"One of These Days," "Please Remember Me," "Angry All the Time" and "When the Stars Go Blue" were first recorded by their writers (Marcus Hummon, Rodney Crowell, Bruce Robison and Ryan Adams, respectively). Crowell's version of "Please Remember Me" was also released as a single four years before McGraw's.
Also went the other way with "Telluride." McGraw's version was never released as a single, but charted at #52 as an album cut. Josh Gracin later nicked the Top 40 with his own version of the same song.
"Better Than I Used to Be" is a Sammy Kershaw cover.
Crowning Music of Awesome: Radio's response to "Live Like You Were Dying" in the wake of his father's death. Talk about perfect timing.
"Last Dollar (Fly Away)." "One, two, three, like a bird I sing / 'Cause you've given me the most beautiful set of wings..."
"Felt Good on My Lips": "Ooh ooh ooh ah, wanna go crazy…"
Growing the Beard: McGraw started out as a somewhat above-average interpreter of radio-friendly country-pop songs with a tendency toward novelty. Over time, he began taking more and more chances with his music, finding great success with dark, sometimes alternative-sounding mid-tempos such as "Please Remember Me" while concurrently moving away from novelties. Starting with 2001's Set This Circus Down, he began experimenting with a slightly Darker and Edgier sound. From the next album onward, he began recording with his road band, a rarity in country music. Not to say that he didn't continue to release the occasional frivolity. This is also a literal example, as his change in sound coincided with him going from a fu manchu mustache to a full goatee.