 29, 2023}} and Scotty McCreery, both in his finale of American Idol{{cite web | last=Caramanica | first=Jon | title='American Idol' Season 10 Finale | website=ArtsBeat | date=May 25, 2011 | url=https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/live-american-idol-finale/ | access-date=May 29, 2023}} and at live shows.{{cite web | title=Scotty McCreery at the Beacon Theater | website=The New York Times | date=November 25, 2012 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/arts/music/scotty-mccreery-at-the-beacon-theater.html | access-date=May 29, 2023}} Strait himself requested McCreery perform the song on Idol.{{cite web | last=Aniftos | first=Rania | title=Here Are the Lyrics to Scotty McCreery’s ‘Damn Strait’ | website=Billboard | date=July 28, 2022 | url=https://www.billboard.com/music/lyrics/scotty-mccreery-damn-strait-lyrics-1235118977/ | access-date=May 29, 2023}} Florida Georgia Line reference "Check Yes or No" on their album Dig Your Roots.{{cite web | last=Roland | first=Tom | title=Florida Georgia Line’s ‘Dig Your Roots’ Aims For Maturity In Chaotic Times | website=Billboard | date=August 30, 2016 | url=https://www.billboard.com/music/country/florida-georgia-lines-dig-your-roots-aims-for-maturity-in-chaotic-7487980/ | access-date=May 29, 2023}}
Music video
The music video for the song featured actor/singer/songwriter Michael Ray Ryan as the main character and Dawn Waggoner (the real-life founder of the Texas Bikini Team) as the main character's leading lady.
Chart positions
"Check Yes or No" debuted at number 63 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of September 23, 1995. It topped the charts for four weeks upon its ascent to the summit.
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (1995) !align="center"|Peak |
| {{singlechart|Canadacountry|1|chartid=2817|publishdate=November 27, 1995|accessdate=July 21, 2013}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|1|artist=George Strait}} |
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| scope="col"|Chart (1995)
!scope="col"|Position |
|---|
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM){{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.2838&type=1&interval=24|title=RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1995|work=RPM|date=December 18, 1995|accessdate=July 21, 2013}}
| align="center" | 19 |
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|award=Platinum|number=4|artist=George Strait|title=Check Yes Or No|relyear=1995|certyear=2024|accessdate=February 28, 2023}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{George Strait 1990s singles}}
{{CMA Single of the Year}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Song recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer)
Category:Music videos directed by John Lloyd Miller
Category:Songs written by Danny Wells (songwriter)
{{1995-country-song-stub}}