As it turns out, 1986 was a banner year for country music. Timeless classics like Randy Travis’ “Diggin’ Up Bones” and Reba McEntire’s “Whoever’s in New England” are celebrating 40 years in 2026. And of course, you can’t talk about any year between 1980 and 1989 without mentioning the “King of Country Music” himself, George Strait. On this day (August 2) in 1986, the Texas-born legend hit number one with “Nobody in His Right Mind Would Have Left Her”.
Released in April 1986, “Nobody in His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her” led off Strait’s sixth studio album, #7, which also peaked at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart.
In many ways, “Nobody in His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her” is standard country-music heartbreak fare. A man ends his relationship with a woman, regrets it, and laments it in song: She cried when I left her, now I cry to forget her / Oh, how foolish I was to ever want to leave / ‘Cause nobody in his right mind would’ve left her.
And yet, George Strait manages to steer clear of schmaltz territory in his recording.
According to Country Universe, the 22-time CMA Award winner delivers the lyrics “with smooth sincerity, infusing the verbose chorus with some heartfelt heartbreak.”
“Nobody in His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her” spent a week at number one before being dethroned by the Judds’ “Rockin’ with the Rhythm of the Rain” on August 9.
However, Strait would reach the top of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart one more time before the year was out.
On December 6, 1986, he was back at number one with the follow-up single, “It Ain’t Cool to Be Crazy About You”.
Keith Whitley First Recorded This George Strait Hit
“Nobody in His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her” is one in a long line of examples of the seamless collaboration between George Strait and songwriter Dean Dillon.
Or—as Country Universe put it—“Dillon wrote some weird songs and Strait understood them well enough to translate them for mainstream audiences.”
Dillon has composed or co-written 55 songs for Strait—including 19 singles, 11 of which went to number one. “Marina del Rey,” “The Chair,” “I’ve Come to Expect It From You,” “Easy Come, Easy Go,” “She Let Herself Go,” and “The Best Day” are among the chart-toppers.
The Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame member originally recorded and released his own version of “Nobody in His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her”, reaching number 25 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in 1980.
Before his death in May 1989, Keith Whitley also recorded the song for his 1985 album L.A. to Miami. However, Whitley did not release his version as a single.
Featured image by Ralph Dominguez/MediaPunch via Getty Images
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Author: Erinn Callahan